Speaker Hamish Tait - From Quackery to Medical Myths

From quackery to medical myths, Dr Hamish Tait gave a fascinating presentation to the Rotary Club of Kilrymont St Andrews on Tuesday.

He described some rare cases of medical deceit, dispelling a number of commonly-held beliefs about our health and physiology. 

Medical imposters are, thankfully, very rare. Dr Tait described one of the first - Dr James Barrie who qualified in medicine in Edinburgh in 1812 He pursued a distinguished career in the army before ultimately rising to the position of  Director General of Hospitals. This was a time when women were not accepted for medical training, and it was only after Barrie died that it was discovered that she was in fact female - and had even at one point given birth to a child. 

More recently, Levon Mkhitarian, despite failing to complete his medical training, stole the identity of a genuine doctor and worked in a range of medical specialties, having forged his medical degree certificate.

He was rumbled only when he applied for a security pass in the name of another doctor who had already held the pass in question. He was convicted of fraud in 2015 and sentenced to six years in prison.

Such cases are, of course, rare. Unlike some widely-held beliefs which over time have become regarded by many lay persons as having some validity, despite the absence of any proper scrutiny. 

Dr Tait put his audience right on a number of these --- 'fingernails continue to grow after we die'; 'we lose most of our body heat through our head'; 'sugar consumption makes children hyperactive'; 'cracking your knuckles will lead to arthritis in the fingers'; 'reading in dim light, or being too close to the TV, is bad for your eyes'. 

These and other beliefs were all debunked and shown to have no sound supporting evidence.

Mike Dow gave the vote of thanks to Dr Tait for a thoroughly intriguing, entertaining and illuminating talk.