Given that most of our readers work in the pharmaceutical industry I’m probably preaching to the converted here, but is it just me that thinks we’re descending into an era of witchcraft and shamanism the likes of which probably haven’t been seen since the dark ages?
A few days ago, prompted by the government’s pandemic plan that advised I stock up on two weeks’ worth of water and food, I was pondering the swine flu and considering what precautions, if any, I should take. I concluded that keeping myself in good health with a balanced diet and plenty of sleep so I am fit to battle the porcine plague, should I be unlucky enough to be stricken, would be sufficient. But this got me thinking about how other people might be preparing.
Recent years have seen a great increase in the concept of ‘wellbeing’ – that warm fuzzy stuff that keeps us healthy and happy. And I don’t scoff. In fact, we have launched a wellbeing program here at ZEST. But it strikes me that sneaking in with the laudable pursuits of stress relief, good nutrition, exercise, yoga, and the like, are the peddlers of dubious healthcare and lifestyle remedies.
It astounds me on a nearly daily basis how educated, intelligent adults (my partner included) are quite willing to accept frankly absurd explanations for ill health and believe that assorted soft-focus herbal or spiritual remedies will provide the cure. And you can talk about evidence and double-blind placebo-controlled trials till you’re blue in the face to no avail. Don’t get me started on reiki or homeopathy.
But so what? Shouldn’t we let people believe what they want and line the pockets of any witchdoctor they choose? Perhaps. But where should the line be drawn? Is it acceptable to let these people loose on children? I would challenge anyone to say that the death of little Gloria Thomas who was denied proper medical care by her parents in favour of homeopathy was acceptable.
Personally I think it is wrong for people to sell cures for which there is no evidence to gullible people, particularly if those people have serious illnesses and are dispensing with evidence-based medicine in favour of quackery. But I can’t imagine a day when this will ever be policed by our authorities. Perhaps then there should be greater emphasis on the teaching of health, wellbeing and medicine in school so as adults we are better informed to make sensible choices.
Googling to investigate my opening thought about how people might be preparing for the swine flu I felt I had to share this article about treating the flu with Distance Reiki. Apparently reiki practitioners can harness the power of Twitter to come together and focus their Distance Reiki on a person, or more generally, on say Mexico City.
It’s just silly, isn’t it?
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