Dr Brad McKay is a valuable source for medical knowledge, and his new book Fake Medicine couldn’t be timelier!
What prompted you to write Fake Medicine?
Dr Brad McKay: I actually started writing it before the pandemic and was already seeing a lot of pseudoscience, such as Instagram influences giving out health advice that wasn’t very relevant or helpful at all. In my work on TV and radio, I was also covering many weird stories about the selling of bizarre health products. I was being confronted by pseudoscience everyday. Looking at the figures, Australians spend about five billion dollars on alternative medicines each year and I hate seeing my patients being ripped off. I questioned who is spending this money and why? And how much of it is actually doing any good? People are taking money from others, often in an ingenuous way, and that’s what I wanted to highlight. From another perspective, I find a lot of the books written on this subject laugh at the patients and their odd therapies. I wanted to be really clear in my book that anyone can be hoodwinked. We shouldn’t be shaming the patients, but calling out the charlatans who sell fake medicine.
You’ve had an interesting journey yourself, not just in coming out, but in terms of exposure to fake medicines
Yes, coming from a religious background, everything that happened from our perspective was always explained with ‘God’ behind it. During puberty I had a pain in my back, and being attracted to guys, I thought maybe god was punishing me for being gay. After all, it was around the same spot as my genitals! So, my parents were taking me to prayer meetings where a priest would lay his hands on me and try to cure the pain. I was also sent to a physiotherapist and an osteopath for a few years without success, as no one got the diagnosis right. I was even hit on the back with an activator stick, which was horrendous! When I was finally diagnosed with a bone tumour (osteoblastoma) I still thought it was god’s punishment. But I wasn’t healed with prayer or the activator stick being slammed into my painful tumour every day for six months. I finally had surgery, and that was just before I entered into medicine myself.
Dr Brad McKay on air at ABC Radio
So did that experience influence you entering medicine?
Both my older sisters are trained nurses, so we would usually have nursing conversations around the dinner table, and I wanted to learn about the human body. But I also became somewhat focused and determined on what I could do for other people who were going through similar experiences to me. Being sent from one practitioner to another, without a formal diagnosis, did spark off my motivation.
In the past, many HIV infected people have desperately reached out to natural therapies. Is that sort of thing still happening?
One of the things I talk about in the book is when science hasn’t really caught up with what’s current. That’s when fake medicines fill the gap, until we figure out what’s happening. So when COVID-19 began to spread around the world, all sorts of weird things were put out there, like injecting yourself with bleach and having ‘light therapy’. Places were selling out of supplements like Echinacea, with everyone trying to boost their immune system, but in a futile way. The HIV epidemic was very similar with people drinking disinfectant and taking all sorts of supplements and vitamins, which were all whacky and not helpful, and a lot of people died. It was when science and technology came in that we were able to keep people alive.
”Being attracted to guys, I thought maybe god was punishing me for being gay.”
In terms of the anti-vax ideology, how do you find this sits within the LGBTIQ community, especially given medicine’s success in this area?
The LGBTIQ community has really relied on science in keeping people alive. Gay men, particularly with HIV, will see their GP every couple of months and there’s a lot of empathy and understanding involved. There’s a relationship that builds up with gay men and their physicians – one that often isn’t seen in the heterosexual community. Heterosexual guys might see their GP once a year, if that. Vaccines fall under that too, but most gay guys I come across are pretty happy to be protected against hepatitis B, genital warts, and anal cancer. So there’s much more of an acceptance and understanding on how important vaccines are.
It’s hard to comprehend the minds of anti-vaxers, when a COVID-19 vaccine could save their lives. Why are they so militant?
It’s a combination of things. Often they will believe more in alternative therapies or that natural substances are much more healthy, or that it’s all a hoax to sell products. Some also worry about side effects. Yes, you could have side effects from a vaccine, but in terms of COVID-19 and a vaccine, the problem far outweighs the risk.
In your book you talk about the ancient practice of acupuncture, which is quite a popular alternative
Yes, one of the more controversial parts! I looked at the studies and weighed up the evidence versus the risks, and the evidence for acupuncture therapy isn’t very strong. For some musculoskeletal problems, there may be a little bit of benefit, but it depends on the problem. People also get acupuncture for weird things, like sinusitis, but I can’t see how putting needles in the face will benefit a sinus problem. Professional doctors have even offered acupuncture to women for fertility and again, how can that help make a uterus receptive for childbirth? There may be an effect of lying relaxed in a room where you’re less likely to move around with needles stuck in you, but my overall summary is that acupuncture is a ‘theatrical placebo’.
Dr Brad McKay
In recent years we’ve seen many crazy so-called medical treatments from colonic irrigation to ear candling and cupping to vampire facials. Is there one that stands out to you as the silliest, or even dangerous?
Well, colonic irrigation is pretty ridiculous and very dangerous. People will say they feel so much lighter afterwards and that the scales show they’ve lost weight. That’s because they’ve irrigated out their entire poo! But as soon as they eat again, the intestines will fill and the same weight will return. In terms of danger, water can actually pierce through the intestines and leak fetal fluid into your abdomen, which would require an open operation. It could also get into your blood stream and into the heart valve causing more problems. For the magic trick of emptying your bowel, it’s not worth the potential abdominal surgery!
“The HIV epidemic was very similar to COVID-19, such as with people drinking disinfectant.”
You have a great Tim Minchin quote in your book: “You know what they call ‘alternative medicine’ that’s been proved to work? Medicine!”
Oh yes, I’m a big fan of Tim Minchin. Alternative medicine seems to have now become a dirty word in medicine, so we’re seeing complimentary medicine clinics now popping up. There’s the idea to still have your chemotherapy, but then have some turmeric and sage to compliment it. But if it’s not proven medicine, then it’s just wasting time and money. We also now have integrative medicine clinics, which sound lovely, but I’m hearing stories of people being offered lots of expensive vitamins. It’s really just preying on vulnerable people.
COVID-19 has created many crazy opinions with conspiracies, fake news and anti-vaxers. What can you say to these people to make them see reason?
If someone is a hardcore believer in conspiracy theories and alternative medicines, it’s really hard to change their minds. But that’s not really the crowd I’m going for with my book. It’s more for people sitting on the fence, such as those who are vaccine-hesitant. It’s about finding that middle ground with people who may have questions to ask their GP.
Dr Brad McKay and his parter Jamie Cummins
Where do you think the world is headed in regard to fake medicine? Will it eventually die back down, or even possibly escalate?
When COVID-19 appeared, I was optimistic we would focus on science very quickly and get some control. On one side we have, but on the other we’ve seen this rise in false and misinformation, and even some countries fighting against each other. Unfortunately there’s a lot of complexity and politics going on in the background. At this stage of the pandemic I think science is winning, and more people understand the importance of a vaccine. Those who are alternative are very much the minority.
What do you hope people will take away from reading Fake Medicine?
I don’t provide all the answers for every complimentary treatment out there, but what I’m hoping, is that the book will help people think about what’s going on. Hopefully it will open up the conversation to remind people there are those who want to take advantage. I hope it helps people think before they purchase pills and such online, and look critically at what’s out there.
Fake Medicine is available now at your preferred bookseller
Brad McKay and I at the Sydney premiere of Aladdin
