ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Self-experimentation in medicine

Self-experimentation in medicine is when doctors or scientists will test a medicine or treatment on themselves to see if it works. It's kind of like doing a science project, but instead of testing things on other people or animals, they test it on themselves.

Imagine if you had a new type of medicine that you wanted to see if it could help people. Before you give it to someone else, you might want to test it yourself to make sure it's safe and effective.

Sometimes doctors and scientists use themselves as test subjects because it's difficult to find people willing to participate in medical studies, especially for new or experimental treatments. By testing it on themselves, they can get a better idea of how it works and what the potential side effects are.

However, self-experimentation can be dangerous and it's not always a good idea. Just because something works on one person, doesn't mean it will work for everyone. Plus, if something goes wrong, there may not be anyone who knows how to help.

Overall, self-experimentation in medicine is a way for doctors and scientists to learn more about treatments and how they work, but it's important to be very careful and only do it under safe and controlled conditions.
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