Hippocrates, the ‘father of western medicine’ was a Greek physician who lived from approximately 460 B.C. until around 370 B.C. He is credited as being the first physician who believed that diseases were not caused by superstition or gods, but rather that diseases had natural causes.
Today's doctors all take the Hippocratic Oath, but are they actually following his teachings?
Here are just a few of his teachings and or demands upon physicians:
1. Do no harm!
“Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm.”
“As to diseases, make a habit of two things – to help, or at least, to do no harm.”
In April, the Los Angeles Times reported that, "One recent study published in the journal Health Affairs estimated that one in three patients admitted to a hospital experiences what is known as an "adverse event" such as being given the wrong medication, acquiring an infection or receiving the wrong surgical procedure."
VERDICT: FAILED!
2. Nutrition and Exercise
“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.”
“Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.”
“Walking is man’s best medicine.”
In a country, where ads for prescription medication are on TV, it comes at no surprise that, "The number of hospitalisations due to poisoning by prescription drugs have increased from approximately 43,000 to about 71,000 in the country between 1999 and 2006, said the report published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine." (The Hindu - April 6, 2010)
While the NY Times reports in May, "The rate of prescription pain medication misuse by New York City residents who are 12 or older has increased by 40 percent from 2002 to 2009, according to a report released Friday by the city’s Health Department. "
When it comes to prescribing good nourishment and work-out, it is even more worry-some:
While health insurance in most European countries subsidize gym memberships, this simple preventive measure is completely unheard of in the United States of America.
And healthy food is really hard to come by these days. With Monsanto and Co. being treated as a person and therefore granting them constitutional rights including the one for free speech, allows for these said companies to claim basically anything that they want and makes it legal to not list all the ingredients contained in any cosmetic or food or any other consumer product. Personally, I find this almost criminal and I encourage EVERYONE to sign the petition to revoke these constitutional rights for corporations at www.movetoamend.org
Meanwhile, genetically tempered soy and corn is in a large variety of foods. No wonder, the cancer and allergy rates are much higher in the US than anywhere else in the world, where these kind of tempered foods are banned.
VERDICT: FAILED!
3. The body's healing powers
“To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy.”
Have you ever left your doctor's office without a prescription medication or an address for either a lab or a specialist? Today in the USA, a medical practise is a BUSINESS: the more tests they run on you, the more $$$ they make.
“Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.”
Osteopaths and other alternative physicians know this but your average MD believes in meds and cold steel alone. Again, more procedures, more money in the bank.
VERDICT: FAILED!
4. Comforting patients - the human connection
“Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.”
How long is your average face time with your physician? 10 Minutes? You are lucky! The New York Times reported in March 2006, that the average time with a physician is exactly seven minutes.
How can someone comfort you, when they do not even have the enough time to listen and find out what is going on with you?
VERDICT: FAILED!
5. A thought is a thing!
“A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thought to derive benefit from his illnesses.”
Many alternative healers will agree that a disease is teaching the patient something and obviously our attitude plays a large factor in healing, which many cancer patients will testify. And yet, we still spend more more money researching the latest drug or fancy expensive diagnostic tool as opposed to understanding the amazing healing powers of our very own minds.
VERDICT: FAILED!
6. Astrology as a diagnostic tool
"A physician without any knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician."
With the aid of astrology, Hippocrates was not only better equipped to diagnose the ailment but he could also better predict the process of the disease. It is often referenced that there were certain days when 'crisis' (a worsening of the condition or bettering of the patient) occurred as part of the healing process. These days were astrologically calculated.
“It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has.”
Another hint to astrological patterns as a diagnostic tool.
I, personally, do not know of ANY physician who uses astrology as a diagnostics tool.
VERDICT: FAILED!
CONCLUSION:
To sum it up, I would have to say that it is pretty lame that physicians take an oath dedicated to a healer and yet they do not follow any one of his teachings. Until they start following his teachings, I recommend they stop the charade of the oath!
"Nature never says one thing and wisdom another." Decimus Junius Juvenalis
