Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Join Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin McElroy for a tour of all the dumb, bad, gross, weird and wrong ways we've tried to fix people.
Episodes
Right now in the news you may be hearing about the use of tear gas against protesters. But what exactly IS tear gas and where did it come from? Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the origins of this chemical agent, what it is meant to do, and what one should do if they come into contact with it.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota: https://www.ilcm.org/donate/
Another wellness trend that feels newer than it actually is, people have been looking for a coffee substitute since coffee was discovered (see: episode about coffee). Dr. Sydnee talks about the additional claims made around these fungi, as well as what possible benefits they could have – and possible dangers.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: https://www.immdef.org/
Back from his first colonoscopy, Justin outlines the extremely detailed steps he took in order to prepare for the screening: the before, the after, and whether it's easier to take four liters of laxative or navigate the United States healthcare system.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: https://www.immdef.org/
In honor of Justin's first colonoscopy, Dr. Sydnee goes through the history of looking inside the colon. From Pompei to the Light Conductor to the more flexible tubes today, humans have always been curious to see just what's going on up there.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Immigrant Defenders Law Center: https://www.immdef.org/
This cold and flu season, we're bringing you a classic episode on clearing your nasal passage correctly.
Blowing your nose is maybe the only small glint of satisfaction had while having a cold or sinus infection. But is blowing your nose actually good, or even safe? Dr. Sydnee and Justin look through the history of handkerchiefs and nose-wiping to the science of what happens to your sinuses when you blow your nose in order to try an...
A trip to get an updated tetanus shot led to the realization that Justin never got a Hepatitis B vaccine. So Dr. Sydnee explains what exactly is Hep B, the recent headlines surrounding the vaccine, why do people usually get this vaccine as babies – and why didn’t Justin get it?
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Harmony House: https://harmonyhousewv.com/
A pre-Christmas warning, we're re-releasing our 2015 live show outlining all the ways that you need to watch out this Christmas – and not just from Santa's wrath.
This week on Sawbones, Live from Huntington, WV and Candlenights 2015: CHRISTMAS IS TRYING TO KILL YOU. Grandma. Egg nog. Trees. Mistletoe. The Grinch. RUN.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Harmony House: https://harmonyhousewv.com/
It's the most wonderful time of the year – Candlenights! Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the plans for the upcoming Candlenights special, as well as the story of Harmony House and some of the myths and facts behind homelessness in West Virginia and the United States.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Harmony House: https://harmonyhousewv.com/
Cozy up by the fireplace with some weird listener medical questions. What's the difference between a disease and a disorder? Where does the extra blood during pregnancy come from? Did getting my gallbladder removed change my taste buds? Plus an update on the CDC website's recent posting about vaccines.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Native American Aid: https://nativepartnership.org/naa/
The algorithm strikes again, this time telling Justin about a popular wellness trend known as a Dopamine Detox. Dopamine is often associated with pleasure centers and addiction, and certain corners of the internet think we are overflooded with it. But Dr. Sydnee talks about what dopamine is, its connection to Parkinson's and other medical conditions, and how this culture around self-deprivation came about.
Music: "Medicines" by The ...
Sometimes we like to have fun on Sawbones, like diving into a recently reported story of a truck full research animals who escaped and were infectious to humans. But what actually happened, were these monkeys infected, and what is the purpose of monkeys being infected in the name of science in the first place?
Sawbones audience feedback survey: https://forms.gle/kLXiFU8iRzAazPyn9
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers....
Often pseudo-scientific medicine is brought to Dr. Sydnee by friends and family. But this time, she encountered methylene blue in the wild! Methylene blue is currently being touted as a cancer treatment, which is . . . not based on evidence. But Dr. Sydnee talks about the history of this colorful substance and what it can be actually used for.
Sawbones audience feedback survey: https://forms.gle/kLXiFU8iRzAazPyn9
Music: "Medicines" b...
As the weather turns, so do Dr. Sydnee and Justin to their inbox to answer more of listeners' WEIRD medical questions. Questions like: Can pee cure my foot fungus? Why do I cough when I put in earplugs? What is the white crescent on my nails? How does the vaccine nasal spray work? And what is the humble leech’s role in modern medicine?
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Border Angels: https://www.bord...
Justin and Dr. Sydnee continue to bring news from the forefront of history with the second part of the announcement about autism – a possible treatment. It's leucovorin: also known as vitamin B-9. It can't possibly be that simple, can it? (No). Dr. Sydnee explains where this idea came from and what leucovorin is actually currently used for in medicine.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Border Angels:...
You may have heard the recent announcement From the US government linking acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism. Well, at the risk of spoiling the episode, it’s nothing. This week, Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about the history of acetaminophen and where the claim even came from.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Border Angels: https://www.borderangels.org/
Another episode in the Sawbones multiverse, Dr. Sydnee and Justin resist Dr. Richard Asher, who is the person who coined Munchausen Syndrome. Dr. Aster was a prominent physician and critical thinker whose medical contributions included noting the dangers of bed rest and naming the "seven sins of medicine." His children also had notable music careers.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Equality Florida...
With all the changes going on in the CDC, Dr. Sydnee and Justin check back in with an update on vaccines and vaccine mandates, as well as dispelling some common vaccine myths that unfortunately come up again and again.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
Equality Florida: https://www.eqfl.org/
There are many eponymous disorders and diseases, but Munchausen is an interesting case of a disease named after a character who is based on a real person. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen and how his fantastic stories became stuck to his name forever.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
Before the hysteria of Swifties and Beatlemania, people were getting hype over the handsome pianist Franz Liszt. Dr. Sydnee and Justin talk about what exactly about this artist made regular fandom escalate into a mania and what this medical condition actually meant.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
Before everyone hits the back-to-school grind, we’ve got a fun episode about Freddy Pharkas. A historical figure of frontier medicine? No, a video game character from 1993. Justin and Dr. Sydnee talk about how a farmer-cist was made, as well as the real and fake medicine Freddy doled out on the frontier.
Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers https://taxpayers.bandcamp.com/
World Central Kitchen: https://wck.org/
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