Our Sick Society

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:10 am

I'm a "pill pusher", helping people decide on natural remedies to illnesses and, in the happier circumstances, helping them to reinforce healthy immune systems so they don't get ill.

I'm actually more supportive of focusing on correct diet instead of eating crap and then trying to make up for it with pills, but there are other factors that are making people ill that aren't as easy to control. Let me assert that we live in a sick society. This is the busiest job I've ever had. From the moment we open to the moment we close the place is packed and that doesn't include the mail order and internet business activity.

So... why?

There are some obvious answers but I'd like to think them all out. We have air quality, food additives and processes, cosmetics, longer work hours/stress,... why do you think we are so sick? Is it all in our minds or is it a result of progress?

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:24 am

Koan excellent question I think it is both in our minds and progress. I'm old so I have been down several roads in my time and I can say "Stress" real or otherwise has been my biggest challenge with health related issues. The more stress I have in my life the more colds I get, the higher my blood pressure is you name it everything in my body reacts to stress in some form or fashion. How do I avoid this? With age comes a certain wisdom that you can't do it all and slow the heck down or you will die. Simple math and simple solution for me anyway.

[QUOTE]why do you think we are so sick? Is it all in our minds or is it a result of progress?[/QUOTE]

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:30 am

Some of the stuff people buy is considered placebo by a large number of people. I don't know whether that matters or not. If it actually makes them feel better then it's performing a function.

I use feng shui at times to affect certain aspects of my life. I believe that the effect is entirely based on my belief that it will work and my effort to do something, even if indirectly. In the same way, I think that people are helping themselves even if they buy something that I don't believe does what it claims. I don't recommend stuff that I think is placebo but I don't interfere with the purchase.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:46 am

Feng shui is good and alternative medicines are proving to be well worth a look see. For me I just need to pay attention to what my body is telling me. Usually it is telling me to slow down and smell the roses. I live in a City where the weather is great all year. Just getting outside does wonders for my soul and well being. Just taking my beach chair to the shore and sitting there reading a book listening to the waves is medicine to me. :-6

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:37 pm

Tai chi is another good thing to do, it has been shown to improve the health. (I have done it since my husband came home, and it helps with the stress)

OP: Of course stress from modern society is making more people ill, it is not the same as one hundred years ago. In the present times, more people are in the work force, longer work hours, and larger bills. On the flip side, modern medicine and immunizations have extended the average life expectancy. Is it worth it? It depends on the person, their own circumstances, and the quality of life they have.

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:47 pm

How much do you think chemicals, pollution and side effects from medication affect the modern population's health.

I'm not a supporter of pharmaceuticals for long term care and think most common uses cause more damage than they fix.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:52 pm

Having work in a Hospital for 22 year I saw up close what modern medicine does to save lives. I do agree that some medications are harmful and are over used. Do they have an effect on our populations health yes they do. Vaccines are a good thing in my opinion. The over prescribed antibiotics already are a problem.

[QUOTE]How much do you think chemicals, pollution and side effects from medication affect the modern population's health.

I'm not a supporter of pharmaceuticals for long term care and think most common uses cause more damage than they fix[/QUOTE]

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:55 pm

Cheminicals/pollution: the high rise in asthma, especially in urban centers. Ingestion of chemicals in our daily food probably relates to an increase in many types of cancer.

Side effects from medicine: evident in the recent outbreaks of merca (is that the correct spelling?) outbreaks. There were several states here with numerous cases, and public facilities were shut down. (not put on the news much either)

Other side effects: once taking certain medications could lead to other complications, which also need to be medicated. A small chain reaction in a way.

I think traditional uses of herbs are beneficial, it helps the body build up their own immune system for defense against germs.

Overuse of antibiotics is one area that has been studied alot, I do not know if the others have. Or if the reports are made public.

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:05 pm

chonsigirl;813914 wrote:

Overuse of antibiotics is one area that has been studied alot, I do not know if the others have. Or if the reports are made public.

Prime example of having too much of a good thing.

