Medical Practices

Before Penicillin

Before penicillin became widely available after World War II, there was much illness and death due to lobar (pneumococcal) pneumonia. Sulfa drugs helped against milder cases, but in severe cases it was a battle between the infection and the patient’s immune system. With a mortality rate of near 50%, there were almost 100,000 deaths per year due to this illness.

Penicillin’s impact was not only on medical practice itself, but also on the philosophy of medicine. With sanitation and bacteriology eliminating the great plagues, Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin and subsequent antibiotics subdued the remainder of the invisible predators.

The Shift In Medicine

Since the 19th century there has been a movement away from medicine as an art, and this change was complete upon the discovery of antibiotics. Previously, a physician worked hand in hand with a patient to affect a cure. The physician’s intuition and skill was paramount to any biochemical alternative. The doctor used remedies based on many years of observation and trial and error.

Over the last two centuries medicine has evolved into more of a science than an art, and predominantly the application of biochemistry. Rather than empirical results, medical practices and techniques are tested against current theories and concepts in biochemistry. And here is the key point: practices or techniques that do not fit this model based on chemical concepts, even when effective, are merely tossed aside or labeled pseudoscientific and in some cases fraudulent.

Life became an array of chemical reactions, and it was most logical to assume that any illness or disease could best be addressed with a chemical antidote. And then a few years down the line with the DNA code being deciphered, this only reinforced the chemical basis to life, and the double helix became a symbol of the age. What makes this truly a model of insanity is that scientific medicine abandoned its central rule: revision in the light of new data.

The Technological Fix

Drugs and surgery became the go to methods to treat all ailments both physical and mental. Bipolar depression symptoms were immediately treated with antipsychotic medication and anti-depressants. Nutrition, exercise, mental and emotional factors, and other preventative measures were ignored. Even today, given poor results from traditional methods, it is still assumed that the cure for major diseases such as heart disease and cancer is a chemical fix. Transplants have led to the idea of a bionic human.

Although the benefits of technology cannot be denied, this has come at the high cost of the humanity of medicine. There is no value given to the uniqueness and sanctity of life, and a patient’s own self healing ability has for the most part been ignored. Treating life from such a chemical basis negates the need for a close doctor-patient relationship based on trust and genuine care.

An Empty Promise

Medicine has left behind much that cannot be replaced with mere technology and biochemistry. Medical technology’s promise of a golden age of health has been found to be lacking. Infectious diseases have now been replaced by degenerative diseases as the destroyer of the quality of life, and medical costs have skyrocketed denying healthcare to many, and detrimentally affecting our economies.

Our cures through technology also come with a price, which are side effects that produce secondary diseases. So then we are back on the merry go round searching for another cure. This type of dehumanized treatment has alienate many who can afford to pay, and has resulted in much interest in alternative methods. While these methods sometimes overlook and ignore technology’s real advantages, they do stress the doctor-patient relationship, nature’s innate recuperative power, and preventative care.

The Compassionate Healer

We must get back to medicine as an art form, while retaining the advantages and advancements that come with technology. A compassionate healer uses hands, mind and heart to treat the whole person, and also is willing to learn from his or her patients.

Although the mechanistic assumptions of today’s medicine are remnants of the last two centuries, there is a major shift in play that is becoming more and more evident daily. The blinders are slowly being removed from the medical establishment. It is becoming quite apparent that mechanistic chemistry is not capable of understanding the enigmas of life.

Through the efforts of many pioneers in little-known research efforts, medical practices are once again moving toward the masterpiece of art. We are seeing once again a new definition of life based on human values of care and trust. This revolution in biology and medicine will bring a greater humility to medical practices by recognizing the true self-healing power latent within all organisms.

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