Uolevi Kattun (Finland) Placebo in a phone People are avoiding nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs because of their disadvantages. Electrical stimulation is already used to ease muscle pain and migraine. Placebo pills helped in backache, even when patients knew that they used null pills. The ritual of taking a pill brings the relief. Many persons use yoga, self suggestion and other mental methods to relieve stress and pain. Experts with these mental methods can do an exercise quickly when necessary and don’t need any placebos, whereas mental methods and placebos may work not at all with some persons. In the middle there might be people, who need some external help with mental methods. That help might be a virtual placebo in a mobile phone. A short burst of vibrate, voice, light and in the future odour. Especially a cool odour like mint flavour might relax, whereas an angry odour like ammonia flavour might activate. Some beforehand mental programming might be needed before the external help works.

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