Remission – the symptoms of some disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and lupus, may come and go.

They will resolve by themselves anyway, with or without placebos or medications, and the end of symptoms is just a coincidence. Self-limiting disorders – many conditions, such as the common cold, are self-limiting.Some of the theories that attempt to explain it include: It is still not known exactly how the placebo effect works. Placebos are often used in clinical trials to help understand the real effect of a new treatment – both positive benefits and also possible side effects. ‘Impure placebos’ are medications that have an active effect on the body, but not on the condition being treated. The placebo effect is triggered by the person's belief in the benefit from the treatment and their expectation of feeling better, rather than the characteristics of the placebo. A placebo can be a sugar pill, a water or salt water (saline) injection or even a fake surgical procedure. Placebo is Latin for 'I will please' and refers to a treatment that appears real, but is designed to have no therapeutic benefit. The placebo effect is when a person’s physical or mental health appears to improve after taking a placebo or ‘dummy’ treatment.

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