Placebos - from Latin placere, which means “please” - these are treatments that do not have any pharmacological properties and, consequently, do not act directly on diseases. A placebo is not just a drug, it can be any medical procedure, including surgery and anesthesia.
Used mainly in research control groups, they are essential to assess the effects of a given drug. When we use placebos in experiments, we expect the group using them to show no clinical improvement. The group that is using the real drug, on the other hand, should show a substantial improvement, thus representing the therapeutic efficacy of a new drug.
It is very important that the patient who is using a placebo does not know that that “drug” will not lead to a cure. Therefore, he must believe that it is a medicine or therapy with proven curative effects.
Despite being a substance without specific action on a particular disease, placebos often end up showing some effectiveness. This is because the patient firmly believes that what he is using is a drug that will bring him benefits, which ends up causing changes in the nervous and immune system. This positive result is called
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The effects of placebos are not always positive, leading the patient to have some unpleasant symptoms, such as tiredness and dry mouth. When a therapy generates this effect, we say that the effect is nocebo. The term, also originated from Latin, means damage.
It is clear, therefore, that the psychological influences our body and the course of an illness often times. Therefore, it is essential that the patient feels the desire to be cured and maintains positive thinking in the face of any disease. The expectation of improvement is often more efficient than the medication itself.
Positive thinking can even treat illnesses!
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "What is placebo?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/biologia/o-que-e-placebo.htm. Accessed on June 29, 2021.
