The menace of quackery: examples please

Editor-I read the article by Vikas Dhikav with interest.¹ However, I feel it would have been better had it contained some real life examples of quackery.

We come across several such examples in neurology-epileptic patients are often beaten and tortured by illiterate people during or after the attack. They are forced to smell stinking socks and old shoes. A study from a city in north India showed that even well educated people resort to such practices.

At times, red hot rods are applied to their bare skins to "awaken" them from the seizure. Some of my cases report the application of heated rods on joints after stroke. We often see patients with Alzheimer's disease taking medicines dispensed by quacks. Worst is that they use these "medicines" in addition to prescribed drugs for Alzheimer's disease-for example, anticholinesterases.

Medical students and the public at large should be educated about the menace of quackery. Showing real examples, perhaps, can make the message more effective

1. Dhikav V. Fake medicine but real money. studentBMJ2006;14:430-1