A guest’s ankle
injury didn’t seem serious, so I told her we’d wait a day before deciding on an
x-ray. At her request, I wrapped the ankle in an elastic bandage while
explaining that orthopedists believe that elastic bandages accomplish little.
As I wrapped, I
mused on the superiority of western medicine. I have little respect for
alternative, complementary, holistic, herbal, or natural healing systems, but I
admit that all popular and media doctors disagree, and they enjoy a far larger
audience than this obscure blog.
My reasons have
something to do with the fact that we genuinely help patients, but I prefer to
stress how often we don’t. Alternative healers never say: “This treatment could
be better…” or “We thought we understood this disease, but we were wrong…” or
“We screwed up…” Scientific training hasn’t prevented me from making mistakes,
but I hope I learn from them.
When I’m feeling
particularly hostile, I challenge alternative medicine fans to play the miracle
game. I’ll name one of our miracles; then it's your turn. No fair using a
secret cure. It has to be something we all agree on.
My first western
medicine miracle: the appendectomy. Appendicitis victims once died after weeks
of agony. Then we discovered that snipping off the appendix (something any
bright high school student can do) cured it. We take this for granted, but it’s
a miracle that's saved millions of lives. Now let’s hear yours….
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