Improvements In Medical And Surgical Practices Have Changed The Treatment Of Almost Every Kind Of Ailment During The Last Century. Further Improvements Must Obviously Continue To Develop Our Knowledge.
It is commonly acknowledged that diagnosis and treatment for complaints and diseases of all aspects of the human body have evolved and improved hugely due to scientific advances in recent decades. Every branch of healthcare these days would be unrecognisable to our ancestors a hundred years ago, and health problems which would once have caused the patient’s demise are now routinely cured or controlled with no fuss. Even those health diseases which can still prove fatal and for which there is not yet a guaranteed cure can now be diagnosed earlier in most cases, and then treated sooner and with more effective drugs to prolong the life of the patient.
Whilst much attention is paid to those diseases and problems which are life threatening or extremely debilitating – and rightly so – there are a number of long term health problems which are mentioned less, and generally these relate to parts of the body, like the eyes and ears, which can be defective in some way, but not usually in a way that is life threatening. Issues with hearing or seeing are more often considered to cause inconvenience for the sufferer, rather than being life changing.
Obviously it is true that being hard of hearing or being short-sighted won’t kill the individual, but if left ignored such minor problems can create other health concerns for the patient. As an example, someone who is becoming hard of hearing can quite likely suffer feelings of isolation, which can trigger feelings of depression, which can cause emotional pressure or dependency on anti-depressants. One minor innocuous health problem can be the cause of several others, when all the individual probably needs is to be tested for a hearing aid – a simple process which restores their hearing and lets them to enjoy life to the full again.
The same thing applies to the eyes, although it is probably fair to say that sufferers are more likely to request help early on when it becomes obvious that they can no longer read a magazine because the words are out of focus or drive a car because they can’t identify objects on the road ahead of them. Nonetheless, if left untreated, eye problems can have a similar effect on other areas of health.
Where eyes are concerned there are a number of health problems which many people will be aware of. Common problems are cataracts and glaucoma – commonly occuring but treatable complaints which often affect the elderly. And many folk use reading glasses or driving glasses to correct problems with their eyes.
There are records which show that even two thousand years ago the Chinese and the Romans understood the concept of employing a shaped chunk of glass to magnify writing and make it easier to read, and historical evidence shows that proper reading glasses were in use in Italy seven centuries ago. So given the scientific developments of recent times, it is no wonder that there are now alternate ways of correcting defective vision. One obvious innovation was the introduction of contact lenses, and another was Laser eye surgery which can permanently correct eyesight so that glasses or contact lenses are not needed. Clearly, not everyone chooses to have Laser eye treatment – many people remain happy with their reading glasses, or opt to use contact lenses. However, for some people, the choice to have Laser eye surgery may be dictated by their occupation, or a much loved interest which is difficult to participate in without risking damage to glasses and the hassle of then not being able to see well for the rest of the activity. It is probably also fair to say that Laser eye treatment is popular amongst individuals who always feel the need to look perfect, so there is quite likely an argument that medicine is in cahoots with vanity in this case!
Anyway, science and medicine continue to develop and new cures and treatments are being patented all the time. How soon might it be before there is a treatment for ear complaints that works like Laser eye surgery? After all, there are already procedures for removing scars and tattoos that get results in the same way as Laser eye treatment by eradicating the unwanted or damaged cells. Only time will tell!
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