Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
in 1918 16 million people died of influenza. Today most of us are inconvenienced for a week and then we get on with our lives.
Yeah, but that was a really bad influenza, that operated out the bounds of normal flu. Still -- out of the people in my family that died in 1918 -- and I have a number of them -- only one died of influenza related pneumonia.
Antibiotics notwithstanding -- better medical testing and IVs saved my life when I had appendicitis with no normal symptoms. I was dehydrated because I couldn't keep anything down, misdiagnosed by my doctor, I spiked a fever of 105 and rushed to the hospital. First set of tests revealed low white count (opposite of appendicitis) put on a IV push to rehydrate me... and once the hydration kicked in... blood tests went to normal for appendicitis. Booming high white count.
They got to it in time, and found gangrene on top of it... if it had burst, I would be dead.
since there was probably less than 1 billion people in 1901
and now we're pushing 7 billion plus
I'd say yes, most people would be dead of "nuisance" childhood diseases that are non-issues due to widespread immunization and modern standards of sanitation/public health... at least in the Industrialized First World.
Depends on the quality of life after intervention. I take care of and manage patients on life support. Many suffer for years on the vent. Is that truly living? I personally believe that being in a bed, clinging to life day after day is worse than death.
Keep in mind, I see this on a daily basis.....most people don't know the horrors of healthcare! That's why most physicians and clinicians have DNAR orders in place. When you see the truth, suffering is not what you want to do! I tell friends and family to leave me by the roadside or behind a bush if I am close to dying. It's better than spending years in pain!
I don't know why this is in the History forum but I would be willing to wager that the vast majority of us have had some kind of malady or ailment that was made better by modern medicine. I know someone who has a huge kidney stone that was only found when she had a MRI for another problem. She will be going in a few weeks for the procedure to remove the stone but if we were talking 20 years ago this thing would have gone undetected and caused problems down the line and probably shortened her life.
Modern medicine is amazing.
Because the history of medicine is fascinating! It has a history probably as long as humanity yet has come so far in just the past century.
When i'm down, i can rationalize with myself that i wouldnt even be here if born just 50 yrs earlier.
And then on the other side of course it can be devastating- like those deciding to take family off life support.
Depends on the quality of life after intervention. I take care of and manage patients on life support. Many suffer for years on the vent. Is that truly living? I personally believe that being in a bed, clinging to life day after day is worse than death.
Keep in mind, I see this on a daily basis.....most people don't know the horrors of healthcare! That's why most physicians and clinicians have DNAR orders in place. When you see the truth, suffering is not what you want to do! I tell friends and family to leave me by the roadside or behind a bush if I am close to dying. It's better than spending years in pain!
I am thinking about getting a DNR tattoo just to ensure that I won't become one of the UNDEAD, but the tattoo isn't considered legally binding.
Fortunately, none of us posting here are on Life Support. We're not talking extreme measures to keep a person "alive", but rather modern medicine that has enabled us to return to functioning beings.
In the case of a diagnosis with no chance of recovery, I don't have any desire to lie in a bed with machines doing what I am unable to do for myself. I don't even want to contemplate the day they tell me I can no longer make my own coffee, make a sandwich, or even eat a sandwich.
My own mother lingered for five days - comatose and on a ventilator - following a massive brain bleed. My brother and I had both signed an order to remove her from life support (based on her written statement to us several years prior) but the hospital insisted she needed two consecutive flat-line EEGs. So, yes, I have seen the horror close-up and personal. I don't wish to see it again, but I am not about to turn down a measure that will restore me to the person I have always been.
The little girl I used to babysit for had Leukemia. Conventional treatments at the time (early 1980's) didn't work. Doctors in NYC tried an experimental treatment in a last ditch attempt to save her life. It worked and she is now a part of medical history in the medical books
My daughter would have been dead a couple of different times if it weren't for antibiotics. She has severe asthma and was susceptible to pneumonia when she was younger.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
