Hospitals a good Idea?

in #health6 years ago

Over the years man has always put their sick people together, this was mostly for convenience. But one thing that history will tell us is that this might not be the best way for healing people.

Above is a picture of a Civil War hospital.

"However, while “advanced” or “hygienic” may not be terms attributed to medicine in the nineteenth century, modern hospital practices and treatment methods owe much to the legacy of Civil War medicine. Of the approximately 620,000 soldiers who died in the war, two-thirds of these deaths were not the result of enemy fire, but of a force stronger than any army of men: disease. Combating disease as well treating the legions of wounded soldiers pushed Americans to rethink their theories on health and develop efficient practices to care for the sick and wounded." https://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/civil-war-medicine?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5c31htKb2QIVAjJpCh0tWwW9EAAYAiAAEgK-OvD_BwE

You can see that Diseases have taken countless lives from war, especially when we group them together. When you think about it, you put all the sick people together, and instead of curing them, they get everything that they didn't have. Even today, with all the medical advances, Staff infections are still running rampant in hospitals. Just last week, we went on a tour of the hospital, and they were turning people away with any cold or flu like symptoms unless you would wear masks at the door. Lately every time I go, I get sick, and all my friends who are nurses seem to be a revolving door of disease.

So what to do? I don't have any of the answers.......yet! But you can see, that when grouping people with illness together, you can have dangerous side effects. My real concern is not staff infection, but metal illness that has been so prevalent in today's society. We are doing the same thing with this as we have done with all illness, and grouping them together. I am concerned that instead of healing, we are furthering the mental illness epidemic by surrounding people in need of care, with people in need of care. Sometimes things like this will feed on each other. Any thoughts, I personally saw some of this in my grandmother at her care home.

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Yes, you have a point there. It is same like if you keep some people together for a long time they will start adopting habits from other and become average of those.

It is definitely not good to put a bunch of suicidal people together in one room, they just feed on themselves, and I have seen it first hand.

You raise such an interest point and one that I think would make for a great debate. When we first think of sickness and disease my initial thought goes to isolation. Get that person isolated and try to contain whatever it is. We just had this situation in our house. We are a family of 8 people here and one of our daughters got sick with the flu. We immediately isolated ehr to her bedroom and even quarantined a bathroom just for her. She was extremely ill and basically bed ridden for several days. Fortunately, our efforts worked and nobody else was sick. Your point about putting all the sick people together and its actual value is a very interesting thought. Any hospital I have ever been in , although they may try, does not give the impression that illnesses are being contained. People are being treated but not necessarily isolated and quarantined. How can we expect the illness not to spread if people are constantly in contact with the patient and these patients are in contact with other illnesses.
It seems as though the convenience factor you bring up might be a reason for hospitals. It wouldn't seem feasible to have these people scattered all over and have care workers try to help them.
As far as the mental illness side of things, I think the issue has always been there but we as a society are just now starting to recognize that those people who we once thought of as strange or off are actually dealing with issues and need help. I think it is quite possible that these issues could be exacerbated in a setting where they are surrounded by other illnesses and behaviours. Same problem arises though. Where do we locate all these people who are so desperately in need of care and families are unable to provide it for them at home.
Very thought provoking post. Made me think about something I think we all kind of push under the rug and that is a bad idea because this problem is only going to grow exponentially as our baby boomers are heading into their senior years and more and more young people are being diagnosed with mental illnesses.

You know, I am thinking, I just send you my ideas of posts, and you just write them for me. Haha. You seem to have a knack for it. Writing is definitely not my thing. More of a big picture guy.

Hahaha... Thanks so much. I appreciate the kind words. I've always wanted to write but have never really had the courage to do it until I got here. Your'e post seem to always spark an interest in me. I have really enjoyed them. I want to start posting more stuff on my own blog but am waiting until I get a little more traffic so that they actually get some views. I'm still a baby in this pond. lol

Agreed - we need more web based care for small-time illnesses, like colds instead of grouping everyone up together. For my current insurance plan, I believe I can have some sort of an audio or video chat with a doctor once per year and get prescribed medication without going to a physical DR office; that sounds like a step in the right direction.

Definitely, mass population is hard to stop the spread of stuff.

Just talking about this has me uncomfortably coating my hands with hand sanitizer, haha.

Now for small diseases and do not have to go to the doctor can all be found on the Internet!Or go to the web doctor...And better not be ill and stay healthy!!!Хороший пост удачи вам @bigram13 !

