Demensia and online scams

Dear Ask The Doctor: The woman I work for husband has been diagnosed with a severe form of dementia. Picks Disease. She found this Dr. in Africa that treats CFIDS with a diet change and supplements. Thru the recommendation of a friend (who happens to be his UK contact) she had put her husband on this protocol. This MD has told her to take her husband off all his meds. She took him to a local Doctor here in United States a week ago and his heart is only working at 35%. They prescribed meds and brought up doing more test and a possible defibrillator. She won't put him on the meds because of this whackjob in Africa. The pills this man sends to her are unmarked, no list of what they are, and she's paying this guy 9k every four months. To me they look like those little plastic baggies you buy that have vitamins in them. What can I do? I know she's being scammed but she's older and stubborn. We want to sit her down and tell her she's being scammed but she's our boss and it's a really hard situation.

Dear Shelly: There are people on the internet that scam and try to make money by exploiting people who have a medical problem with counterfeit products and unrealistic claims. Many scammers offer solutions that are not scientifically proven and may sometime even be dangerous and counter productive. I do understand your problem concerning your boss. It is sometimes difficult to make someone understand that the treatment may not be productive, if they have developed a firm belief that it helps. The best option in my opinion would not be to confront your boss, rather request her to talk to husband's physician about best possible management, available medications and the harm of unreliable medication. You can even contact the Medicines and Healtcare products Regulatory Agency for appropriate steps in this case.