On 02/01/2018 15:40, Mayayana wrote:
> "PeterN" <"peter,newdelete"@deleteverizon.net> wrote
> 
> | Since I was diagnosed with COPD, and my defibrillator/pacemaker
> | recalled, I see nothing funny about toy pulse oximeters.
> |
> 

An aside, I use a blood pressure monitor - well two actually, from Aldi 
(cheap). They measure within a point or two of each other, and are 
consistently in line with the doctor's measurement.

>     I can understand that. Even heart monitors are
> questionable. For that matter, phone app pedometers
> are both silly and inaccurate. But people now
> use them to track and plan their health regimens,
> trying to maintain a certain number of steps per
> day.
> 

I think that's harsh. They may not be that accurate, but as a relative 
measure of activity and an incentive, if people use them and exercise 
more because of them - good. And they may pick up signs that would 
otherwise go unnoticed.

>     I used to have a friend who was an ER doctor
> and very suspicious of herbal remedies. He used
> to like to point out that herbal remedies have a
> good reputation despite lack of research because
> it's usually the healthy people who use them. When
> they *really* get sick they use drugs. An
> "immune system booster" seems to work well if
> you don't get sick after taking it. (Not that I think
> herbs are nonsense. something like 30% of our
> drugs come from herbs. But there is a lot of
> magical thinking going on.)
>     One could say the same about frivolous tech
> approaches to health. They're there because
> there's a market that will pay, not because they
> make sense.
> 

I really don't think you can. Herbal medicine is a very different ballpark.


-- 
Cheers, Rob