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I agree with you now a lot of web doctors!

Followed your conversation, good point raised well my contribution is this, when you look at web based doctors consultation/treatment you find out that it lacks efficiency as much as physical consultation each have its own merit and demerit apparently, but ain't we looking at maximizing health care delivery to ensure a patient gets the best? It's also wrong to classify any illness as being small or minor although I understand the context in which that phrase was used but we can't rule out the importance of physical observation. Now back to the original post/content I feel most hospitals have enough meaures/ tech put in place to reduce spread of disease. Notwithstanding health care delivery comes with its own hazard been so since time in memorial. What we can do is come up with more measures/practice to fasten and enhance the ones already in place, my 2cent.

I sure don't have the answer, and I don't really know if there is one, it is just a crazy thought on how we put all the sickness in one spot.

your words are very good.

I hate hospitals and I've always been scared of them

I agree with your opinion,the hospital is not only where the disease is healed but also where the diseases are maintained.such as where I work now,when there is a need for immediate treatment it is not done but is disregarded and more concerned with personal interests.

Isolation precautions should always be taken to prevent cross-infection of patients, visitors and hospital staffs.
I work in a hospital in Nigeria, most times when a patient hears the word "isolation" it scares them because it sounds like they are about to be put in a solitary confinement..lol
But that's not the case :))


One Way To Fix The Cross Infections

  • Hospital staffs should always wear gowns and gloves so they don't carry these organisms on their hands to the next patient!

Thanks for sharing this post @bigram13

health good and life good nice post

comment replay pls how are u

Hi,

I've volunteered at a number of hospitals before and I've personally had good experiences there, for the most part.

The number one rule they told us volunteers was to "Gel in and Gel out". Which means, every time you enter a room, use hand sanitizer. Every time you leave a room, use hand sanitizer.

I think hospitals in modern society do prioritize sanitation greatly now. For example, I did not know there was a "proper way" to wash your hands before working in a hospital. Apparently, you are suppose to wash your hands for 30 seconds with soap and scrubbing between your fingers and your fingertips.

However, maybe there is a better system for healthcare in the future that may replace this traditional method.

This was just my experience. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. There's always going to be pros and cons to everything.

Don't forget to scrub around your nails! Any murder mystery you've ever seen comes down to the cops finding blood under and around the evil person's nails! 😇

There was a TED talk about one way the likelihood of diseases being spread in hospital could be reduced. Using UV lights can be very effective.

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_brenner_a_new_weapon_in_the_fight_against_superbugs

@bigram13 good article!

As you said people who go to hospitals for a reason or a type of disease can get another tipe of infection due to the contact with different organisms that live in the hospital, this is called nocosomial infection, this is contracted because of an infection or toxin that exists in a certain location, such as a hospital.

God Bless Us All.

i think to treat people in a better manner ...first and foremost hygenic conditions should be maintained in hospitals

Whenever I find something wrong with myself I just Google it and figure out what to do, since I know how to think for myself. You'd be surprised how many doctors see you on your visit, ask you what's wrong and then say "That's interesting, I'll be right back." And then the doctor goes and looks it up in a book or the internet and tells you to take some pills to treat the symptoms, instead of treating the problem that caused the symptoms. And don't forget, some doctors graduated at the bottom of their class and never further their knowledge, which science changes over time on top of it!

This one may go beyond a simple hospital but include basic human nature. When you put several individuals that are like minded together they begin to see things the same way. We see it each day in the news, mob mentality. How do fans WIN a super bowl and then still riot. They mentally are feeding off of each other and taking on others characteristics. This goes beyod hospitals, but could be applied to governments, churches, schools etc. Coming together and doing the exact same thing as one another is no way to heal, because we are individuals. 🙃 @freedompoint

That's a tough one. I try to stay away from the hospital or doctor's office if I can avoid it because that is a place where you have a close grouping of people who are sick. It's amazing that more people don't get sick there. Wearing a mask might help. Taking a probiotic might help get more good bacteria in your gut. That's supposed to be where a lot of your immune system comes from. Of course, wash your hands often.

That's all I've got. Just my opinions, but might help. Hope your grandmother stays healthy!

Great post! It reminds me of the old days before hospitals became the norm, when the doctor visited the patients home. It was in the home that the doctor did all the work, not the hospital. I, personally, would much rather pay for the doctor to come see me than be stuck in a hospital. But, for that to work today when certain equipment is needed, IDK? It would take some planning to make it work. Anyway, thanks for bringing it up!

