General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Anti-woo commentators are a bunch of smug and condescending... [View all]Moonwalk
(2,322 posts)just like alternative med people do now. That "at one time" was when both woo and "natural philosophy" as it was called, were the same. Both based in hear-say and "this is an ancient cure and so it must work..." Not on whether research, investigation and evidence-based testing proved it did work. So if you're arguing that science didn't work back in the leech and blood-letting days, then all you're saying is that alternative medicine is doing the same as science back in the daydoing what people say will work, not what has been proven to work.
Was that your point?
As for leeches: the original reason why they were used wasn't science back when, but now that real science has done studies on them, it's been found that they actually do have some medical benefits and they ARE being used in modern medicine for certain things. From here: http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/modern-leeching/
Leeches are used in modern medicine because they work. They're an extremely effective artificial vein in certain situations where uh, a body part such as a finger has been replanted after an amputation, but only the arterial side is working. The, the leech then serves as an artificial vein by drawing off the excess blood or the congested blood, until the person can actually grow back small, venous capillaries.
So, if you're trying to damn science for using leeches...I'm afraid it's still using leeches to good effect right now, so I'm not sure it's so damning.