Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Drakoi]

This is a spinoff from the fear of diseases/cultural hygene standards/flu season threads.

Western medicine is really good at treating symptoms, but it's really bad at curing or preventing disease. Take headaches for example. OTC headache medication actually causes dependancy and is finally being accepted as one of the leading causes of migrains.

One of my biggest pet peeves about American culture is the tendency to overprotect people from nature. Is it any wonder that the kids who grow up in glass houses are the first to develop allergies?



We over sanitize, we over medicate, and in the end we do little to make our lives better, just more profitable for the drug companies. (both legal and illegal)

Like Depak Chopkra (I don't know how to spell his name) says, it's silly for humans to be so dependant on medications when our bodies have thousands and thousands of generations of research in biochemistry.

DISEASE IS NOT CAUSED BY GERMS! Germs are opportunistic parasites that flourish under favorable conditions which manifest the common ailments we are familiar with. But they are NOT THE ROOT CAUSE! Every single one of us has thousands and thousands of germs inside our bodies, ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!! The reason you aren't sick all the time is because you have an immune system that cleans out your body and fights off the germs before they can grow too large in numbers.

Take this Tony Robbins analogy. Your body is like a big city, your immune system is the sanitation department (the garbage men, and sewer system), and germs are like the rats. If all your garbage men quit, and your sewers get backed up, you've got garbage all over the place, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A RAT PROBLEM! But western doctors would look at that situation and say "hey, look at all this garbage the rats brought with them."

Stupid!

Do you guys know how antibodies work? Once your immune system is exposed to a type of germ, you make antibodies and don't have to worry about that one again. But your white blood cells need practice. If you go through life without ever going outside bodies defenses will be weak and lazy.

Sharing a bowl of soup, a glass of soju, or whatnot will not make you sick. It might introduce your garbage men to a new shape of barrell that they're not prepared to deal with, but if you're getting sick it's your own damn fault.

[Thunndarr]

Uh....never mind.

"Western medicine is really good at treating symptoms, but it's really bad at curing or preventing disease. Take headaches for example.

Err...Polio? Smallpox?

"DISEASE IS NOT CAUSED BY GERMS!"

Yes, everyone knows it's caused by vapors in the air. The vapors are especially bad in cold or wet air.

"One of my biggest pet peeves about American culture is the tendency to overprotect people from nature. Is it any wonder that the kids who grow up in glass houses are the first to develop allergies? "


I grew up in the country, surrounded by farms. I still have bad allergies. I spent loads of time outdoors as a kid.

The rest of your post I'll let others debunk if they so choose.

[Drakoi]

[ulsanchris]

drakoi does have a point that western medicine focuses to much on curing rather than preventing. I think that is starting to change though. Doctors and governments are realizing that they can save millions on health spending if they look at preventive measures rather than waiting for health problems to develop.

IN the west some people are overly concerned with sanitization. Look at anti bactrial soap. I've read articles in which doctors say that it is completely unnecessary, and more harmful than beneficial. Yes it kills bad bactria but it also kills all the good bacteria. There is far more good bacteria than bad bacteria. Also if you spend 15 seconds vigourously washing your hands you will kill 95% of the germs on your hands.

[Joe Thanks]

Let�s talk about that. How it is rarely functional and rarely prevents illness. China, South Korea and Taiwan have amazingly high rates of liver cancer/failure/related illness and stomach cancer. Why is that? What is the purpose of taking a medicine when healthy to prevent a possible illness you might not have?

I remember my first year in SK and how the boss sent me to a traditional Eastern medical practitioner - licensed and professional for sure - but useless. I was given all manner of crap and it didn�t help me. After two weeks and near death I went to a western medical practitioner and got some antibiotics and within 48 hours I was fine.

I am not alone is such an experience.

Then, in Taiwan how EVERYONE who went to �traditional� medical clinics were constantly sick, never fully recovered and were always taking medicine. I remember one middle school student had to have their lower left arm amputated because of �traditional medicine� used to �heal� her broken arm.


How about the arrogance� of Eastern �medicine�? How about how it did NOTHING during the SARS outbreak, and most of the areas it hit were Eastern-medicine embracing societies.

Hmmmm.

No thanks. Get a clue, grab a book and realize that �traditional� has failed to go very far.

I�ll take that �western� medicine any day of the week.

I want to live and be healthy. I value my life too much to gamble on shaman snake oil sales folk.


Joe

[Drakoi]

[Tiger Beer]

Screw Western medicine.. its for the lucky Americans who get healthcare.. the 47 million of us Americans without insurance or healthcare have no clue about that stuff.

Thats my political statement for the weekend heh heh.

[Cthulhu]

Well, we could all put our faith in traditional Eastern medicine, with its energy fields chi, pressure points etc. as unsupported in reality as anything.

Or we could put our faith in bear's gall bladders, deer antlers, and various other medicial cures still popular in Korea and China.

Are these enough shortcomings in Eastern medicine?

Western medicine has its own shortcomings but there's a reason why Asia has adopted Western methods en masse rather than vice versa, unless someone has a good reason why independent Asian nations don't just drop the Western facade and go back to what they had before now that they have the freedom to do so.

[Zed]

Strange thread.

I've never seen anywhere else in the world where people are so quick to run to the doctor and get a shot in the ass every time they sniffle. Korea that is.
Western medicine overmedicating?

[Zark]

Let's not forget dog soup as a traditional medicine.

Personally, I am against bear bile for curing illness. I need mine!

I say use what works when you need it. Too many people are reading and believing way too much jive.

I don't believe in west or east - I'll use what works. Read the research - try what seems most successful - don't blindly follow ANY path.

Grrrrrrr

[kiwioutofthenest]

Well i Agree with the OP, Orthodox mediciene usually is symtomatic. Obvioulsy with certain viruses vaccines are sometimes necessacary to stop mass plagues but it is scary when you learn about some of the viruses that have evolved from such vaccines. Like small pox, which can now be used as a biological weapon because of it's virulence.
I think there is a place for both forms of medicine, over 50% of orthodox medicines are developed from plant sources. So there must be some truth in traditional herbal medicines.

There is a definate overuse of medication such as antibiotics and pain supressants. The OP is quite right "Germs don't cause disease" it is simply that our bodies can't fight the bacteria or viruses which causes a state of dis-ease which in turn gives disease symptoms.

I think one of the main problems with modern pharmocology is the tendancy to treat an illness as a seperate entity, such as cancer, "You have Cancer" like it is something that has invaded your body but it is your body which is unable to control it's own development....Tumours are cells that have lost the ability to stop dividing due to genetic reasons. Ofcourse i don't know how to cure cancer but i believe that such symptoms are a reflection of the health of your body. A direct reflection of the state of your immune system.

Viruses are somewhat different and are things which are invading your body. I think orthodox medicine is more effective when dealing with viruses as it is more specific than Eastern or traditional medicine. Such as anti retroviral therapy or vaccines.

I think that both forms of medicine have there place but if your body is in balance you should require less of both.

[desultude]

Tiger Beer said:

[Manner of Speaking]

[Drakoi]

[Drakoi]