

Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
Justin McElroy, Dr. Sydnee McElroy
Join Dr. Sydnee McElroy and her husband Justin McElroy for a tour of all the dumb, bad, gross, weird and wrong ways we've tried to fix people.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 20, 2021 • 45min
Naloxone
Naloxone is known as the “life-saving drug,” since it can bring someone back from an opiate overdose. Dr. Sydnee goes through the history of this hero drug, how it works, and the recent struggle of keeping it accessible in some communities. Check out the Free Naloxone Day Fundraiser: Bit.ly/SawbonesNaloxoneMusic: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Jul 13, 2021 • 43min
Hot Medical Question Summer
It’s time to answer more of your medical queries, like what is Texidor’s Twinge, when does the sunscreen clock start, and yeast infections: why?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Jul 7, 2021 • 44min
Jimmy Buffett
We recorded this episode live on the Joco Cruise 2020, where Dr. Sydnee dissects the medicine mentioned in the songs of Jimmy Buffett. What is recommend for “Island Fever”? What should Mr. Buffett be concerned about when eating that “Cheeseburger in Paradise”? And do the lyrics of “Frenchmen for the Night” mean he may have Jumping Frenchmen of Maine?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Jun 29, 2021 • 46min
Physician Burnout
Workplace burnout is commonplace in the 21st century, but it’s a fairly recent idea. It’s especially insidious among physicians, who are taught that any fatigue is a sign of weakness. Dr. Sydnee shares her personal experience with exhaustion and what might be done to address this problem in the United States.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Jun 15, 2021 • 42min
Black Lung Disease
As any proud West Virginian knows, the history of mining in the United States is tied tightly to the history of the labor movement. This was partially to address something known as coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease. Though unions may have won the battle for recognition, the war against this disease continues to this day.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

Jun 8, 2021 • 53min
COVID Variants and Guns for Vaccines
You might have heard about the COVID variants that have some people worried, and how effective the current vaccine will be against them. But not to worry, we’ve got the sweet sweet data from the Lancet, and some good news regarding the (specifically Pfizer) vaccine. And if you haven’t gotten a vaccine yet, maybe a car or lotto ticket will motivate you. Or a gun?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

May 25, 2021 • 39min
The Parasite Delusion
Last week, we talked about if eating papaya seeds could rid your body of parasites (spoiler: it can’t). But being concerned about having parasites is not new. We continue the conversation by looking into the phenomenon of Ekbom’s syndrome, or delusional parasitosis, a difficult disorder to both manage and treat.Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

May 18, 2021 • 39min
Papaya Seeds and Parasites
TikTok is where the kids are getting all their information on new new wellness trends, so Dr Sydnee decided to check one that’s been popping up a lot: eating Papaya seeds. The main claim is that the seeds awesomely force parasitic worms out of your body – worms you didn’t even know you had! But is there a SEED of truth in these claims?Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

May 11, 2021 • 41min
Revenge of the Sawbones Quiz
Test your medical history knowledge from this past year’s episodes in the Super Secret Sawbones Quiz of Interesting Information to Inform and Enlighten and Entertain and Impress Your Friends 2021!Consider becoming a supporter of our show: www.maximumfun.org/join/Sad Trombone by Benboncan: https://freesound.org/people/Benboncan/Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers

May 4, 2021 • 51min
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
For MaxFunDrive 2021, Sawbones is talking about gross medicine of a different sort. In the United States (and New Zealand) we see a lot of those commercials for prescription medicines with jaunty names and a full minute disclaimer at the end. How they came to be the norm here is a complicated history of bad medicine and the shifting of credence among doctors, patients, and pharmaceutical companies.Consider becoming a supporter of our show: www.maximumfun.org/join/Music: "Medicines" by The Taxpayers