h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

[GDZ]

Having said all that about herbs v drugs,I wasn't averse to high tech intervention when my daughter was born at 28 weeks gestation and my Ma was glad of it -she had her only Grandchild.It's necessary and welcome if it's really needed - it's just that a lot of people dash to the doc's for pills when sometimes a more natural approach would be more beneficial .A lot of the problems that doctors and hospitals have are caused by over-medication and indiscriminate use of antibiotics.
May I express my sympathy to Teucher- I do hope the treatments have the desired effect.Hang on in there

<<*Chloe gives FG a golden compote bowl inscribed '8C - 1245'*>>

::wanders through the Salon a la a Miss America pageant winner, in an evening gown, tiara on her head, compote bowl in her arms, and tears in her eyes::

Okay, where's Bob Barker to serenade me when I need him?

Right, here's a spoon, a bowl, two homemade shortcakes, and a vat of freshly whipped cream for each of you. Salonista "Fruit Bowl Ethics Shortcake" for everyone! Sorry it took me so long to get here. I had to travel 200 miles to the east for a Montana tourism board meeting and back again in the last two days. Luckily, I won the new Wilco CD "Sky Blue Sky" last Friday on the radio, so I had company on the road. And luckily, no one else was traveling with me, otherwise they would have had to kill me because it was the only thing I listened to during the three and a half hour drive, over and over and over again. While I was gone, everyone picked up and moved over here. Hello to the new people, for Teuchter, and a big Renfield-esque laugh to the Universe for the big news today in American politics.

> I guess it's the Christian thing to do to vandalize public property

On a happy note, the Great Almighty has decided he wants Jerry Falwell by his side. Better keep him, Yahweh, we don't want him back.

Z brought up an interesting point in the last conversation...

> When it comes to it making big lifestyle changes is difficult and taking medications is easy - so most people would rather take medicaitons.

This is so true. People want to pop a pill and make it all better. Or stitch their stomachs together so they won't be able to eat as much. Bleah.

My mom takes handfuls of vitamins a day, and nags me about taking my vitamins. I prefer to ingest my vitamins through food - they absorb better. At least half of the vitamins we take go straight through our systems anyway.

For a while, they were saying that garlic was good for you. Sadly, not true. It's the olive oil and dark leafy greens that are good for you - the garlic just makes everything taste better.

[Hides from the blue furry Cookie Monster pants...]

I see that ltp has missed post 42 this time.

Where has ltp been?

[AmyP]

Oh, well, if I get the pants I can always let PaperBaby borrow them--did I ever tell you that when we all saw them for the first time, she liked them? Then again, considering this photo ( http://new.photos.yahoo.com/amy_p1/album/576460762399987397/photo/294928804358340841/13 ) maybe that's not so surprising

Z, I'm certainly not denigrating modern medicine, please don't take it that way. And perhaps your side of the pond, with it's nationalized system, is a bit less...whatever we are over here (overburdened, over charged, massively rushed, and sue happy, to start!).

But there was a time in history that (largely) male medical professionals, who had all sorts of "new" knowledge and a bunch of dubious practices, darn near systematically pushed women who knew a thing or two about how to treat medical illnesses in what, arguably, were more gentle and holistic ways, out of the picture. In the _Malleus Malificarum_, there is a lengthy discussion of how women who pick herbs and deliver babies should be questioned, and the assumption is that the vast majority of them are witches. Certainly there are a lot of underlying assumptions...that women, without male control, are somehow dangerous and susceptible to demonic influence, that medical knowledge should be reserved for the "more analytic" mind of males, that herbal remedies, because their efficacy could not be proven by the "new" sciences that were emerging, etc.

I think there is a swing in the other direction, actually. I think people are fed up with doctors who take five minutes to look at them and then send them off with a prescription for this or that. I also think that doctors are doing more to promote a whole-body approach. Take, for instance, the movement to stop giving every kid with a cold antibiotics. We learned the hard way that in trying to kill every germ, we made supergerms, ones that didn't lie down and die quietly, but adapted and made themselves harder to kill.

Blast. So near to the clean cups and yet so far. One day...

[Hati]

Slyly nudges the door open and presses himself, wings outstretched, against the wall and slowly edges towards the palms. It's early, nobody should notice if i just sliiide along here and pretend I've been here for ages.

mornin all,


What trousers?

