# Head-On = Placebo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 27, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398 "2007-12-27T18:47:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![prleone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b2d939/32.png) [@prleone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prleone)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/1 "2007-12-27T18:47:39Z")
Okay, Teeming Millions and (most importantly) Cecil, Is Head-On Headache medication a placebo? This reminds me of the idiots who think WD-40 cures their Arthritis, who I’ve learned of their existence through the magic of The Straight Dope. Thoughts? — Best to all, prleone. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/2 "2007-12-27T18:49:15Z")
I would have phrased it thus: **Head On** , is it a placebo? **Head On** , is it a placebo? **Head On** , is it a placebo? **Head On** , is it a placebo? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/3 "2007-12-27T19:04:40Z")
Well, it’s pretty much a stick of wax with some menthol so I’d think so. The “active” ingredients are diluted to more than 1ppm. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/4 "2007-12-27T19:11:44Z")
Tha manufacturer ([Miralus Healthcare](http://www.miralus.com/index.php)) claims it is based on [homeopathic principles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy): > [@](#): > > Homeopathic remedies are made from substances that, in undiluted form, cause symptoms similar to the disease they aim to treat.[2] These substances are serially diluted, with shaking at each stage, that homeopaths believe removes side-effects from those that may be toxic, “adds to their power to stimulate a response”, and “develops the special properties of the remedy” - even in those that are chemically inert or past the point where any molecules of the original substance remain.[3][4] Hahnemann proposed that this process aroused and enhanced “spirit-like medicinal powers held within a drug”.[5] The therapeutic applications of the remedies used in homeopathy are recorded in homeopathic materia medica, and practitioners select treatments according to a patient consultation that explores both the physical and psychological state of the patient. According to the [formulation listed on the Miralus website](http://www.miralus.com/headon.php) the the active ingredients are present in extremely low concentrations: • Bryonia Alba (White Bryony) 12X H.P.U.S. [one part per billion] • Iris Versicolor (Blue Flag) 12X H.P.U.S. [one part per billion] • Kali Bichromicum (Potassium Bichromate) 6X H.P.U.S. [one part per million] • Hydrastis Canadensis (Golden Seal) 30X H.P.U.S. [one part per kajillion (1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)] ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/5 "2007-12-27T19:15:09Z")
No, placebos probably outperform Head-on. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/6 "2007-12-27T19:21:37Z")
Cecil’s take on homeopathy: [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000225.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000225.html) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/7 "2007-12-27T19:25:37Z")
The ‘process-of-treatment’ hypothesis would explain how inert homeopathic remedies (i.e. Head-On)and the questionable therapies of many “alternative” health practitioners are often effective or **thought** to be effective. It would also explain why pills or procedures used by conventional medicine work until they are shown to be worthless. ``` Forty years ago, a young Seattle cardiologist named Leonard Cobb conducted a unique trial of a procedure then commonly used for angina, in which doctors made small incisions in the chest and tied knots in two arteries to try to increase blood flow to the heart. It was a popular technique -- 90 percent of patients reported that it helped -- but when Cobb compared it with placebo surgery in which he made incisions but did not tie off the arteries, the sham operations proved just as successful. The procedure, known as internal mammary ligation, was soon abandoned ("The Placebo Prescription" by Margaret Talbot, New York Times Magazine, January 9, 2000).* ``` Of course, spontaneous healing or regression \*(see ‘regressive fallacy’) \*can also adequately explain why homeopathic remedies might appear to be effective. Whether the placebo effect is mainly psychological, misunderstood spontaneous healing, due to showing care and attention, or due to some combination of all three may not be known with complete confidence. regressive fallacy: The regressive fallacy is the failure to take into account natural and inevitable fluctuations of things when ascribing causes to them (Gilovich 1993: 26). Things like stock market prices, golf scores, and chronic back pain inevitably fluctuate. Periods of low prices, low scores, and little or no pain are eventually followed by periods of higher prices, scores, pain, etc. To ignore these natural fluctuations and tendencies leads to self-deception regarding their causes and to post hoc reasoning. _source: [placebo effect - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com](http://skepdic.com/placebo.html)_ ---
**Author:** ![SetApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SetApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SetApart)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/8 "2007-12-28T03:49:29Z")
I have never used Head-On. However, having been diagnosed with migraines when i was a child, and having suffered with them throughout my teenage years and up into my twenties, I (as I suspect many other dopers do) have experience with head pain. One of the “remedies” I stumbled upon back when I was a teenager was the use of Deep Heating on my forehead. Later, I switched to Icy Hot, but the principle remains the same. I STILL do this even when I have a sinus or stress headache. It doesn’t change the headache, but it masks the pain for ten minutes or so, much as an icepack does. Since Head-On contains menthol, I had always assumed it was someone finally marketing what I had discovered on my own. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/9 "2007-12-28T04:01:56Z")
