use of placebos revised

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Use of placebos
Placebos are used in hospital drug experiments to determine whether a particular drug serves its purpose correctly. The primary setup of the placebo-controlled trial involves different subjects or groups. One of the team is given a placebo while the other one is given an experimental drug. The drug can either be an active drug or an inert substance depending on the type of experiment. The trials are double-blind which means that neither the researchers nor the subject knows which team is receiving the experimental drug to prevent any probable bias. However, various scientists have started questioning whether these placebo experiments are useful in testing experimental drugs. The paper will give a better explanation of the use of placebos in controlled operations and their effects on various subjects.
The researchers who administer placebos may not be sure of the effectiveness of the trial to the person (Armenteros, Jorge, Ashraf and Mikhail 117). If more individuals report better results from the administration of the drugs with placebo, then the treatment is considered as a success. Placebos are mostly employed when experimental drugs are used to treat mental diseases. The effects of placebos are deemed strong especially when testing these types of drugs. It, therefore, becomes problematic to determine whether an experimental drug is functioning well compared to the one already in the application.
According to Justman and Stewart (42), the use of placebos in medical research assists scientists to undoubtedly understand whether new clinical treatment is more effective or safer than no action at all.

However, this is not easy because some subjects get better after clinical experiments even without receiving any active treatment. Various researchers have concluded that volunteers who improve do so due to psychological reasons. They usually receive a lot of attention and protection which enhances their improvement. Some volunteers complain of different reactions during the medical trials, but only a palliative was administered which means that they affect people psychologically. Researchers have to remove these effects to determine if new clinical treatment is more efficient and safer. Scientists will have to collect useful and meaningful information on the safety of new treatment and the effectiveness of treating a particular medical condition.
Is their use immoral because it involves deception?
Placebos cannot be reduced into smaller pills which makes deception one of the challenges which surround the investigations on them. Some people criticised placebo-controlled experiments saying that they do not demonstrate placebo effects. It is because many diseases and illnesses can resolve without treatment. These individuals claim that attributing all positive results to placebo is wrong (Armenteros, Jorge, Ashraf and Mikhail 117). They claim that the third the third party should not receive any treatment during the clinical procedure to measure the effect of placebo accurately. Other people argue that placebos should be tested in a healthcare setting because people in clinical experiments are aware of the procedure which makes them heal faster. Various studies have shown that use of placebos conflict with the medication of patients. When patients become aware that they are being given a placebo, they develop negative thinking which may lead to additional mental problems. The paper also shows that use of a placebo does not heal the patient but only help patients to recover for some time while others cause to various side effects.
Doctors may prescribe some treatments which are not applicable. For instance, a physician may prescribe multivitamins to a patient who feels tired without questioning whether the person has a deficiency of vitamins. According to Justman and Stewart (44), it is immoral to administer a placebo to patients because of the deception involved. The authors argue that doctors should not lie to patients because it destroys their trust. The doctors may give a drug that is not indicated and offers irrelevant arguments. The doctor may give antibiotics to a patient suffering from a viral disease to make the enduring feel better. But the effects of placebo are temporary, inconsistent and small and does not have any measurable impact on the disease process. The use of placebos is therefore immoral because it involves deception. Doctors should improve their treatment rather than administer a placebo by giving more confidence and attention to patients.

Works cited
Armenteros, Jorge L., and Ashraf G. Mikhail. “Do We Need Placebos to Evaluate New Drugs in Children with Schizophrenia?.” Psychopharmacology, vol. 159, no. 2, Jan. 2002, p. 117. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=5980645&site=ehost-live.Justman, Stewart. “Lying about Placebos.” Skeptic, vol. 16, no. 2, Mar. 2011, pp. 41-44. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=58478727&site=ehost-live.