It always seemed to me perfectly logical that you treat a cold with hot toddies, eucalyptus, and chicken soup; upset tummy with black tea (no milk) and peppermint tea; and most other minor complaints with a hot-water-bottle and a good book. Headaches and coughs I am a wimp about and medicate with over-the-counter stuff. Major stuff you go to the doctors. But you carefully do not leave your intelligence in the waiting-room. (I had one GP who would routinely offer me antibiotics whenever I went to her about something else entirely, but with a cough or cold. It drove me mad. This is a cold. They are viral. What the heck is an antibiotic going to do to a virus? Why can't I have something really usefull like codeine? Anyway. One year I had a cough that went on for four weeks, so I caved and did take the antibiotic. Well. At the end of the ten day course, I had thrush (in my mouth too!), upset tummy, AND a bad cough. The cough turned out to be caused by living in a house full of wood-burning stoves, and went away almost the very instant I moved to a house with a gas boiler and radiators. I very nearly got an official diagnosis of asthma instead, but pointed out that if I only needed inhalers when in smokey environments, wouldn't it make more sense to avoid smoke AND inhalers and save the NHS some money?)

Ooh, long digression. Sorry.

I also knew a woman who let the GP put her son back on antibiotics for persistant ear infections every other month for two years. The kid had almost constant diarrhoea, was skinny and short for his age, and his ear never cleared up and they were all talking earnestly about gromits when my mother FINALLY convinced her to try changing his diet (no more dairy, sweeties, or white bread). His ears cleared up. His tummy cleared up. He put on weight. His dry rough skin became smooth. His grades improved. He became immensely more cheerful. And the doctor threw and ABSOLUTE FIT at the idea of a child growing up without lovely glasses of milk and practically accused the woman of child abuse.

On the other hand, I can't see herbs and such (and believe me, I TRIED the herbs (and homeopathy. And aromatherapy. For years) helping me with my problems. It took the sort of medication that damages your kidneys long-term to get my symptoms under control. As much as I'd infinitely prefer three cups of tisane a day and a weekly massage to do it, alas and thank Bob for science.

So basically I am too saying that modern medicine is fantastic and useful and some of it is very very clever. As are most doctors. But for a lot of minor, persistant, things, 'modern medicine' can't help you and shouldn't try. Most GPs are wise enough to point this out to you themselves. Bah to the occasional antibiotic-fan or disbeliever in food sensitivities.

I think what it all comes down to is that we're all different. I can't take any over the counter meds if they contain either Ibuprofen (messes with my meds) or anti-histamines (messes with my balance -- big time!). Colds take the requisite 7 days to go away, whether you take the meds or not. The meds only ease the symptoms, and I can't take cold meds.

I have to take a couple of different blood pressure meds, and for a while they were jacking my blood sugars up to the moon, and making my kidneys go nuts. Took a lot to balance all that, and if I could do without them, I would, but not possible.

Teucher, I hope you'll look into a dietary approach, with the meds. my sister's had RA for 20 years or more, and the changes she made are the only things which gave her some relief, along with her meds. It made the difference between getting up and down all night long, because she couldn't stay in one position for more than 30 minutes, to being able to sleep almost 3 hours, before having to shift to a chair.

One of my colleagues has a daughter that studies medicine in Germany. It seems that it is obligatory for them to study alternative medicine as well - I think it was homeopathy. I wish it was the same in Sweden, but most Swedish s are very sceptical and suspicious against alternative treatments.

Speaking of homeopathy - another of my colleagues got a cancer diagnosis from a homeopath. The homeopath had checked her eyes, and felt her tummy, and then gently told her that she probably had cancer. She was instructed to go see a 'proper' and ask to have specific tests (the homeopath gave her a list of which tests exactly).

And it was correct - she had a small tumour in the hypo... hypo... *hurls worthless Swedish-English dictionary at the wall* Argh! Hypophysis? It's inoperable but meds made it shrink down, but if she stops taking them it grows again. The trouble is that she's trying to get pregnant, and then she won't be able to take the meds.

To completely change the subject - remember when I told you Belgium had refused entry to Dalai Lama? Something related happened in Sweden recently - 'Chinese diplomat tries to silence Swedish politician':
http://www.thelocal.se/7315/20070515/

*Tiptoes in*

Someone has taken the time and trouble to translate all the tube stations in Stockholm into English - and oh boy, does it sound like we all live in small, idyllic villages rather than modern, boring suburbs? *wipes away tears of laughter*

http://www.thelocal.se/subway/map.html

The translated map is great T

Does anyone have any recomendations for photo organising software? Prefereably free stuff for windows, though if alternative OS (ie linux, all the macs I use are at work) are listed then that'd be great.

Third LED! This is the latest I've been in ages! But that's what I get when I'm out learning how to kill people... err... I mean studying Europe's martial heritage instead of refreshing my convos every five minutes.

Homeopathy. n.
Bad science given earnestly.

Sorry if anyone here actually beleives in it, but that's how I feel.

*arrives late, as usual*

*slinks toward the comfy sofa with in hand*