Pharmaceutical companies
love us! We all want an instant cure for
everything, and seniors are no different than the rest of the population. We go to the doctor and demand the latest
pills in order to cure whatever ails us, and then we wonder why we end up
taking 14 pills every morning and have astronomical pharmacy bills.
I loved the article in The
Wall Street Journal (Tuesday, September 22,2009) Health Journal called “Getting
Well: It’s About Time,” by Melinda
Beck. She writes that most people’s
bodies and immune systems are wonderful when it comes to handling things if you
can be patient, but people today are so medication orientated that they can’t
wait. People are so impatient that 1/3
to ½ of the health care dollars are being spent on unnecessary tests,
treatments, and doctors visits. Most of
which just buys your body time to heal itself.
Granted, being sick is
nothing to sneeze about but patients demanding antibiotics and medications for
every symptom make pharmaceuticals billion dollar conglomerations. It is kind of like the old adage that it will
take a week to get over a cold or flu without medication and 7 days if you take
something. Common maladies often follow
predictable courses whether they are treated or not.
Many people are relieved
when their doctors tell them that they don’t need to take medicine, have a
blood test or undergo surgery. Still, some resent paying to see a doctor and
being told that there is nothing wrong.
The treatment play is often the “tincture of time.” Don’t hesitate to call your doctor for
persistent pain, loss of function or anything unusual for you but if your
doctor says you will get better on your own, well that is good news. Sometimes you need to rest, drink plenty of
fluids and let your body heal itself.
Dredge up some of the old home remedies that we all learned from our
mothers. I can remember mustard
plasters, a wool sock around the neck, warm milk, special puddings, and lots of
tender loving care doing the trick. Our
mothers were amazing! We were cosseted
and pampered and staying home to rest was almost fun.
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