When we think of placebos, normally we would imagine a drug that generally doesn't do anything that would directly target the symptoms of an illness. And the placebo effect is the result of believing that the said drug will do what it was intended to do, despite not knowing that it was an inert substance, or a pill that did not have any active ingredients toward the desired effect. Usually, placebos are used to conduct clinical trials of new medicines or treatments to determine the real effect they are supposed to have.
Recently, the FDA announced that phenylephrine, a common decongestant ingredient found in drugs like Sudafed and Nyquil, didn't work. In relation to this, Science Friday had wanted to understand what placebos really are and what is the science behind them. They invited professor and placebo research specialist Ted J. Kaptchuk to talk more about the thing we call placebos.
One thing I learned from their conversation is that there is a nuance in placebos. They are not actually the drug or inert substances themselves, but rather all the rituals, symbols, and acts of human kindness surrounding the placebo. Which begs the question, how does it actually work, since there are cases when placebos are believed to have the desired effect they were supposed to have even though they had no active ingredients that would work toward that effect. Moreover, in their conversation, they also talk about the concept of the honest placebo.
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