A great aunt of mine, insisted that infants should be given whisky in hot weather to calm them down. The rest of my family considered this bizarre baby care advice, and ignored it.
However, crazy as her advice might have seemed, public health officials in the late 19th century actually did recommend that infants be given a small amount of whisky during hot weather.
Now, you might think that in our age of advanced medicine there would be no room for nonsense health guidance like that. But believe it or not, a brand new way to treat emotional pain has just emerged, and it's even more foolish than whisky for new-borns.
It's more foolish because people could potentially die.
Time heals all wounds
Recently, US researchers noticed a similarity between brain images of subjects in physical pain, and brain images of subjects who described their emotional pain.
This made them wonder if these completely different kinds of pain might be processed in the same area of the brain. And if that was the case, could a painkiller treat both kinds of pain?
To find out, the researchers recruited more than 60 people. For three weeks, half the group took 1,000 mg of acetaminophen — a drug used to relieve pain and reduce fever — daily, and half took a placebo. During the trial period, each subject played a computer game designed to make them feel rejected. Each subject was also asked to keep a diary to write down how they felt every night.
Results showed a "significant reduction in hurt feelings" in acetaminophen subjects, compared to placebo.
Uh oh. Here we go. You can just imagine how the headlines ran: "Painkillers Mend a Broken Heart" — and all sorts of variations on that theme.
In spite of the "significant" results, it's pretty obvious that a couple of acetaminophen will not erase deep emotional pain — turning heartbreak into carefree cheerfulness. But if that's the message that gets out there, we're in trouble.
You can imagine a heartbroken teenager heading for the medicine cabinet to ease the sting of rejection with a couple of painkillers. Then, an hour later, when the heartache is still there, a couple of more pills. And an hour after that...
We already have an on-going crisis of liver failures caused by acetaminophen overdose. Silly headlines that suggest a couple of painkillers will heal emotional wounds can only make that situation worse. And young people are particularly susceptible to overdose because they tend to view acetaminophen as a benign drug.
Parents and grandparents, warn your children that all painkillers are potentially dangerous. Don't be afraid to nag them about it until it sinks in. And while you're at it, you can also make it clear that a few pills will NOT cure a broken heart.
Hopefully we can stop this new old wives' tale before it even gets started.
However, crazy as her advice might have seemed, public health officials in the late 19th century actually did recommend that infants be given a small amount of whisky during hot weather.
Now, you might think that in our age of advanced medicine there would be no room for nonsense health guidance like that. But believe it or not, a brand new way to treat emotional pain has just emerged, and it's even more foolish than whisky for new-borns.
It's more foolish because people could potentially die.
Time heals all wounds
Recently, US researchers noticed a similarity between brain images of subjects in physical pain, and brain images of subjects who described their emotional pain.
This made them wonder if these completely different kinds of pain might be processed in the same area of the brain. And if that was the case, could a painkiller treat both kinds of pain?
To find out, the researchers recruited more than 60 people. For three weeks, half the group took 1,000 mg of acetaminophen — a drug used to relieve pain and reduce fever — daily, and half took a placebo. During the trial period, each subject played a computer game designed to make them feel rejected. Each subject was also asked to keep a diary to write down how they felt every night.
Results showed a "significant reduction in hurt feelings" in acetaminophen subjects, compared to placebo.
Uh oh. Here we go. You can just imagine how the headlines ran: "Painkillers Mend a Broken Heart" — and all sorts of variations on that theme.
In spite of the "significant" results, it's pretty obvious that a couple of acetaminophen will not erase deep emotional pain — turning heartbreak into carefree cheerfulness. But if that's the message that gets out there, we're in trouble.
You can imagine a heartbroken teenager heading for the medicine cabinet to ease the sting of rejection with a couple of painkillers. Then, an hour later, when the heartache is still there, a couple of more pills. And an hour after that...
We already have an on-going crisis of liver failures caused by acetaminophen overdose. Silly headlines that suggest a couple of painkillers will heal emotional wounds can only make that situation worse. And young people are particularly susceptible to overdose because they tend to view acetaminophen as a benign drug.
Parents and grandparents, warn your children that all painkillers are potentially dangerous. Don't be afraid to nag them about it until it sinks in. And while you're at it, you can also make it clear that a few pills will NOT cure a broken heart.
Hopefully we can stop this new old wives' tale before it even gets started.
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