For most people, taking care of their children is a
priority. You don't want your kids to feel sadness, hurt, or anything else that
causes them pain. Having a sick child can be worrisome and frustrating. While
you'd like to help them feel better, sometimes you can't until (maybe) now,
thanks to Obecalp
– cherry-flavored dextrose placebo tablets.
Obecalp (placebo spelled backwards) was invented by Jennifer
Buettner, whose niece was suffering from a case of hypochondria. Persons with
hypochondria are overcome with excessive worry about having a serious illness,
to the extent that they do not believe otherwise. While trying to help her
niece, Buettner's mother-in-law (a nurse) told her to give the child a Motrin
tablet.
A Mother's Solution
Not completely comfortable with that solution, Jennifer Buettner
sent her husband to the store to buy placebo pills. Studies have shown that
placebo tablets may reduce high blood pressure, depression, and pain. When her
husband came back empty-handed, Buettner said the idea just "clicked" – thus
bringing Obecalp to life. Jennifer Buettner and her husband, Dennis, then founded
the placebo company "Efficacy Brands". Their goal was to create a product that
would allow parents to treat their children for minor ills, while reducing the
unnecessary use of antibiotics and other medications.
Because Obecalp does not contain an active drug, it will not
be sold under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules for medications.
Instead, the placebos will be sold as "dietary supplements", meaning that they can
be sold at many more stores. According to Jennifer Buettner, Obecalp "is
designed to have the texture and taste of actual medicine so it will trick kids
into thinking that they're taking something…Then their brain takes over, and
they say, 'Oh, I feel better.'"
Do Placebos Work?
"The idea that we can use a placebo as a general treatment
method strikes me as inappropriate" says Dr. Howard Brody, a medical ethicist
and family physician at the University
of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. According to
Dr. Brody, placebos can have dramatic effects for some people, while doing
nothing for others. Bioethicist Franklin G. Miller agrees with Brody. "As a
parent of three now grown children, I can't think of a single instance where
I'd want to give a placebo".
The power of placebos lies, of course, in the belief that
they'll work. Experts are questioning how effective Obecalp will be, since the
people dispensing them out know that they're not real. However, a 2007 study asked
parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to
replace some medications with placebos. Both parents and children were told
that these "dose extenders" contained no drug. Nevertheless, at the end of
three months, 80% of the children reported that the placebo had helped them.
Promoting Drug Dependency?
Jennifer Buettner doesn't say explicitly what Obecalp can
treat. Rather, she says that "you'll know when Obecalp is necessary". But does administering
a placebo each time a child has an ache or pain teach that a cure is always
found in a bottle? Dr. Brody worries that "kids could grow up thinking that the
only way to get better is by taking a pill. If they do that, they will not learn
that a minor complaint like a scraped knew or a cold can improve on its own."
While Dr. Brody believes that Obecalp could entice anyone who
has been up all night with a crying child, he claims that medication is not
what the child is really looking for. "Does a sick child really want X-rays or
M.R.I's of the latest antibiotic? No, all the sick child wants is comforting".
What do you think?
- Are
placebos like Obecalp necessary?
- Would
you consider giving your child a placebo?
- Could
this cause drug dependency, or produce more child hypochondriacs?
- Is
giving a child a placebo such as Obecalp lying?
Resources:
http://www.placebostore.com/obecalp-chewable-tablets.html
http://www.inventedbyamother.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypochondriasis
http://www.prnewsnow.com/Public_Release/Medical/186829.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/health/27plac.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1212067961-UFgSRf7wyDtvwGuRSTGmiw
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