Bigby M
Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Mass., USA.
Arch Dermatol. 1998 Dec;134(12):1512-4. doi: 10.1001/archderm.134.12.1512.
Dermatology has been associated with quackery for at least a century. The dictionary defines a quack as "a pretender to medical knowledge or skill; ignorantly or falsely pretending to cure." The term quack is derived from quacksalver, or one who quacks like a duck in promoting his salves. Quacksalvers hacked many potions, including snake oil, with claims that it cured everything from dermatitis to rheumatism. With the current promulgation of skin "products" and their promotion and even sale by dermatologists, and the use of treatments of no proven efficacy, this association between dermatology and quackery is set to continue well into the 21st century. The list of offending treatments includes silicone gel sheets and onion extract cream (Mederma) for keloids, alpha-hydroxy acid creams and peels, topical ascorbic acid and phytonadione, "laser resurfacing," and cimetidine for warts, to name only a few.
至少一个世纪以来，皮肤病学一直与江湖医术有所关联。字典将江湖郎中定义为“冒充有医学知识或技能的人；无知地或虚假地假装能治病”。“江湖郎中”一词源于庸医，即那些像鸭子嘎嘎叫一样推销药膏的人。庸医炮制了许多药剂，包括蛇油，声称它能治愈从皮炎到风湿病的一切疾病。随着当前各种皮肤“产品”的推出，以及皮肤科医生对它们的推广甚至销售，再加上使用一些未经证实疗效的治疗方法，皮肤病学与江湖医术之间的这种关联在21世纪仍将持续。有问题的治疗方法包括用于瘢痕疙瘩的硅胶片和洋葱提取物乳膏（美德玛）、α - 羟基酸乳膏和去角质、外用抗坏血酸和维生素K、“激光换肤”以及用于治疗疣的西咪替丁等等。
