Last night I bought a pair of “Magnetudes” slippers, which have magnets in the soles to “enhance your feeling of well-being.” (Don’t laugh - they ARE remarkably comfy, plus they were 80% off at a going-out-of-business sale.) The back of the package carries a warning that reads, in part:
I can understand the pacemaker and insulin pump warning - but what about the other two? And what’s this about not using a magnet over an open wound?
Ok, you don’t have a problem with somone stating that keeping magnets in your shoes will increase your well-being. But, when that same person claims that putting magnets in the shoes of a pregnant woman is a bad idea, you are suddenly critical of their claims.
These people make unscientific claims. What makes you want to explore the specious reasoning behind some of their claims but not others?
Geez, Lance. I didn’t say that I bought the slippers because of their marketing pitch - they just happen to be comfortable and the price was right ($5). I included a bit of their blurb for context only.
Part of their medical warming is completely valid. Part of it mystifies me, and I was looking for someone with greater medical knowledge than I to comment on it. I’m curious because such warnings are usually applied at the behest of corporate lawyers who are afraid of lawsuits. I hope this clarifies things.
I don’t have any reason to believe that even part of their medical warning is valid. I could be wrong, but I think if someone with a pacemaker steps on a magnet, they’ll be ok.
I think a better error message might be “Warning, do not use your computer minitower as a footstool while wearing magnetic slippers.” As for the rest, they’re just covering themselves from frivolous lawsuits.
MRIs are not recommended for pregnant women, either, because the effects of magnetic fields on fetuses have not been well-studied.
MRIs are not really comparable to magnet therapy patches, of course, since the magnetic field in most magnets you’ll find in slippers and the like is so weak that it won’t penetrate a few pieces of paper, much less the womb. Keep those expectant mothers away from those memos stuck to the refridgerator! :rolleyes:
As for the drug patches and open wounds bit, my WAG is that these magnet theapy hucksters often claim that the magnet attracts the hemoglobin in the blood. :rolleyes: again. If that were true, I’d imagine that might affect cutaneous delivery of drugs, or, uh, suck the blood out of an open wound, or something? I don’t know.
Sample lawsuit:
Plaintiff: I placed the magnet slipper over my open wound, and it became infected! It started seeping pus! It became gangrenous!
Magnetudes: <mumble>
Judge: What was that?
Megnetudes: I said that what she claims is impossible because magnets have absolutely no effect on human health!
No company that trades on the ignorance of its customers wants to be caught in the position of having to enlighten those customers in a court of law. 
I’ll WAG that the “warnings” are just marketing drivel designed to convince the almost-convinced that the magnets have some sort of power requiring you to be careful with them.
::tries to brush off scorn that accumulated during the day::
The warning about pacemakers does actually have a basis in fact. I do know that some folks can adjust the rate of their pacemaker by passing a simple magnetic over the right spot; I think some insulin pumps work the same way. So in the (however unlikely) instance that someone waves a slipper too close at the wrong time, there could be unintended consequences - hence the ass-covering text.
The remainder of the warning was non-medical and stated that - surprise - the slippers should not be placed near any credit cards, magnetic storage data, etc.
Given that most of the warning as printed is valid, I just wondered what the heck the other stuff was printed for. I was hoping someone could say something other than “they’re charlatans, what do you expect.” Thanks, Podkayne, for at least giving it a go.