COMMON SENSE IN HEALTH CARE
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Written by tony benjamin
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Sunday, 02 March 2008 |
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A change in thinlcing and doing. If you were [0 list things which have changed the world during the last century, you would undoubtedly include directly or indirectly such things as the automobile, radio, television, modern lighting, central heating, conditioning, and great availability of food. Yet, these developmerits, although spectacular, are not as basi as another change-a change in linking, or in attitude. Without it, there would have been no automobiles, no jet plane, no wonder drugs.
The attitude which has been largely responsible for our modern way of living is u ually lied the scientific attitude. A person with this attitude bases his judgments upon evidence, facts, and logic rather than upon whims, prejudices, and superstitions. As more and more people d veloped scientific attitudes, the scientific method of solving problems also came into being. As you may know, this method of olving problems consists of controlled experimentation and the drawing of conclusions justified by the facts. Its adoption led not only to the medical discoveries you have been reading about, but to other scientific and industrial development as well. It is largeIy responsible for our modem age.
To appreciate the changes in thinking and doing that have been brought about, one really needs to look ba k to the days
when most people believed that a mentalIy disturbed person was possessed by demons, that the earth was flat. that there were monsters in the sea, or that sickness could be charmed away. Of coune we do not need to look back to a revious age to find people acting on the basis of superstition rather than reason. One has only to note that in our own country large sums of money are spent each year for horoscopes or for the advice of astrologers, both of which are bas d on the questionable assumption that the movements of the stars and plan ts affect the course of our lives.
Although superstition still exists, even today, the scientific attitude, not the superstitious one. is recognized by our sociery as being the mof desirable, because it leads to reasonable action. When a human being acts reasonably, he is likely to benefit society as well as himself. It is partly because society has decided that every citizen should learn to make decisions on the basis of reason andknowledge rather than on hearsay and whim that you are attending school. In school you are learning to recognize and reject the fads and fallacies that you meet in everyday living.
Recognizing an appeal to the emotions. Many of the medicines and reme?dies that man first developed were quite useless. Some. however. proved helpful. In fact. fish liver oil has been used for over 6.000 years in treating rickets. Quinine, which was used to treat malaria by South American Indians as early as 1631,is still useful in treating that disease today, although it has been largely replaced by drugs developed during the second World. War.
The medical and health preparations which are on sale everywhere today alsr vary greatly in content, purpose, and irn?portance. Some, such as aspirin and Epsom salts, are useful, standard drugs Others are quite useless and even harmful. Yet many people may be drawn to these harmful "health" preparations as well as the good ones. This is not difficult to understand, really. It is difficult for
most of us to avoid being guided by our emotions when decisions must be made about things which might affect our ownhealth, atrractiveness. and well-being. When we feel uneasy or ill. it is even more difficult to do so. The dealers and manufacturers of beauty treatments. personality courses, and other products know this and, by appealing to certain emo?tions and desires, encourage us to buy their products. They make this appeal largely in advertising.
By means of advertising a producer or dealer hopes to sell more than his competitors. His advertisement. whether it is to be seen or heard. is intended to make us want to buy his product. Many such advertisements appeal to emotions or desires that all of us have. For example. an advertisement may tell us that a certain product will make us attractive. Since we all want to be attractive. this type of advertisement appeals to us directly. Some advertising is less direct. but nonetheless effective. For example. we may be told that an athlete whom we admire or a successful businessman eats certa in foods and drinks certain beverages. This suggests to us that the beverage or food must be good. and may even contribute in a measure to our own success.
Advertisements for patent medicines are not so likely to appeal to our desire for prestige or approval- as to the emotion
of fear. We may be told that by raking a certain pill. we will avoid getting a seri?ous illness.
One should not suppose that advertis?ing in and of itself is harmful. In fact, it serves many good purposa. For one thing. it helps the public to learn about de irable products. and it may even help buyers save money. However. not all dealers advertise good produts. ln fact orne of them are trying to sell useless or even harmful goods. By advertising, of cour e. they are more likely to ell their products. In order to avoid being misled by the fal e claims of some manufa turers and in order to weigh carefully the laims of others, the consumer today must be alert. He must be train d to a t on th basis of reason rather than on the basis of whim.
Pre cribing Cor your eU. here are two ways in whi h ev ryone can look after his health. First of all. be n form good health habits. and e ondly he n take advantage of health ervi es pro?vided f r him b community and m di 1 services. This i all the av rage individual can reasonably expect to do for himself. Yet many people try to do more than this. They may pr cribe [or an ailing body, or they may try to find some magi formula that will guarantee them health. youth. or a sense of well-being, In fact, it is interesting to note that many of the medicines sold are of two types: (1) bracers (which contain a high percentage of alcohol) and sedatives, both of which soothe a person by quieting the nerves and (2) useless "cures" for serious illnesses.
If you are uneasy about the state of your health. you should consult a doctor. He not only knows what medicines consist of, but how they will affect your body. You do not know how a medicine or treat?ment will affect your body. It could harm you. Moreover, while you are swallowing or rubbing on self-prescribed remedies. you are wasting valuable time needed for proper treatment-if your condition is serious. Many of the medicines sold are merely pain killers. Such medicines do nothing to correct the underlying causes of the pain or discomfort, and sometimes their use results in delay in getting medical attention which is badly needed at the time.
There are other reasons why your medicines should be prescribed only by a physician and for specific illnesses. For one thing medicines may undergo chemical changes if left standing in bottles that have been opened after having been par' tially used for an earlier illness. The remainder of any medicine should be discarded after current use is ended.
The doctor prescribes medicines for individual patients rather than for ail?ments. He knows what treatment is required and which particular medicine will best suit the needs of each patient. Some people mistakenly believe that a medicine prescribed by a doctor for a special kind of illness will be good for anyone who has what appears to be the same illness. Even though the symptoms may be similar. they may be caused by entirely different disorders. Grandma may have a headache because her glasses need changing. Someone else's headache may be the result of nervous tension Or something else.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 02 March 2008 )
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