I have a huge problem with birth control pills and shots as well. The desire for sexual freedom is outweighing reasonable consideration of health factors. Doctors still don't admit that birth control pills contribute to candida illnesses and lord knows what else. They've moved to depo provera now, despite the side effects being worse, and they promote it on the facts that women don't need to remember it (so control is further taken away) and that they will likely stop menstruating (as if nature didn't intend it) We still don't know how badly women are going to suffer the consequences when all these teens have matured.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:27 pm

There is no question about what we put in our mouths making us ill, and no question about we being a pill for everything society. However, much of what we think is an increase in sickness can be attributed to quicker and earlier diagnosis of certain medical conditions. Prior to these quick and early diagnosis, folks just up and died, and in the absence of a autopsy, the real cause of death was not always known.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:40 pm

That is true, Lon. Do you think with the eradication of some diseases, other forms of illness are taking their place? The Malthusian effect?

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:02 pm

chonsigirl;813930 wrote: That is true, Lon. Do you think with the eradication of some diseases, other forms of illness are taking their place? The Malthusian effect?

I suspect that some of the forms of illness that are presently taking place is attributable to diet (obesity and the increase in Diabetes as a result). Pesticides as a causative agent of some cancers etc. Other diseases and illnesses that once killed are almost non existent -------scarlet fever, small pox, diphtheria, etc. Many people once died of pneumonia.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:09 pm

Smallpox-I know my children were not vaccinated, last recorded outbreak was in the late 90s in Chiapas. Do you think it would ever come back?

I agree with you about diet, many of our illnesses we cause because of our own bad habits. The increase in diabetes you mentioned is one, due to being overweight, poor eating habits. etc.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:23 pm

[quote=chonsigirl;813940]Smallpox-I know my children were not vaccinated, last recorded outbreak was in the late 90s in Chiapas. Do you think it would ever come back?

I doubt it, since the majority of people have been vaccinated.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:26 pm

They haven't vaccinated children in the US for smallpox since the early 1970s. I know we were vaccinated, sometimes more then once.

911 · Post by **911** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:09 pm

I agree with most posts but I'll go one further----fear of germs.

We have become so germ conscious with antibaterial soaps, wipes, cleaners that we are not allowing our children or ourselves to get sick. You have to get sick to build your immune system.

We try to cut our colds in half by taking medicines, try to not get the flu by taking medicines. Taking medicines to stop the simple stuff is artifically boosting our immune system which in turn weakens it.

Good for you, Koan. I used to be into herbs but I could never find one that worked the way it was supposed to. And I could never remember to take them. But, I do love herbal teas.

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:32 pm

chonsigirl;813940 wrote: Smallpox-I know my children were not vaccinated, last recorded outbreak was in the late 90s in Chiapas. Do you think it would ever come back?

I agree with you about diet, many of our illnesses we cause because of our own bad habits. The increase in diabetes you mentioned is one, due to being overweight, poor eating habits. etc.

Only if it escapes (or is released) from one of the labs holding stocks for research. Whilst it is right to keep stocks against possible future need the security of those stocks is deeply suspect.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 4:45 pm

I think they destroyed the known stocks, I think there were three places that held them. Otherwise, it is held in who knows whose hands.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/127 ... e=r_health

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:22 pm

chonsigirl;816263 wrote: I think they destroyed the known stocks, I think there were three places that held them. Otherwise, it is held in who knows whose hands.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/127 ... e=r_health

My understanding is :-

In the late 1990s, a resolution was passed at the World Health Assembly directing that the remaining stocks of variola virus be destroyed to prevent the reemergence of smallpox and the misuse of the variola virus as a biological weapon. At the time only two high-security laboratories were thought to contain variola virus stock: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Russian State Center for Research on Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Russia. However, this decision was postponed until 2002, and now the United States government has indicated its unwillingness to comply with the resolution because of security issues related to potential bioterrorism. Destruction of the stocks of variola virus would deprive countries of the material needed to prepare vaccine in the event of the deliberate use of the virus as a biological weapon.

Whilst your quote is more recent I suspect that it refers, as it says, only to the vaccine and that stock of the virus itself will be kept "just in case".