FWIW, thalidomide can be a very effective medicine to heal certain nasty kinds of skin lesions. It was originally introduced to treat leprosy. Using it for morning sickness was a huge mistake, obviously (that was an off-label use, if I understand correctly.)
There is disagreement over whether thalidomide is appropriate to have available as a medication, but I'm of the opinion that it's nice to have options--different drugs work differently for different people and conditions. Obviously it's not a drug to use lightly. But its teratogenicity (i.e., tendency to cause birth defects) is not unique. Many medicines can be poisons if taken by the wrong person or at the wrong dose.
We depend upon ethical healers and good advice. I pray that our society can recover from this terrible situation and return to having a trustworthy medical profession.
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branchandroot
Re: Are we seeing a doubling down?
Date: 2022-12-14 05:20 pm (UTC)There is disagreement over whether thalidomide is appropriate to have available as a medication, but I'm of the opinion that it's nice to have options--different drugs work differently for different people and conditions. Obviously it's not a drug to use lightly. But its teratogenicity (i.e., tendency to cause birth defects) is not unique. Many medicines can be poisons if taken by the wrong person or at the wrong dose.
We depend upon ethical healers and good advice. I pray that our society can recover from this terrible situation and return to having a trustworthy medical profession.
-Ms. Krieger