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Books containing medical advice
[edit source]Does Wikibooks have a stance on the issue of books containing medical advice?
I recently noticed the book Complete Guide to Essential Oils, and I was rather concerned to notice that it makes a wide range of unsourced claims about the use of essential oils to treat medical conditions, e.g. clary sage oil "may reduce hypertension", eucalyptus oil "alleviates urinary tract infections", ravensara oil "helps fight viral infections", etc, etc. While these claims don't quite step over the line of giving specific directions, they seem to come very close to it. Where is the line drawn?
It also concerns me deeply that the book does not make it clear how these oils are intended to be used. An unsuspecting visitor may see a claim like Clove oil ... "relieves indigestion, vomiting, flatulence and diarrhea" and interpret that as a recommendation that the oil be consumed to elicit those effects. Clove oil is not safe to consume and may cause serious injury or death. The presence of warnings on the front page of the book is not sufficient to protect readers who may arrive directly at a subpage of the book.
Omphalographer (discuss • contribs) 02:18, 14 March 2025 (UTC)
- I know we have historically relied on the blanket disclaimer in cases like this, but I personally dislike books like these. Medical disclaimers and questions of responsibility aside, books here are still supposed to be well-supported and factual, and this book doesn't even cite reputable sources for the medical/scientific claims it makes. —Kittycataclysm (discuss • contribs) 02:44, 14 March 2025 (UTC)
- Yep, agreed on all points. After a bit of further reading, my impression is that the book intends to discuss the use of these oils in aromatherapy. There's very few reputable sources in that field at all; it's generally considered a form of alternative medicine or pseudoscience. But that's no excuse; the book shouldn't make these sorts of specific claims if there aren't sources to back it up. Omphalographer (discuss • contribs) 03:08, 14 March 2025 (UTC)