7/22/2003: Palestinian bloodletting quackery

Undertoad · 07-22-2003, 10:41 AM

I'm sure there's a long history of bloodletting and how it's been a substitute for real medicine, but here we see that this history is not yet over. This is from last week's MSNBC Week in Pics and apparently shows a man getting treatment for headaches from a Palestinian doctor in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The caption says this same treament is used for "rheumatism, cancer, infertility, high blood pressure, eczema and a variety of other ailments."

OnyxCougar · 07-22-2003, 10:57 AM

I've heard of cases where people have gotten every other treatment possible with no improvement in their condition, so they try leeches (or bloodletting) and miraculously recover.

07-22-2003, 11:05 AM

"miraculously" being the key word there.

tweek · 07-22-2003, 01:37 PM

How do the glass balls draw the blood out? It appears as though they are suctioned onto his back, so I guess if there's a vacuum in there it would help draw the blood out? How do they create the vacuum?

I wonder ir it's something nasty like they press the globe to his back with a small tube inside, then suck some air out, and then slip the tube out?

07-22-2003, 01:41 PM

It looks like they're burning a piece of paper inside it to create suction. This works rather well - get a beaker, light a piece of paper on fire, put it inside, stick the beaker on your forehead and wait a few minutes.

wolf · 07-22-2003, 01:43 PM

It looks like what the practitioner (I can't bring myself to use the word doctor) is doing here is a variation of cupping. I hadn't seen cupping associated with bloodletting, though. (I'm reminded of Steve Martin on Saturday Night Live doing the Medieval Barber Surgeon sketch ... "We'll have to bleed him!")

The glass jars are affixed to the skin by means of a vacuum formed by heating the tops of the jars. The things people will pay for ...

That being said, however, our friend the leech is getting a second try in the medical world ... they are being used to assist in restoring circulation following limb reattachment surgeries.

Other seemingly icky treatments include using maggots to debride infected wounds (they work cheaper than even medical residents).

tweek · 07-22-2003, 01:44 PM

I have given blood periodically since I was 17. I swear it makes you feel better, or maybe it's just psychological impact of knowing that a portion of your blood is "fresh" from the marrow in the weeks following. Sort of like the psychological effect of being skinny and then getting muscular, when your new muscles are fresh. Nevermind me man I'm a bit futzed at the moment.

Anyways I tried to give blood on Friday night and they TURNED ME DOWN in the screening process. Apparently they don't want the blood of people who have partied a little too hard in the past year.

OnyxCougar · 07-22-2003, 02:15 PM

I gave blood regularly and was an organ donor until Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ran rampant. Since there is still no test available to screen the incoming blood for C-J, anyone who lived in the UK for more than 3 months from 1980 - 1998 is not able to give blood or be an organ donor.

CJD Information

A site on leeches

CNN story on bloodletting in India, 1998

e unibus plurum · 07-22-2003, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
treatment for headaches

I'm stickin' to 2 aspirin.

warch · 07-22-2003, 02:47 PM

I sold plasma a few times when I was a really poor student. Finally the desperate vibe of the "center" freaked me out. That and getting my vein "infiltrated" by a gum popping phlebotomist wannabe with press-on nails. I can still see her running her gigantic nails down my dangling tube wondering aloud why I've stopped filling my bag. Ow. I almost passed out. I got really pale and cold. I remember that "Terms of Endearment" was on the TV- Debra Winger spiraling down. They gave me cookies and Tang.

When I suggested that I would gladly just call it a day, she said if I'd wait, they could separate what theyve got, poke me on the other side, and give me "my juice (whole blood) back". No. Thank you. Bye forever. Big nasty bruise on my sore forearm.

I still give blood on occasion, but cant watch the needle. I can't say that I've ever felt any related burst of refreshment.

Guey · 07-22-2003, 02:48 PM

Well letting the leeches suck the blood out of you is better than letting the alternative bloodsuckers do the job...lawyers.

perth · 07-22-2003, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by OnyxCougar
...anyone who lived in the UK for more than 3 months from 1980 - 1998 is not able to give blood or be an organ donor.

unless that rule went into effect less than 2 months ago, thats not true. my sister was an organ / tissue donor, and we lived in england from 1988 - 1990.

~james

OnyxCougar · 07-22-2003, 04:36 PM

Then she slipped through.

Most countries now restrict blood donations from those who lived in the UK, including Australia, Canada and the United States.

Canada Blood Service page

Australia Blood Donor Page (PDF)

United States FDA and University of Houston Donation restrictions

And the following is criteria in Hawaii as of May 2002:

What are the new deferral criteria?
As of May 15, 2002, people with a history of the following are no longer eligible to donate blood:

Residence in the U.K. for 3 months or more, between 1980 and 1996.
Recipients of a blood transfusion in the U.K., between 1980 and the present.
Residence in Europe for five years or more, between 1980 and the present.
Military personnel (current and former) and their dependents, who spent time on military bases in Europe for six months or more between 1980 and 1996.

perth · 07-22-2003, 05:02 PM

hmm, i guess im of two minds on that then. if she did 'slip through', on one hand im glad she did, because she saved several lives and that has served to be a great comfort to me.

on the other hand, while im quite sure she did not have the disease in question, i find it somewhat disconcerting. the donor program folks asked specifically if she lived in europe and when we replied in the affirmative, they asked for details. so i have to wonder where the breakdown was.

after searching myself, the only thing i could really find was here. while that page discusses blood donation, i imagine the rules for organ / tissue donation would be much the same.

~james

OnyxCougar · 07-22-2003, 05:06 PM

I was really upset when they began the deferrment. I had donated every 3 months for many years, then suddenly I couldn't donate any more, and I couldn't be an organ donor.

