Ovulex - clever marketing hype

One of the most frequent question patients ask me is – Should I be taking Ovulex ?
Ovulex is a treatment for infertility, which has been very cleverly marketed.
I quote verbatim from their website - " Ovulex™ will start to naturally increase your ovulation cycle. This increases the chances of one of your eggs being fertilized. Ovulex™ will start to relax your uterus and strengthen its walls to help avert miscarriage. Ovulex™ will help strengthen your immune system and reduce your reaction to stress. This results in a more natural menstrual cycle and creates a more stable and nurturing environment for your baby to develop in. Of all the women who have tried Ovulex™, we cannot tell you how many have called and written in with their stories of happiness and success. In fact, Ovulex™ has a 92.7% success rate. That's a cold hard fact!
Ovulex™ is like “fertilizer” for the female body. It gives you everything you need to be in perfect nutritional and hormonal balance. Just like the soil, your body needs to be in perfect harmony to germinate a seed. Not only does Ovulex™ create the perfect conditions, but it also aids in lengthening your ovulation cycle. Just like the earth needs sun and rain to germinate a seed, your body can utilize this extended opportunity for maximizing the success of conception. "
While this is all very poetic, if you look at it critically, you realise that these are all empty words which which mean nothing !
"Strengthen the uterus wall ?" How does one do this ? Is it like cement for a brick wall ?
" Balance the body ?" Are bodies imbalanced that they need to be "rebalanced" ? I have heard of people being mentally imbalanced, but I can't imagine a body which is not in perfect balance. Human physiology will always restore homeostasis !
" Naturally increase your ovulation cycle." What does this mean ? Does it improve ovulation ? How ? For everyone ? How will this help someone who's already ovulating ?
" 92.7% success rate". How did they come up with this figure ? Based on how many women ? What were their ages ? Their medical diagnosis ? How long did they take Ovulex for ? Were they taking other treatment too at the same time ?
"Fertiliser for the body". What does that mean ? Does it really mean anything at all ?
While I feel the product is useless ( it meets most of the criteria listed in
Quackwatch, I must admire their clever marketing.
They have :
1.Coined a smart name !
2.Used attractive baby pictures to sell their product
3.Cleverly displayed "testimonials"
4.Provided affordable pricing , so desperate patients are willing to "give it a shot" - what do I have to lose ?
5. Provided a money-back guarantee, so the customer feels safe
Since Ovulex is marketed as a healthcare supplement , no FDA rules apply, which means they are at liberty to say pretty much what they want to !
I dislike this , because they are preying on the desperation of infertile women
Just because the right treatment is expensive, this does not mean you should take the wrong treatment !
A certain number of women who take Ovulex will get pregnant, no matter what – and often this is inspite of the Ovulex, not because of it ! However, they tend to give the drug all the credit ( post hoc, ergo propter hoc is a common logical fallacy !). This offers powerful word of mouth publicity , but there's no way of verifying the authenticity of this.
Remember that anything which has good effects can have bad effects – it’s just the way we choose to label the effects ! Thus, the "side effect " of increased penile blood flow observed with Viagra led to a multi-billion dollar best seller !
Ovulex is priced just right . The costs are minimal, and because it's sold at a huge markup , the producer has a huge profit margin - which they use to publicise their product shamelessly.
Patients need to look for what is NOT there . The fact that there are no controlled clinical trials done by an independent doctor, and published in a reputed medical journal which prove the efficacy of Ovulex is a major black mark - as Sherlock Holmes pointed out , the fact that the dog did not bark is important !
The bottom line is simple - learn to evaluate critically !