All posts by Harriet Hall

Harriet Hall, MD also known as The SkepDoc, is a retired family physician who writes about pseudoscience and questionable medical practices. She received her BA and MD from the University of Washington, did her internship in the Air Force (the second female ever to do so),  and was the first female graduate of the Air Force family practice residency at Eglin Air Force Base. During a long career as an Air Force physician, she held various positions from flight surgeon to DBMS (Director of Base Medical Services) and did everything from delivering babies to taking the controls of a B-52. She retired with the rank of Colonel.  In 2008 she published her memoirs, Women Aren't Supposed to Fly.

Death by Aromatherapy

An aromatherapy room spray was contaminated with bacteria that caused melioidosis, resulting in deaths and serious sequelae. Buyers were misled.

/ March 22, 2022

Socks to Treat High Blood Pressure?

Socks that lower blood pressure? The claims for Boliav socks are too incoherent to make sense of. I can't take them seriously.

/ March 15, 2022

Deciding Which Risks to Take

No medical treatment is risk-free. Paul Offit's new book covers the history of innovations that went awry and advises how to balance the risks of new medical innovations with the risk of not treating.

/ March 8, 2022

This Scary Mask Is Not for Halloween: It’s for Anti-Aging Skin Care

Evidence is lacking for CurrentBody's "anti-aging" LED mask.

/ March 1, 2022

Innovo for Bladder Leakage

An expensive pair of shorts promises to cure bladder leaks by using electrical stimulation to produce pelvic floor contractions, essentially doing the Kegel exercises for you. The science is insufficient and the marketing is misleading.

/ February 22, 2022

Prince Charles and Alternative Medicine

Prince Charles is a strong advocate for alternative medicine and is proud to be "the enemy of the Enlightenment." For the first time, Edzard Ernst tells the full story of Charles' ignorance and folly.

/ February 15, 2022

The Word “Organic” Has Been Hijacked

The word "organic" has a precise definition in chemistry. It has been hijacked to refer to organic farming. Good communication requires that both parties use the same definition.

/ February 8, 2022

Menopause Isn’t Taboo

Menopause is not a taboo subject, and the Care Package is a mixture of quack remedies, questionable products, and placebos. This is silliness, not science.

/ February 1, 2022
Acupuncture needles

Does Acupuncture Increase Red and White Blood Cells and T-Cells?

An article by a medical acupuncturist claims that acupuncture increases red and white blood cells and T-cells. The evidence is far from convincing.

/ January 25, 2022

Culture-Bound Psychosomatic Syndromes

In her book Sleeping Beauties, neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan travels the world to investigate fascinating stories of mass psychogenic illness where social and cultural factors result in symptoms that give voiceless people a way to be heard.

/ January 18, 2022