Where Would You Be Without Modern Medicine?

Medical Records & Stethoscope

The fitness, nutrition and ‘natural holistic’ health community (whatever that is) seem to have some people believing that they can live a healthy and long life without the advances of modern medicine. I think this is a false assumption.

Would you really be as healthy and in the state of health you are in right now (would you even be alive right now) if it weren’t for modern medicine? I know I wouldn’t be here and it’s a good bet you wouldn’t either.

For example: when I was 10 years old my appendix almost burst and I had to have a rush emergency surgery to have it removed. If it weren’t for modern medicine I would have most likely died if my appendix burst as it results in widespread infection and sepsis <– this is really bad.  Therefore modern medicine is the only reason I’m here today.

Nowadays almost nobody dies from a burst appendix, but without modern medicine that would be just one of the many things that would put us in an early grave.

Lets also not forget the herd immunity we have to various diseases because of modern vaccines as well. This is the reason we don’t worry about things like polio any more in north america.

Note: Anti-biotics, vaccines, over the counter drugs as well as surgery and physical therapy, and any procedure that takes place in a hospital like child birth all count as modern medicine.

So what’s your story?

Please leave your example/story in the comment area if you choose to share.

John

Posted by johnbarban in Uncategorized
7 Comments

7 Responses to “Where Would You Be Without Modern Medicine?”

  1. Sue K Says:
    August 3rd, 2009 at 3:39 pm

    With my almost ruptured appendix, heart attack and kidney cancer, I know I would not be alive today if not for modern medicine. Now I just wish I could find the “right stuff” to lose fat.

  2. Scott in Ohio Says:
    August 3rd, 2009 at 5:00 pm

    Modern medicine has saved many lives…mine included. I do believe the focus should shift from treatment to prevention, however, when it comes to long-term conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and auto-immune diseases.

  3. Tam Says:
    August 3rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm

    Being a type 1 diabetic, I would certainly be dead without the discovery of insulin and the development of using bacteria to produce human insulin and human insulin analogues.

  4. Michael Says:
    August 4th, 2009 at 4:33 am

    I wear protective, blessed underwear and that’s all I need for my protection. Plus I pray everyday and god keeps me safe.

    and of course by protective underwear I mean the hip I had surgically replaced, and by god I meant antibiotics, but whatever.

    amen.

  5. Rahim Says:
    August 17th, 2009 at 7:45 pm

    I think modern medicine, eastern medicine and holistic medicine are all needed in one area or another. They compliment eachother where they need to. One of my martial arts teachers used to say that western (some would consider modern) medicine is good for detecting symptoms and ailments, and eastern (some would consider holistic) medicine is good for healing.

  6. Oliver R Says:
    November 19th, 2009 at 8:19 am

    I agree modern medicine is vital to keeping us alive and healthy — in the 19th C the life expectancy was about half what it is now in the west, but this was due to more people dying of illnesses, especially in childhood, as well as less attention to health and safety. It is average lifespans that have increased; maximums have increased only to a very small degree

  7. Sam Says:
    June 21st, 2010 at 11:16 pm

    I was conceived by in vitro fertilization, and delivered prematurely via C-section. I spent the first days of my life in an incubator. When I was in 4th grade, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and given drugs, stimulants, without which I could not possibly do what I do today. I’m a pretty successful pre-med student, but without those drugs I procrastinate endlessly and focusing is brutal. Every time I take my daily pill, I think of what alternative medicine types might say about my problem: that the yin-and-yang of my whole grain is messed up, that I’m a young soul, that I just need to detox, or maybe, like everything else under the sun, it’s a result of improper diet and exercise. I think of what might have become of me if I didn’t have that drug, and am so grateful that there are people who found that drug, people who weren’t to cowardly to believe that some problems really can be solved by magic pills. I hope that one day we will look at doctors who recommended diet and exercise to treat heart disease in the same way that we look at doctors who recommended a less humid climate to treat tuberculosis. And I hope that one day, we’ll be able to separate health from virtue or character, because health is something that everyone deserves.

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