Monthly Archives: January 2010

wooTAG–uh, I mean shooTAG–Pest Control Device

Posted on January 31, 2010 by skeptvet

I recently received a tip about a pest control product for pets (and people) that has woo written all over it. Anaglyph over at Tetherd Cow has written about the shooTAG pest repellant device, and has posted a follow-up response … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous CAVM | 7 Comments

CAM Word Salad

Posted on January 29, 2010 by skeptvet

I often find that rationalizations of alternative medicine are garbled and hard to follow, but I recently ran across a site promoting veterinary alt med that combines the usual fuzzy logic with an mechanical or straight-from-the-dictionary translation into English, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | 1 Comment

Good Old Days Before Scientific Medicine

Posted on January 29, 2010 by skeptvet

CAM proponents are very fond of citing the antiquity and lineage, fictional or not, for their methods. Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and many herbal nostrums are promoted as “time-honored,” with the implication or explicit statement that anything people have been … Continue reading →

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129th Skeptics’ Circle!

Posted on January 27, 2010 by skeptvet

Good eveni…Is this on? Can you hear me in the back? Good, ok. Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 129th meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle. I’m SkeptVet, and I’ll be your MC this evening. Sorry, it’s my … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 6 Comments

Two Studies of Fish Oil for Canine Arthritis

Posted on January 25, 2010 by skeptvet

One of the most popular nutritional supplements these days is fish oil. It contains a high proportion of omega 3 fatty acids (EFA), notable eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). This supplement is purported to have a broad range … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbs and Supplements | 24 Comments

Hill’s Criteria of Causation–What Separates Science from Faith

Posted on January 25, 2010 by skeptvet

Mark Crislip at Science-Based Medicine recently discussed Hill’s Criteria of Causation, but after looking at Dr. Hill’s original paper I felt obliged to examine the subject here as well because it is central to science-based medicine, and key in differentiating … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 3 Comments

CAM=Miracles, Science=Death?

Posted on January 24, 2010 by skeptvet

I really shouldn’t be giving this guy so much attention, but after our little tiff I’ve taken to checking in on his blog, and the vicious and self-serving marketing strategy is offensive enough to stimulate a response. Dr. Shaw Messonnier … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 6 Comments

Dr. Shawn Kerfuffle Update

Posted on January 21, 2010 by skeptvet

I notice that Dr. Messonier has deleted  my response to his blog post defaming me. I guess polite, reasoned criticism is intolerable to him. He has also written another post full of strawmen and cliches. He begins by trying to make … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 7 Comments

Dr. Shawn Messonier Disses the SkeptVet

Posted on January 20, 2010 by skeptvet

Dr. Shawn Messonier, a highly visible alternative medicine veterinarian with a blog, radio program, and a couple of books, recently wrote an opinion piece for the online edition of USA Today claiming that changing vaccine recommendations were validation of his … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 6 Comments

Attitude Towards CAM Among Medical Students?

Posted on January 20, 2010 by skeptvet

For all that CAM proponents like to claim their methods are philosophically different from (and of course superior to) mainstream medicine, they also can never resist claiming scientific legitimacy or popularity among mainstream health care professionals. “Integrative medicine” is the … Continue reading →

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