There's an intriguing article in the month's Annals of Internal Medicine about the effectiveness of leech treatment for arthritis of the knee.
Yep, leeches.
Hey, if it works..."In this randomized, controlled trial, patients with osteoarthritis of the knee who were treated with leech therapy experienced clinically significant improvements in self-perceptions of pain for a limited period. Moreover, a single application of leeches improved functional ability and joint stiffness for at least 3 months."
One thing the ancients didn't quite get with leeches is that it wasn't the blood-letting, it was the saliva that provided the benefit. Leech spit contains anticoagulants hirudin and hemetin as well as other chemicals, including anesthetics.
You don't lose that much blood, only 5 to 15 mL a leech. Of course if you do try this, for heaven's sake practice safe leeching: bacterial and viral infections can be transferred from an infected person. Don't share leeches!
If you don't have a handy leech-filled creek by your house, you can always go on line.
It's natural. It's been around since 1500 BC. What more can you want in a medical treatment?
The CPSC is recalling the book Candle and Soap Making For Dummies.
The reason is that "[t]he instructions in the book for making lye combine sodium hydroxide and water in an incorrect order. This could cause the mixture to bubble over, posing a burn hazard to consumers."
Uh, yeah.
Or it might, oh, say, errupt in your face and eat out your eyes!
(Don't believe me? See some gross pictures of chemical burns.)
At first I was chuckling about the fact that a "For Dummies" book would be recalled...it just seemed a bit, I dunno, ironic...but then I was thinking that a lot of people probably don't even remember the high school chemisty lesson about not adding water to acids, much less realize that the same holds for a strong base.
Once I get to thinking about it, my safety gene kicks in and I just think about some poor slob getting hurt. The "For Dummies" books I have all seem pretty good, so I imagine that they recommend wearing goggles and taking other appropriate cautions while working with the NaOH...unless the same fact-checker or editor or sloppy writer who messed up the sodium hydroxide into the water thing messed that up too.
This is why none of my hobbies involve chemicals*. Hell, I don't even like cleaning the tub.
*EDIT: I dashed this off quickly. I mean, of course, that none of my hobbies involve exposing myself to highly hazardous chemicals...