While medicines and treatments – irrespective of their price – are meant to make us feel better and heal us from whatever it is we are suffering, a study has said that expensive ones could actually worsen our condition. According to the study, people are more likely to experience stronger side effects when a treatment seems to be costly. This is called the 'nocebo effect' – the opposite of the placebo effect. While the placebo effect means that some people feel better when they have unknowingly been given a sham or control treatment, the nocebo works the opposite way.
Researchers at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany studied if the price might also affect the strength of the nocebo effect. The team created two packages for fake creams and told volunteers that they are used to treat itchy skin. One package looked like an expensive pharmaceutical brand name, while…
