CAIRO - Many people are quite unscrupulous when it comes to making money. Some of them exploit the chronically sick, who are fed up with the medical treatment they've been getting, by offering them ‘magic cures'. Anyone who's sick normally wants to get better as quickly and cheaply as possible. But they often get taken advantage of by people who sell them products which they claim will help them recover. "Unfortunately, there are many people who exploit patients by selling them bogus products," said Dr Fawzi Hamza, a professor of plastic surgery at Al-Azhar University. "These products have no medical benefit at all," he told conferees at ‘Beauty: Between Illusion and Reality', a conference organised by the Association of General Practitioners, in co-operation with the Egyptian Centre for Medical Sciences. Foot patches are the latest health fad. The manufacturers claim that, when they are applied to the feet at night, these patches draw the toxins out of the body while the user is asleep. In the morning, the patches have become discoloured, supposedly a sign that they have worked properly. In reality, they're useless. “Many people don't realise that the manufacturers of these products only want to make a quick buck,” Dr Hamza asserted. Other products, so it is claimed, boost the immune system, make people sleep well and reduce stress. Such products have not been properly examined and there are no studies to assert their credibility, according to doctors. You can buy a box of ten foot patches for LE100, plus an additional LE10 for delivery, according to the advertisements. Doctors advise anyone wanting to purge internal waste through the pores of his skin to take a sauna or steam bath.There are other products, which, according to their manufacturers, allow the user, if he is obese, to shed 20kg with a month or even a week. One of these products is a scented tea, while another is a cream that you apply to the body. A third is a ‘weight-loss belt'. Many obese people think that these products will help them overcome their problem. "These products are all nonsense," said Dr Galal Anani, a professor of skin diseases at Cairo University. "Unfortunately, there are some doctors who promote them.” Meanwhile, some people are lured into taking herbal remedies that are also useless.Some herbal remedies are effective, but many people who sell such remedies are charlatans, who know nothing about herbal medicine. "You should consult your doctor before using herbal remedies," Dr Mohamed Ezzat, a nutritional specialist, told a satellite TV channel. "The doctor knows what's right for his patients: what might be beneficial for one disease could have dangerous side-effects for another," he warned.
