How they impersonate medical professionals to advertise wrong oncology treatment. Maldita.es

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Read it before deleting it. This is the accompanying message to a Facebook video In which an alleged miracle cure for Oncology. The publication, which has a circulation of nearly 150,000 copies, guarantees that it is “the only product that penetrates joints and restores 100% cartilage”. However, the interviews used to promote this supposed cure False and impersonate medical professionalsAnd Technology we already told you about in Maldita.es.

Besides the Consumers and Users Organization (OCU) Beware of “miracle products,” like the ones touted in the mock interviews we talked about, that supposedly relieve joint pain. For their part, experts have been consulted before Maldita.es They confirm it There is no cream, ointment, or spray to repair bunions..

They impersonate medical professionals to promote a supposed miracle cure through false interviews

At the end of the video in which the supposedly miraculous cream is advertised, a button appears that says “Buy Now”. If we click on it, we will be redirected to a supposed interview with the supposed paramedic who discovered this miracle cure with which he was going to free his friend from the wheelchair.

The alleged interview heads with an alleged photo of the paramedic in question, who they identify as Alejandro Casas. However, by reverse looking up said image, we discover that the person appearing in it is, in fact, Fran SuarezAnd nurse f influencers Spanish Described as “the sexiest nurse in the world” (here As for here).

The supposed miracle spray’s name is “Hondrox,” and as we’ve already told you Maldita.esAnd This is not the first time this product has been promoted As a solution to joint problems and pains of all kinds Impersonation of a specialist. This same technique was also used, for example, to advertise Natural ways to lose weight For some celebrities like Sara Carbonero, Pilar Rubio or Rosalía.

Another aspect that should make us suspicious of this content is the product purchase links that appear throughout the content Do not redirect to any other page. Nor are the various tabs that appear in the Health Blog header, the website where the alleged interview was posted.

The only element we can interact with is a supposed “lottery” that appears at the bottom of the page that we can win “Up to 50% off your Hondrox purchase”. To do this, we must choose between three colored doors that hide different bonuses. No matter which door we choose, we will always get the maximum discount. However, in order to apply We must give our name and phone number And wait for the “confirmation” call.

If, after participating in the aforementioned “lottery”, we refresh the page, instead of returning to the same post, They redirect us to another supposed interview that could be posted in Spanish With the following heading: “Problems with the back, neck and joints are a direct path to disability!” The opinion of the traumatologist, Professor of the Royal Ministry of National Medicine. ” However, Page URL (brillilfgs. website) It has nothing to do with the media (elespanol.comWe did not find the supposed interview on the site Spanish. We find references for this product at article They denounced the “magic spray trick” that treats joint diseases.

Also in this case, by reverse lookup, we know that the person in the photo is Alikiyan BagratAnd Cardiologist Director of Innovative Technologies at the AV Vishnevsky Institute of Surgery in Russia.

In addition, the title of this supposed interview is identical to the title of other content that we have already rejected Maldita.es And that Impersonating a member of the European Royal Academy of Physicians to promote the same product.

At the end of this second content, it appears the “lottery” is also getting discounts on the purchase of the supposed treatment. When we complete the process and refresh the page again, we are redirected back to the first contents we indicated.

The OCU recommends that products that claim to have “many healing properties” should not be trusted.

The Consumers and Users Organization (OCU) warned In April 2022 that “miracle products” such as “Hondrox” and “Flexumgel” were touted as supposed to relieve joint pain, and provided some Tips for getting to know them.

Among the recommendations of the OCU: consult data such as the name and number of the commercial registry or registered office of the company, information that must appear on its website in accordance with Spanish legislation; Be wary of products that claim to “possess numerous healing properties” and purported testimonials from users and experts, and pay special attention to “suspicious prices and offers.”

In addition, Soak consumers in action also deplore and selling similar products for “misleading advertising,” by substituting the identity of other professionals such as CNIC director Valentine Foster, His image was used without your consent to illustrate mock interviews.

Bunions or similar injuries cannot be reversed with creams or sprays

the Hallux valgus to which both publications refer, colloquially known as tumoris a deformity of the foot in which, in general, “the toe deviates toward the midline of the foot with some rotation on its axis,” as shown in Maldita.es Alberto Aldana, a chiropractor and biomedical research expert. This is the origin of the bump (“outlet”) that characterizes this deformity.

Fake interviews promote Hondrox as a “natural prescription-based” product, which is the supposed ultimate solution to bunions (hallux valgus) and its opposite, hallux valgus. In this regard, it was mentioned not only that he was able to “free a woman from a wheelchair”, but also to cure “the most harmful diseases caused by flat valgus”, such as osteochondrosis, arthritis, bursitis or joint pain.

However, according to the experts they consulted Maldita.esor remove or correct a bunion or hyperostosis (a condition in which the ankle bone slips from its stable position on the heel bone) Through topical medicated products (eg spray or creams) “It’s literally impossible.”. “a sprayOr an ointment or cream can never restore the original or neutral position that the joint should have, ”notes Aldana. That is, it is not true that Hondrox “penetrates the joints and restores the cartilage 100%,” as the text of the Facebook post states.

Bunions can be the result of multiple factors, among which biomechanics is of particular importance, “the way the body moves, especially the foot,” adds the expert. this is the reason A spray, ointment, or cream will never do: “In any case, and I’m not talking specifically about the product mentioned above, a topical medicated product can relieve symptoms associated with hallux valgus, such as pain from shoe friction or from biomechanical alterations.”

In fact, in these cases, more than correcting the deformity, “the function of this foot is sought, the absence of symptoms, and also avoiding a worse development,” he assures Maldita.es Neos Moya, pediatric nurse and podiatrist. “Depending on the degree of deformity, it can be improved,” he notes and adds that in terms of possible treatment options, the most common are the use of plantar braces, targeted exercises on the feet, a change in shoe habits, and, in extreme cases, surgery. A topical medicated product such as creams and the like will in no way suffice.

“Photos where the ointment appears and how the lump disappears or hyperhidrosis is corrected seems to me to be a real deception. It is literally impossible, ”says Moya. “What is taught in the video, along with the text that states ‘Ointment restores 100% cartilage’, seems to me to be a ruse in which false hope is given to resolve the tumor.”

Aldana remembers that it is enough to perform a search in the indexed databases to find out There is no scientific literature supporting such claims. There is also no registered clinical trial that has evaluated the efficacy and safety of the aforementioned product in clinical trial databases such as Clinicaltrials.gov.

In general, my opinion is very skeptical. Moreover, the assertion that natural products, because they are natural, lack potential harmful effects contributes to misinformation,” says the expert who adds that, in his view, “nothing that contains large doses of scientific evidence will be advertised.” Behind it as a miracle”, and also in general, in health science, “there are not usually three good products for one”: “If a product is sold as being able to treat various conditions, the wise thing to do is to doubt it.”