The reason I am writing this is because we are all being bombarded by news of procedures that may benefit us medically. This has always been the case throughout history. We have a pain and we want to get rid of it so we are open to suggestions from legitimate or illegitimate purveyors of the miracle cure.

Nothing new in that, of course. Snake oil or modern supplements are often one and the same.

My warning is about the hyaluronic lubricant which is being marketed under various names for injecting into an arthritic joint. Synvisc is one of them which claim to replace the loss of synovial fluid which lubricates the joint.

Granted that in some cases the injection has helped, although reading up on it makes one wonder how much of the cure is actually placebo.

In my case I paid the $700 and endured the painful injection in the hope that it would get rid of the pain in my knee. I did some reading on it and the specialist told me that there was an 80% chance of improvement.

In medicine these stakes are encouraging. He told me that 20% of patients get no improvement.

So what did I have to lose apart from the money? I would be no worse off and there would be a good chance that I would be better off.

Well, as it turned out, following the initial few weeks of painful swelling which I accepted as part of the experience of getting rid of the pain, I ended up ith much more pain than I had started with.

I wish I had never had the injection.

I wish I had done more research and found the articles in which they are questioning the genuine benefits of such injections.

The statistic of 20% of no benefit didn’t mention that the procedure could actually cause more pain and you could be worse off.

Had that been mentioned then I would not have taken the risk.

My final point on the subject is that if Synvisc lubricants are so beneficial they would be subsidised by Medicare. After all, knee replacements for seniors are an expensive drain on the government.

Consequently, any procedure that postpones such operations must surely be a bonus for the government who have to face the pitfalls of an aging society.

As with everything in life there’s a risk, but when it comes to medical treatment the stakes are terribly high.

As someone said, “did you know that the word “gullible” does not appear in the dictionary?”

If you rushed to your copy of the dictionary, have I got a panacea for you!

You can add the following to the list of things that piss me off.

I am driving along minding my own business when one of those infernal SUV’s cuts me off, as is its wont. There is something about an SUV (four wheel drive vehicle by its other name) that rubs me up the wrong way.

Let’s be honest, it’s not the vehicle so much as the attitude of the driver of an SUV. It takes an especially annoying sort of person to drive an SUV in the middle of a big city.

I know that this vehicle never leaves a bitumen road to climb a crag in the outback. It never ventures far from the cafes and shopping malls of Melbourne and it usually double parks outside a school at drop-off and pickup times.

Drivers of these cars rarely glance in the rear view mirror or have second thoughts about doing a U-turn in the middle of heavy traffic.

So that’s why I have concluded that people who drive SUV’s are not considerate, courteous or intelligent. And that’s putting it mildly.

So you can imagine my reaction when I read on the rear window of an SUV that there is a “Baby on Board.”

What is that notice meant to signify? Does it mean “Please don’t hit me because I am special because I have a baby in the car.”

or

“Be aware of my great contribution to overpopulation and applaud my achievement in producing an offspring.”

I have to admit that my initial response is to mutter “Who gives a stuff?” and then I’m tempted to toot my horn very deliberately in acknowledgement of such information. After all, the message has been received and duly noted. “Baby on Board. Idiot at the wheel!”

I am sitting at my desk opening a package from McPherson’s Consumer Products. Inside the jiffy bag I find a pair of Manicare cuticle clippers.

These have been sent to me as a replacement for a pair of clippers that had become blunt. When I had inquired how long such clippers should stay sharp McPherson’s immediately offered to replace them. I sent them a photo of the clippers to prove that I did indeed own a pair and in a couple of days the parcel arrived.

Now that’s how business should be done! Customer service is extremely important. It goes without saying that companies such as McPherson’s believe in keeping faith with a customer.

Unlike Bertocchi Smallgoods who caused me such grief with their false labelling and when I asked them about the ingredients they informed me that the labelling on their product was incorrect because they were trying to use up old casing.

What they should have done is to treat me with courtesy. But they didn’t and it was up to Woolworths to handle the problem.

Needless to say I have not bought any Bertocchi smallgoods since. However, I would not hesitate to buy a McPherson’s product in the future because they stand by their customers.