Puzzle: Studying DNA How the Placebo Effect Works by Shanna Freeman -- 1 Introduction to How the Placebo Effect Works 2 Placebos: Is It All in Your Head? 3 Placebos in Research 4 Prescribing Placebos [hsw-article-keep-reading-short-button.png] -- * Why is it so hard to quit smoking? * 10 Weird Prescription Drug Side Effects * DiscoveryHealth.com: Pros/Cons of Placebos Most of us only go to the doctor when we're not feeling well. You read -- taking those pills, so you did. That's the gist of the placebo effect. It's what happens when a person takes a medication that he or she perceives will help, although it actually has no proven therapeutic effect for his or her particular condition. The medicine or treatment itself is known as a placebo, from Latin for "I will please." There are a few different types of placebos. They may be pharmacologically inert, meaning that they contain no active ingredients. These types of placebos often contain basic ingredients like sugar (hence the term "sugar pill"). Medications that do have active ingredients but aren't proven to work on the patient's particular condition can also be placebos. There have even been placebos in the form of surgery, injections and other types of medical therapies. Some people believe that complementary and alternative medicine count as placebos, too. Placebos have been shown to work in about 30 percent of patients, and they've been used by doctors for ages. In fact, they were often the only thing that a doctor could offer to relieve suffering, other than his or her attention and support. Some researchers believe that placebos simply evoke a psychological response. The act of taking them gives you an improved sense of well-being. However, recent research indicates that placebos may also bring about a physical response. In light of this, some people don't see anything wrong with a doctor prescribing a placebo. After all, he or she is doing it to help the patient. But others see the practice not only as harmful, but unethical, deceptive and possibly even illegal. Although we've long known that placebos can work, we've only recently started to figure out how and why. On the next page, we'll look at some theories behind the therapeutic effects of placebos. [embedded-player-play-button-37x37.png] Launch Video -- Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks article: Freeman, Shanna. "How the Placebo Effect Works" 13 January 2009. HowStuffWorks.com. 03 January 2014. Cite -- 1 Introduction to How the Placebo Effect Works 2 Placebos: Is It All in Your Head? 3 Placebos in Research 4 Prescribing Placebos 5 The Placebo Prescribing Controversy 6 -- sensation, but an emotional and psychological one as well. [spacer.gif] How the Placebo Effect Works When a kid scrapes his or her knee, a cute bandage is less about stanching the bleeding and more about psychological comfort. When a doctor gives an adult a placebo, is that any different? Popular Articles