Interesting post!
Hospitals are ideal for quarantine if infections disease.

In terms of mental illness. Group cognitive behavioral or mindfulness sessions are actually very effective. So it may not be the interaction it is the kind of interaction the patients are getting.

You are right about the needs of some mental patients. The problems that are seen most often are some which can most benefit from a community of people who are going through the same problems. I've talked to several people who needed help but couldn't afford the doctors. They felt much more capable of coping when they started working in an online support group who were going through the same things and had techniques to share and constant moral support.

I'm sad to say I hadn't thought enough about the negatives of grouping people with mental health problems in institutions, and it is quite obvious that it's not going to be particularly helpful for healing and recovery.
I think {at least in the UK} there's been an attempt to prioritize "care in the community" and avoid institutionalization... but I suspect it is in good part a money saving exercise and I know for sure that the care is seriously lacking.

This is a complete sidenote on mental illness, but your post made me think of it. I love February because Turner Classic Movies channel shows a ton of Oscar nominated and Oscar winning films, many that you can't find on streaming services.

I recorded and watched The Snake Pit, a 1948 movie nominated for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Actress (Olivia de Havilland). It's one of those films I'd heard of but never had a chance to see. This was a landmark film (based on a semi-autobiographical novel) that showed the realities of state mental hospitals and the methods they used for treatment. Because of this movie, 26 states enacted legislation to upgrade mental institutions and provide better care for patients. The psychology behind the lead character's illness plays a little silly in 2017 (basically, daddy issues), but the portrayal of her experience in the asylum still played incredibly well. I just found it interesting how sometimes it takes something like a movie or a TV series to bring attention to a problem like this and make a change. I think how we deal with mental illness has made incredible strides over the decades but based on what I still see and read, we still have so much room for improvement.

It's very unfortunate in my country Philippines, the number public hospitals here are not enough to cater the patients. You have to wait in line even if your bleeding to death. The current situation is improving however due to the current efforts of the government.

You have hit the mark, @cryptotax. The web currently offers a lot of help both in the vast amount of information we can gain for everything from symptoms to the meds & supplements we are taking and their interactions. I think that it offer even more in the future.

Currently one of the biggest problems with online medicine is that it isn't secure/private. Anything you discuss online is gradually becoming more and more likely to be intercepted by anyone, particularly with Homeland Security on the loose. Mental health issues are particularly touchy. In the US neither your general practitioner nor any specialist you see has access to your mental health diagnosis unless you tell them or give permission to have the records opened.

The infrastructure of an online system is in the process of being set up here in the US and Canada to connect care facilities but currently you can talk to an intern (someone in the later stages of becoming a dr.) yourself at an online site and have someone guaranteed to get back to you within the hour (I've done this with the people dr. and with the vet). For a small fee everyone wins, you can get some good advice for your specific problem and the intern earns a small fee to help pay the bills. The fees are somewhere between $35 and $100 and some say that you won't be billed unless you are satisfied and you are also given the opportunity to tip the responder if you particularly find the info helpful. The two I've used and found particularly helpful are https://www.medhelp.org/ and http://my.justanswer.com/?area=&op=4 I particularly like that you can send a photo if you need to.

There are currently some online aid programs and downloadable apps (I am told) to help deal with mental health issues and studies have been done that indicate that most people are more likely to be honest and disclose more about themselves to a computer program than they are to a real person. You can see why that can lead to better care if the program is capable of providing it. Computers are supposedly quite good already for mood/anxiety disorders like depression and bipolar problems and some anxiety disorders like PTSD and panic attacks.

I understand the reasons behind hospitals but in some ways I am glad for insurance. It's made it so that they send you home as soon as you don't need to have serious care whether by personelle or by the available machinery.

then what do u do... professionals in the healthcare are trained for this kind of conditions only...
imagine a butcher.. u can never ever imagining being a butcher but for a butcher its a daily task.. in the start it may look tough but with time it'll become a habit...
for the patients... your idea is valid but imagine putting sick people between healthy people... eventually you are putting the healthy at risk which will demand much more healthcare.. its easier to treat patients concentrated at a junction rather than being at distributed facilities

Family is the most important thing in the world. If you do not have a family, consider that you have nothing. Family - this is the most lasting bond of your life. I liked your post