Quote: (01-21-2013 04:00 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:
Can you name me one disease that doctors have cured us of ?
Off the top of my head:
The following diseases have been almost eradicated in the west:
- Tuberculosis
- Polio
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (till the vaccine denialists started shouting)
- Cholera
- Malaria (although it's making a comeback in Greece due to the breakdown of the malaria control program)
- Plague
Activist Doctors have been in the forefront of eliminating the above diseases in the west. Vaccination was initially heavily resisted, for example.
The following diseases are no longer fatal in the west:
- appendicitis
- cephalopelvic disproportion during labour
- retained placenta after labour
- insulin dependent diabetes
These are just a few examples, I'm not going to make a detailed list.
The only reason you have the privilege of bashing doctors is because you are healthy because of those same doctors. It's because you are not getting sick that you don't realise how much western medicine has contributed to your standard of living. I've worked in communities that don't have regular access to western medicine, and the health problems are straight out of medieval Europe.
Quote: (01-21-2013 04:00 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:
Doctors know nothing about nutrition, vitamins and minerals. The very basics of the human body and these guys don't have a clue. We are supposed to listen to them when it comes to our own health ?
Doctors are trained to know diseases, not health. This is a common misunderstanding amongst lay people. You don't go to a doctor to get health advice, you go to a doctor to get disease advice, and some of that may include disease-avoidance advice. A lot of people are upset by this because they want their doctor to take over their responsibility for their own health, to give some sort of magic pill to make them healthy, but that's not what medicine is about. If you're not willing to take responsibility for your own health, don't go to a doctor thinking he will take that responsibility.
Quote: (01-21-2013 04:00 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:
Some may argue that vaccines don't cause autism, but I think the evidence shows clearly there is a link.
We can argue this ad nauseam. The people that started this argument that vaccines cause autism had something monetarily to gain. Dr Andrew Wakefield, for example, was paid by lawyers to 'discover' this link. A lot of people are saying it's all a giant conspiracy to discredit Wakefield but I've looked through his published papers and his research is crap to begin with, I'd be embarrassed to publish such crap. But if that sort of research is good enough for you, then good on you. We are free to decide which position we want to take on the issue. My position is that there is some pretty strong evidence that non-vaccinated children has as much autism as vaccinated ones, based on a huge study done in Denmark and various other studies. Don't take my word for it, though. Read the evidence and make a decision for yourself what you believe, and be willing to change what you believe when new evidence arises.
Quote: (01-21-2013 04:00 PM)BIGINJAPAN Wrote:
The reason people bash doctors is because they are useless in the western world
Sturgeon's law - 90% of everything is crap. One can easily say that about any profession: politicians, lawyers, cops, plumbers, pickup artists... It's your own fault you can't be bothered to find the 10% that are worth your while. Don't blame the system for your inability to game the system.