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ChristianKl comments on Open Thread, Apr. 06 - Apr. 12, 2015 - Less Wrong Discussion
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Comments (128)
Ah, you are right. Still there's a flu vaccine.
I don't have specific concerns, but in general heating up a region under pain seems to be an idea that could be within standard medicine and it doesn't seem to be standard practice.
If it would be useful, why is there no big pharma company that sells a creme that heats up ears and markets it?
I've never heard of the salt/ear thing, but warm compresses are fairly standard advice for certain types of eye infections. I believe the main goal there is less to increase blood circulation and more to soften oils that might be blocking the glands in the area, though.
Physical heating is something that pharma companies aren't really equipped to monopolize, but I have seen microwavable hot/cold packs. They don't seem to offer much advantage over a warm towel.
Because a cup of salt costs something like cents, it would be very difficult to compete with it.
Nobody runs clinical trials to show that the cup of salts has ideal properties.
Running clinical trials that a certain creme helps the ear on the other hand puts the treatment into the 'evidence-based' medicine bucket.
See Scott Alexanders discussion of Melatonin vs. Ramelteon.
Of course nobody does it, there is no business opportunity in it.
Nasal irrigation seems to have been pretty successfully commercialized, so I suppose you could commercialize heated salt and run trials with some inventive marketing.
But then you would likely sell your heated salt at a higher price point and not for the price of ordinary salt.
Businesses don't necessary notice every opportunity quickly, or even at all.
There a lot of money in big pharma and there are solutions to heating up areas of the body developed for people with tense backs.
It's no absolute heuristic but it looks to me like a topic that's open to big pharma intervention. That means there likely research out there that gives a better idea about whether it's something worthwhile to do then simply following folk remedies.
Well, there are these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heating_pad
It's my understanding that the prime use of heating pad's is treating tense muscles. Mostly for people with tense backs.
Heat and cold also get applied to sprains.