New research has investigated a popular folk medicine remedy for staunching blood, widely used in Switzerland – and found that it does not work.
Known as ‘Le Secret’, the method is often used to prevent bleeding after invasive heart procedures.
It involves a healing ‘formula’ or pagan prayer, deployed on site or remotely by an initiated ‘Secret Maker’, intended to mobilise superior forces to help cure the patient.
Belief in its effectiveness is so strong that the method is used in some Swiss hospitals. So, Mr Charlie Ferry of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and his team carried out a randomised trial.
They explain in the journal *Open Heart* that percutaneous coronary interventions require antithrombotic drugs which may lead to bleeding complications.
Two hundred adult patients were recruited and given the normal procedure, with half the group also receiving "Le Secret”.
Although 76% of the participants believed that “Le Secret” would be efficient in preventing bleeding, the rate of bleeding was similar in both groups, at 16% in the "Le Secret” group and 14% in the standard care group.
The authors write: "For centuries, humans have relied on medical beliefs based on myth or superstition. Despite recent technical and scientific advances, some of these beliefs and associated practices persist.
"This study demonstrates no effect on bleeding after percutaneous coronary procedures."
But they add that it may limit the anxiety of superstitious believers, "a phenomenon deserving of scientific investigation".
Ferry, C. et al. Is the folk medicine known as “The Secret” efficient in reducing bleeding after percutaneous coronary procedures?: a double-blinded, randomised trial. *Open Heart* 21 December 2022; doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2022-002134
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