Four Thieves Vinegar Collective has made DIY medicine cheaper and more accessible to the masses.

Sharing because I found this very interesting.

The Four Thieves Vinegar Collective has a DIY design for a home lab you can set up to reproduce expensive medication for dirt cheap, producing medication like that used to cure Hepatitis C, along with software they developed that can be used to create chemical compounds out of common household materials.

  • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.worldEnglish
    64·
    2 months ago

    …well, this is a good way to shine the spotlight on a massive problem. I’d be pretty hesitant to take DIY meds unless it was life-critical and my only option (which… lots of don’t have that option, and just die after hitting the health paygate…). The value here is its potential to slap some sense into the US and get our broken-as-fuck healthcare system caught up with the rest of the world so people don’t need moonshine insulin or w/e in the first place.

    That this conversation is even taking place is testament to how horrible our current system is.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.eeEnglish
      101·
      2 months ago

      What’s broken is largely insurance setting prices.

      I don’t see this fixing it.

      • PotatoSkins@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        2 months ago

        Honestly… is there a practical reason why something like lidocaine isn’t available to the average consumer?

        • diablexical@lemm.eeEnglish
          5·
          2 months ago

          It is, eg lidocaine patches. It has to be injected to really do much. Not aware of any injectables that are over the counter.

        • Dharma Curious (he/him)@slrpnk.netEnglish
          4·
          2 months ago

          I have no idea. I’ve got some lidocaine viscous they gave me for the pain. I’m lucky enough to have medical, just not dental. But from experience, it helps temporarily numb the surface pain, but if it’s in the root, or if you’re pulling the tooth, it does not help.

        • Machinist@lemmy.worldEnglish
          41·
          2 months ago

          Clove oil. Put a few drops on a cotton ball and put it against the tooth. Your whole mouth will go pretty numb but it will usually kill the pain for a while.

          American healthcare sucks.

          • Wiz@midwest.socialEnglish
            2·
            2 months ago

            I’ve had relief for gum/tooth pain by just holding a whole clove on the affected area.

        • isolatedscotch@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          it is, but you need to have some chemistry knowledge to be able to extract it from things like anal lube, and that’s where I think this DIY project will shine