Now, with these new restrictions, there is a huge shortage of blood donors, and the nation's blood supply is at critical levels. There isn't a damn thing I can do about it. *sigh*

07-22-2003, 10:41 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	7/22/2003: Palestinian bloodletting quackery I'm sure there's a long history of bloodletting and how it's been a substitute for real medicine, but here we see that this history is not yet over. This is from last week's MSNBC Week in Pics and apparently shows a man getting treatment for headaches from a Palestinian doctor in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. The caption says this same treament is used for "rheumatism, cancer, infertility, high blood pressure, eczema and a variety of other ailments."

07-22-2003, 10:57 AM	#2
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	I've heard of cases where people have gotten every other treatment possible with no improvement in their condition, so they try leeches (or bloodletting) and miraculously recover. __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

07-22-2003, 01:37 PM	#4
tweek Disorderly Disciplinarian Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 21	How does it work? How do the glass balls draw the blood out? It appears as though they are suctioned onto his back, so I guess if there's a vacuum in there it would help draw the blood out? How do they create the vacuum? I wonder ir it's something nasty like they press the globe to his back with a small tube inside, then suck some air out, and then slip the tube out?

07-22-2003, 01:43 PM	#6
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	It looks like what the practitioner (I can't bring myself to use the word doctor) is doing here is a variation of cupping. I hadn't seen cupping associated with bloodletting, though. (I'm reminded of Steve Martin on Saturday Night Live doing the Medieval Barber Surgeon sketch ... "We'll have to bleed him!") The glass jars are affixed to the skin by means of a vacuum formed by heating the tops of the jars. The things people will pay for ... That being said, however, our friend the leech is getting a second try in the medical world ... they are being used to assist in restoring circulation following limb reattachment surgeries. Other seemingly icky treatments include using maggots to debride infected wounds (they work cheaper than even medical residents). __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

07-22-2003, 01:44 PM	#7
tweek Disorderly Disciplinarian Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 21	Oh Yeah I have given blood periodically since I was 17. I swear it makes you feel better, or maybe it's just psychological impact of knowing that a portion of your blood is "fresh" from the marrow in the weeks following. Sort of like the psychological effect of being skinny and then getting muscular, when your new muscles are fresh. Nevermind me man I'm a bit futzed at the moment. Anyways I tried to give blood on Friday night and they TURNED ME DOWN in the screening process. Apparently they don't want the blood of people who have partied a little too hard in the past year.

07-22-2003, 11:05 AM	#3
dave Guest Posts: n/a	"miraculously" being the key word there.

07-22-2003, 01:41 PM	#5
dave Guest Posts: n/a	It looks like they're burning a piece of paper inside it to create suction. This works rather well - get a beaker, light a piece of paper on fire, put it inside, stick the beaker on your forehead and wait a few minutes.

07-22-2003, 02:15 PM	#8
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	I gave blood regularly and was an organ donor until Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ran rampant. Since there is still no test available to screen the incoming blood for C-J, anyone who lived in the UK for more than 3 months from 1980 - 1998 is not able to give blood or be an organ donor. CJD Information A site on leeches CNN story on bloodletting in India, 1998 __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

07-22-2003, 02:47 PM	#10
warch lurkin old school Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,796	I sold plasma a few times when I was a really poor student. Finally the desperate vibe of the "center" freaked me out. That and getting my vein "infiltrated" by a gum popping phlebotomist wannabe with press-on nails. I can still see her running her gigantic nails down my dangling tube wondering aloud why I've stopped filling my bag. Ow. I almost passed out. I got really pale and cold. I remember that "Terms of Endearment" was on the TV- Debra Winger spiraling down. They gave me cookies and Tang. When I suggested that I would gladly just call it a day, she said if I'd wait, they could separate what theyve got, poke me on the other side, and give me "my juice (whole blood) back". No. Thank you. Bye forever. Big nasty bruise on my sore forearm. I still give blood on occasion, but cant watch the needle. I can't say that I've ever felt any related burst of refreshment.

07-22-2003, 02:48 PM	#11
Guey Writer of Writings Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 14	Well letting the leeches suck the blood out of you is better than letting the alternative bloodsuckers do the job...lawyers.

07-22-2003, 04:36 PM	#13
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	Then she slipped through. Most countries now restrict blood donations from those who lived in the UK, including Australia, Canada and the United States. Canada Blood Service page Australia Blood Donor Page (PDF) United States FDA and University of Houston Donation restrictions And the following is criteria in Hawaii as of May 2002: What are the new deferral criteria? As of May 15, 2002, people with a history of the following are no longer eligible to donate blood: Residence in the U.K. for 3 months or more, between 1980 and 1996. Recipients of a blood transfusion in the U.K., between 1980 and the present. Residence in Europe for five years or more, between 1980 and the present. Military personnel (current and former) and their dependents, who spent time on military bases in Europe for six months or more between 1980 and 1996. __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

07-22-2003, 05:02 PM	#14
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	hmm, i guess im of two minds on that then. if she did 'slip through', on one hand im glad she did, because she saved several lives and that has served to be a great comfort to me. on the other hand, while im quite sure she did not have the disease in question, i find it somewhat disconcerting. the donor program folks asked specifically if she lived in europe and when we replied in the affirmative, they asked for details. so i have to wonder where the breakdown was. after searching myself, the only thing i could really find was here. while that page discusses blood donation, i imagine the rules for organ / tissue donation would be much the same. ~james

07-22-2003, 05:06 PM	#15
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	I was really upset when they began the deferrment. I had donated every 3 months for many years, then suddenly I couldn't donate any more, and I couldn't be an organ donor. Now, with these new restrictions, there is a huge shortage of blood donors, and the nation's blood supply is at critical levels. There isn't a damn thing I can do about it. sigh __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

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