Archive for 1999
Health Care System
Once upon a time, the sick and the weak were taken care of in monasteries. This usually involved faith healing by means of prayers, penance, supplication to suitable saints, and contact with sacred relics, says Dr. Knut Haeger in the Illustrated History of Surgery. Priests and monks practiced medicine without any insight into human anatomy and physiology,
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World’s Religions
“If a man thinks about his physical or moral state, he usually discovers that he is ill.” This illness has been present for many centuries. In order to correct this there arose, from time to time, messengers for different races of the earth, to sustain our soul and provide physical, moral, and spiritual
Longevity
If you are born in 1920, then your life expectancy is 59 years. Well, you should be dead by now. If you are born in 1940, then your life expectancy is 65 years. You are probably reading this column. If you are born in 1993, then your life expectancy is 78 years. You are out somewhere having fun. The
Peanut Allergy
Sharon and Kevin Pudwell are worried parents. Their three-year-old daughter Janessa has had eczema since she was four months old. Since then Janessa has had blood tests which show allergy to all the main food groups. The Pudwells are worried that when Janessa goes to public school system next year, she
Stress
What are we doing to ourselves? A recent newspaper headline said: “Workaholic Canadians battle time stress. We’re working harder, enjoying ourselves less.” Statistics Canada surveyed 11,000 Canadians and found people were more stressed for time last year than they were six years earlier. Men and women
Anesthesia and Painless Surgery
Painless surgery is taken for granted by most of us who are in the business of doing surgery. But the history of painless surgery started 153 years ago. On October 16, 1846, Dr. William Morton, a young Boston dentist, administers ether to Edward Gilbert Abbott, so that Dr. John Collins Warren can do
Influenza (Flu)
Flu and pneumonia can be serious illnesses. “Influenza (flu) is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of global importance,” says an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. The editorial says that vaccination is currently the most effective measure to reduce the impact of influenza.
Breast Pain
Fear of cancer makes Susan seek help when she discovers a lump in her breast. “Fear is not an unknown emotion to us,” says Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. “Just as courage imperils life, fear protects it,” says Leonardo da Vinci. It is this protection women look for when they visit
Breast Pain
Breast pain is a common complain among women of menstruating age. Susan is no exception. Besides pain, she has lumps in both breasts. Her symptoms are cyclic – associated with menstruation. Since October is Breast Month, Susan wants her breasts examined. She is worried about cancer. Susan’s physical
Health and Happiness
Happier we are, the healthier we feel. The key words are happy, healthy, and feel. It is easy to get these words in one sentence. But is it easy to get them together in life? Each one of us looks at and feels about life in different ways. According to E. M. Forster, it is not that the Englishman can’t