[QUOTE=SetApart] Since Head-On contains menthol, [/QUOTE] Does it? I didn’t think it did. ---
**Author:** ![SetApart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SetApart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SetApart)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/10 "2007-12-28T04:12:12Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] Does it? I didn’t think it did. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Wikipedia] However, the package does list menthol as an inactive ingredient… [/QUOTE] I knew I’d heard that somewhere. I hope it’s true. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/11 "2007-12-28T04:51:48Z")
I use it for the headaches I seem to get in the afternoons at work when I’ve been up to my eyeballs in stuff, and at night. It works nicely and I don’t seem to need to suck down as much Aleve as I usually do. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/12 "2007-12-28T16:22:46Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] According to the [formulation listed on the Miralus website](http://www.miralus.com/headon.php) the the active ingredients are present in extremely low concentrations: • Bryonia Alba (White Bryony) 12X H.P.U.S. [one part per billion] • Iris Versicolor (Blue Flag) 12X H.P.U.S. [one part per billion] • Kali Bichromicum (Potassium Bichromate) 6X H.P.U.S. [one part per million] • Hydrastis Canadensis (Golden Seal) 30X H.P.U.S. [one part per kajillion (1/1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)] [/QUOTE] Holy holistic crap Batman! I thought you were kidding about the one kajillionth part of Golden Seal. (OK, so 10[sup]-30[/sup] actually a “nonillionth”, but I like your use of hyperbole with “kajillionth”.) I did not know this aspect of HeadOn. Now the product irritates me even more than it did with just the stupid commercial. How do you get such a low concentration as 10[sup]-30[/sup] anyway? Walk past the mixing vat while carrying the Hydrastis Canadensis (Golden Seal) but making sure you don’t get closer than 10 feet?! **BaneSidhe** , I’m glad it works for you, and I do believe somehow it does, but reading their website just gave _me_ a headache. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/13 "2007-12-28T20:08:07Z")
[QUOTE=Mycroft H.] How do you get such a low concentration as 10[sup]-30[/sup] anyway? [/QUOTE] You could do it in your kitchen, really. The basic idea: Get two 1-liter bottles. Fill one with pure water and 1 mL of your secret ingredient. Shake. Take 1 mL of the shaken liquid and drop it in the other bottle and fill it with pure water. Shake. Repeat. You’ll gain three powers of ten with each dilution, so it only takes 10 dilution cycles to get to 10[sup]-30[/sup]. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/14 "2007-12-28T20:30:15Z")
[QUOTE=Mycroft H.] … **BaneSidhe** , I’m glad it works for you, and I do believe somehow it does, but reading their website just gave _me_ a headache. [/QUOTE] I’d suggest that _it_ doesn’t work for **BaneSidhe** , but that \*using it \* does. That’s the whole point of a placebo. The placebo is designed to have no effect in and of itself. Small distinction, yet crucial, I think. xo, C. Hey, I just said that. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/15 "2007-12-28T20:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=Mycroft H.] … **BaneSidhe** , I’m glad it works for you, and I do believe somehow it does, but reading their website just gave _me_ a headache. [/QUOTE] I’d suggest that _it_ doesn’t work for **BaneSidhe** , but that \*using it \* does. That’s the whole point of a placebo. The placebo is designed to have no effect in and of itself. Small distinction, yet crucial, I think. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/16 "2007-12-28T20:41:59Z")
[QUOTE=BaneSidhe] I use it for the headaches I seem to get in the afternoons at work when I’ve been up to my eyeballs in stuff, and at night. It works nicely… [/quote] How do you know “it” (Head On) works? Let’s suppose you have a headache. You apply Head On as directed. There are only three possible outcomes:[ol][li]You get better[_]You get worse[_]You stay the same[/ol][/li]Now if you get better, how do you know what caused it? The treatment? Time? Have you ever had a headache that went away by itself? Conversely, did you ever have one that seemed to refuse all treatment? Can you see why you are in the worst possible position to make a good judgment as to efficacy on yourself? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/17 "2007-12-28T21:15:42Z")
Not unlike those who visit chiropractors. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/18 "2007-12-28T21:23:29Z")
**Musicat** , while I get what you’re saying, are you denying that the placebo effect exists? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/19 "2007-12-28T21:49:43Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] Not unlike those who visit chiropractors. [/QUOTE] This may not even be appropriate since we’re in GQ, but I’m going to ask you to elaborate on this statement. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2007, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398/20 "2007-12-28T22:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] Not unlike those who visit chiropractors. [/QUOTE] Or those who ask for prayers for a speedy recovery. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-on-placebo/431398.md?page=2)