Home | Medicine
Were you aware that thousands of people die every month... due to properly prescribed medications? I read an article published in the year 2000 by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), that talked about how medical errors may be the third leading cause of death in the United States. Unfortunately, since the time that that article was written, medical errors has risen to be the number one leading cause of death in the US. It has been reported that there are 106,000 deaths in hospitals from properly prescribed medications. Combine that with the 88,000 deaths in hospitals due to infections, and the more than 100,000 deaths due to malnutrition, and the more than 100,000 deaths due to hospital bedsores, and the 199,000 outpatients that die, and the more than 30,000 surgery related deaths each year, and the numbers start to stack up pretty fast. Heart disease and cancer do not even take as many lives as the hospitals do. And, almost 10 million people each year face unnecessary hospitalization. Potential dangers of hospitals ... In the past 50 years, modern medicine has made advancements by leaps and bounds. There is more knowledge related to the human body, DNA (with the human genome project), stem cells, advanced research, and nutrition (with knowledge such as fatty acids, the B vitamin recently, and now the new class of nutrients known as glyconutrients). However, even with all of this, people still get sick, and still end up going to the hospital. So, what is wrong with going to the hospital? Think about it...when youre sick, where do you go? To the hospital. But who ELSE is at the hospital? OTHER sick people. There are many diseases there at the hospital. Getting in and out of the waiting room alone without catching a cold or some other bacteria, would be very unlikely unless you had a very strong immune system. There are germs in the air that you breathe, the pen that you use to fill out the forms, and the waiting room chair, and the magazine that you read while sitting there. Just because the examining room is white... doesn't mean that it is much better. Does the doctor or nurse change clothes between each patient? No. In the emergency room, many rooms are separated by curtains. Do you brush against them as you walk in or out? When was the last time that those curtains were cleaned? How about the examining table? Most facilities only change the paper that covers the examining table. Do the sides and surfaces even get wiped down with disinfectant? Probably not. Hospitals these days are so overcrowded with patients that many emergency rooms are being forced to see patients in waiting areas and patients are being parked in corridors. Add to that nursing and other staff shortages and you can see how easily cleanliness and hygiene can fall to the wayside a bit as immediate patient care is more imminent. Many hospital staff are opting to move patients through as quickly as possible and cleaning crews are giving examining and treatment rooms a lick and a promise because they simply have neither the manpower nor the time to do anything more than give floors and some surfaces a quick swipe. So what can you do to protect yourself? Go to the hospital when you absolutely need to go - for emergencies. For less serious illnesses, opt for an after hours clinic or check with your own doctor. Sometimes, though, you just have to go to the emergency room. Try, if you can, to go during times when there is less traffic. Typically, Mondays and Fridays are busier than other week days. Evenings tend to be busier than mornings and the weekends can be rather busy. When you do have to go, carry some hand sanitizer with you and if you use the restroom, wash your hands well. Use a paper towel to turn off the faucet and open the bathroom door. Be proactive and prudent and you will have less of a chance of coming back with more illnesses than you had when you walked into the hospital.
Article Source: http://www.thehealthmanual.com
Spencer Hunt is a wellness consultant and glyconutrient distributor who recommends that everyone research and try glyconutrients. www.ifoundhealth.com.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated