The Miracles of Modern Medicine

We have indeed come a long way

I went to the doctor today for my annual physical and I was amazed at how much medical knowledge has increased over the years. We are a long way from routinely bleeding people to improve their health, a practice used for over 3,000 years.

Or trepanning (drilling a hole in their heads) which was commonplace for fractures and penetrating head wounds. This practice, now considered barbaric, was quite popular in the Middle Ages and lasted until it fell out of favor in the 19th century.

These primitive practices were once all the vogue for practitioners of the medical profession. State of the art. They are laughable cures now, but who knows what these doctors will come up with next?

It may well be the next generation of doctors will develop a new understanding of the body, a remarkably complex organism, that will render all of our current knowledge obsolete.

But we have to live in the now, and right now they can do brain and lung scans, monitor our heartbeats and blood pressure, and correct our vision through cataracts as routine medical procedures.

This would be considered witchcraft in the Middle Ages, and in our rush to advance our knowledge, we may have rushed and dismissed many medieval cures by dismissing the medicinal properties of herbs and roots.

These ancient healing practices deserve a more thorough review.

Holistic medicine is very popular with many people. It deals with attitudes and the strength of the human mind over more sophisticated techniques.

It focuses more on the psychological aspects of healing, emphasizing spiritual and ethical concerns as well as the strictly biological functions.

Many people swear by it, but again, this is a matter of individual choice.

The advanced equipment doctors use for everything is the most miraculous part of modern medicine to me.

X-rays, CT scans, and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) are perhaps the most precise and amazing advances in technology that allow doctors to peek inside our bodies to get a better view of what is happening inside.

Everybody should get a routine annual physical every year so your doctor can keep ahead of any potential dangers looming down the road.

I had a neighbor who recently died because he had an undetected brain tumor. He had complained of headaches but was stubborn and only went to the doctor after it was too late to save him. Lesson learned.

Along with the advances in technology, as well as the increased coverage in insurance plans now available for poor people, like Obama Care, has made a big difference too.

It is much more easy now to catch problems before they develop to the point of no return. Take advantage of all of these advances, and make sure you get an annual physical exam.

Health care is no longer the exclusive prerogative of the rich.

This is another amazing but true component of the whole medical industry. Before, poor people would just die early because of a lack of knowledge because they were unable to pay for the necessary tests and procedures.

The change in social attitudes is a big part of the complex field of modern medicine. Surgeons are amazingly precise.

Anesthetics have been developed that are far more efficient than biting on a piece of wood to control the pain of certain procedures.

Aftercare is more comprehensive, and preventive medicines like cholesterol and high blood pressure medications have proved amazingly effective in extending our life spans.

We all have to go sometime, that is a fact that everybody realizes. But there is no hurry. We will all get wherever we are going soon enough.

Quality of life has also been improved by the amazing array of medical advances. Older people no longer have to suffer as much in their declining years, and that is a blessing for everybody around them too.

Life is short. Make the most of your time here. We are all connected…