Quote:
Originally Posted by Altwebdesign
damn, thats real unfortunate!
Theyre just rolling out the swine flu jab in england now, expecting a story or 2 like this!
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You can definitely expect more stories like this. Not because the flu shot causes this, but because people believe the flu shot can cause it.
The mind is a powerful thing. Placebos, for example, can cause actual physical improvement in people with an identifiable physical ailment. Acupuncture has positive effects even if you just poke people with toothpicks in random places. Homeopathy has positive effects even if people are really only getting water.
Normal IV fluid will decrease pain in patients if they think they are getting morphine, and patients used to getting morphine will actually have a physical reaction decreasing pain before they even get it.
Sadly, the reverse also holds true. People can develop actual physical symptoms merely through suggestion. Convince a million people that the glass of normal water they just drank contains arsenic and thousands will experience physical symptoms, dozens if not hundreds will develop actual physical symptoms, and a few may well die or sustain permanent disabilities.