---
title: "List of topics characterized as pseudoscience"
chunk: 6/18
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_topics_characterized_as_pseudoscience"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:29:53.539791+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

Chromotherapy, sometimes called color therapy, colorology or cromatherapy, is an alternative medicine method which is considered pseudoscience. Chromotherapists claim to be able to use light in the form of color to balance "energy" lacking from a person's body, whether it be on physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental levels. Color therapy is distinct from other types of light therapy, such as neonatal jaundice treatment and blood irradiation therapy, which is a scientifically accepted medical treatment for a number of conditions, and from photobiology, the scientific study of the effects of light on living organisms. French skeptic and lighting physicist Sébastien Point considers LED lamps at domestic radiance to be safe in normal use for the general population; he also pointed out the risk of overexposure to light from LEDs for practices like chromotherapy, when duration and time exposure are not under control. Chronic Lyme disease (not to be confused with Lyme disease) is a generally rejected diagnosis that encompasses "a broad array of illnesses or symptom complexes for which there is no reproducible or convincing scientific evidence of any relationship to Borrelia burgdorferi infection." Despite numerous studies, there is no clinical evidence that "chronic" Lyme disease is caused by a persistent infection. It is distinct from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, a set of lingering symptoms which may persist after successful treatment of infection with Lyme spirochetes. The symptoms of "chronic Lyme" are generic and non-specific "symptoms of life". Colon cleansing (a.k.a. colon therapy) encompasses a number of alternative medical therapies claimed to remove nonspecific toxins from the colon and intestinal tract by removing any accumulations of feces. Colon cleansing may be branded colon hydrotherapy, a colonic or colonic irrigation. During the 2000s, internet marketing and infomercials of oral supplements supposedly for colon cleansing increased. Some forms of colon hydrotherapy use tubes to inject water, sometimes mixed with herbs or with other liquids, into the colon via the rectum using special equipment. Oral cleaning regimens use dietary fiber, herbs, dietary supplements, or laxatives. People who practice colon cleansing believe that accumulations of putrefied feces line the walls of the large intestine and that these accumulations harbor parasites or pathogenic gut flora, causing nonspecific symptoms and general ill-health. This "auto-intoxication" hypothesis is based on medical beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks and was discredited in the early 20th century. Colloidal silver (a colloid consisting of silver particles suspended in liquid) and formulations containing silver salts were used by physicians in the early 20th century, but their use was largely discontinued in the 1940s following the development of safer and effective modern antibiotics. Since about 1990, there has been a resurgence of the promotion of colloidal silver as a dietary supplement, marketed with claims of it being an essential mineral supplement, or that it can prevent or treat numerous diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, herpes and tuberculosis. No medical evidence supports the effectiveness of colloidal silver for any of these claimed indications. Silver is not an essential mineral in humans; there is no dietary requirement for silver and hence, no such thing as a silver "deficiency". There is no evidence that colloidal silver treats or prevents any medical condition and it can cause serious and potentially irreversible side effects, such as argyria. COVID-19 misinformation – multiple theories proposing a wide variety of different things regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 itself and COVID-19 vaccines. The Great Barrington Declaration – a document that emerged from the American Institute for Economic Research during the COVID-19 pandemic, authored by three scientists. It promised a way to allow people to carry on their normal lives while invoking the impossible idea of "focused protection" for vulnerable people. The epidemiologist Michael Osterholm called it "a dangerous mix of pixie dust and pseudoscience". Craniosacral therapy is a form of bodywork or alternative therapy using gentle touch to manipulate the synarthrodial joints of the cranium. A practitioner of craniosacral therapy may also apply light touches to a patient's spine and pelvis. Practitioners believe that this manipulation regulates the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and aids in "primary respiration." Craniosacral therapy was developed by John Upledger, D.O. in the 1970s as an offshoot of osteopathy in the cranial field, or cranial osteopathy, which was developed in the 1930s by William Garner Sutherland. According to the American Cancer Society, although CST may relieve the symptoms of stress or tension, "available scientific evidence does not support claims that craniosacral therapy helps in treating cancer or any other disease." CST has been characterized as pseudoscience and its practice has been called quackery. Cranial osteopathy has received a similar assessment, with one 1990 paper finding there was no scientific basis for any of the practitioners' claims the paper examined. Cryonics – a field of products, techniques, and beliefs supporting the idea that freezing the clinically dead at very low temperatures (typically below −196 degrees Celsius) will enable future revival or re-substantiation. These beliefs often hinge on the existence of advanced human societies in the distant future that will possess as-of-yet unknown technology for the stabilization of dying cells. There is no evidence a human being can be revived after such freezing and no solid scientific evidence suggests that reanimation will be possible in the future. Crystal healing – belief that crystals have healing properties. Once common among pre-scientific and indigenous peoples, it enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s with the New Age movement. There is no scientific evidence that crystal healing has any effect. Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine. Cupping is used in more than 60 countries. Its usage dates back to as far as 1550 B.C. There are different forms of cupping; the most common are dry, wet and fire cupping. Cups are applied onto the skin and a suction is created, pulling the skin up. It is meant to increase blood flow to certain areas of the body. Not a part of medical practice in the modern era, cupping has been characterized as a pseudoscience. There is no good evidence it has any health benefits and there are some risks of harm, especially in case of wet and fire cupping. Detoxification – Detoxification in the context of alternative medicine consists of an approach that claims to rid the body of "toxins" – accumulated substances that allegedly exert undesirable effects on individual health in the short or long term. The concept has received criticism from scientists and health organizations for its unsound scientific basis and lack of evidence for the claims made. The "toxins" usually remain undefined, with little to no evidence of toxic accumulation in the patient. The British organisation Sense about Science has described some detox diets and commercial products as "a waste of time and money", while the British Dietetic Association called the idea "nonsense" and a "marketing myth". In the human body, the processing of chemicals, including those considered 'toxins', is handled by a number of organs, most prominently the liver and kidneys, thus making detoxes unnecessary. Digit ratio – calculated by dividing the length of an index finger by the ring finger of the same hand, has been proposed to correlate with various personality, sexuality, biological, psychological and physical traits/outcomes.