Articles & News About Jobs & Employment

Medical Testing: Health By The Numbers Doesnt Work

Perhaps one of the most insidious dangers in modern technology is medical testing. Although it would be nice to be able to visit our doctor and get all hooked up with electrodes, inflatable cuffs, probes, needles and catheters and have a read-out telling us exactly how we are working and where there is a problem, that is a myth, not the reality.

Such testing creates false confidence and the illusion for people that they are being wise and practicing "preventive medicine." But prevention is not detecting existing disease. Diagnosis is not to be confused with cause or cure. Not only do patients have these misconceptions, the entire medical industry does as well. Modern medicine is focused on naming diseases and treating symptoms, not preventing disease and addressing causes.

Medical tests (done on yourself or by others) give a false sense of control and knowledge. The better choice is to take every step we can to modify life-style and nutritional habits to actually create health, not simply live life with gusto and have yearly stress tests and mammograms. Waiting for disease (reacting to injury, which disease is) to strike and then taking action is certainly not an intelligent approach.

None of this speaks to the waste in much of the $200+ billion a year that is spent on laboratory and clinical tests. Not only do they drain our economy and not create health, they are often inaccurate and unnecessary. Some 75% of doctors surveyed admitted to performing more tests than necessary. In one study of 25,000 tests, only 20% of them reproduced the same result 90% of the time. In another study, 197 out of 200 were "cured" by simply repeating the same tests. (Wysong, RL. Laboratory self-testing. Wysong Health Letter. March 1992.)

This brings me to a serious danger of laboratory testing: a false positive or false negative. If the test is falsely positive, the emotional trauma from believing you may have a serious disease can be enough to create a disease. Thus a test can make a well person sick. A false negative could send you on your way happily believing that everything is fine and that no life modifications are necessary. Meanwhile, the disease continues to incubate and spread.

Medical tests have inherent dangers like any other medical procedure and should be submitted to only with that understanding. Even entering a hospital or doctor's office poses the risk of exposure to infectious disease (nosocomial infection). A "sterile" needle to draw blood could result in a fatal (albeit rare) systemic infection. Squeezing breasts for a mammogram can activate dormant cancerous tissue and increase the spread of cancerous cells (metastases) by 80%. (Greenburg, DS. NCI blasted for mammography confusion. The Lancet. 345(8942): 129.) Pap smears are performed millions of times a year yet have never been proven to change morbidity or mortality. (McCormick, JS. Cervical smears: a questionable practice? The Lancet. 2: 207-209. 1989.) Ultrasound may influence fetal growth. (Newnham, JP, et al. Effects of frequent ultrasound during pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial. The Lancet. 342(8876): 887-91.) X-rays are always dangerous (carcinogenic) and their effects are cumulative over a lifetime. Vaginal and rectal exams can introduce infection. Cancers penetrated with biopsy needles may increase the spread of cancer to sentinel lymph nodes by as much as 50% over lump excision. It is estimated 1 in 20 liver biopsies result in new tumors. (Evans, GH, et al. Safety of and necessity for needle biopsy of liver tumours. The Lancet. 1: 620. 1987.) Let the buyer (patient) beware.

Health is something you do to yourself, not something others do to you with machines or analysis. Health "by the numbers" of cholesterol, blood pressure, prostate antigens, white cell count and the like is a fantasy. Subscribing to this idea will start you on a slippery slope of medications, medications to treat the side effects of medications, surgeries and other interventions that destroy health, not build it.

This is not to suggest that diagnostic tests are not important for refractory diseases or those to which no reasonable cause can be assigned. But as a "preventive" measure for healthy individuals the benefits of the practice are dubious at best. (See article on medicine as the greatest threat to health by the author.)

The best test of health is to evaluate yourself. If you feel well, leave well enough alone, no medical test should convince you otherwise. The best test is to examine your life-style and nutritional practices against the standard of genetic context. We are adapted to fresh air and water, sunshine, exercise and fresh natural foods. (See CD the master key by the author). If you are not living as you are genetically programmed, do it. By so doing you will not only be preventing, but reversing disease. It's easy, cheap and has passed the "test" of time in being the best medicine ever invented.

Dr. Wysong is a former veterinary clinician and surgeon, college instructor in human anatomy, physiology and the origin of life, inventor of numerous medical, surgical, nutritional, athletic and fitness products and devices, research director for the present company by his name and founder of the philanthropic Wysong Institute. He is author of The Creation-Evolution Controversy now in its eleventh printing, a new two volume set on philosophy for living, several books on nutrition, prevention and health for people and animals and over 15 years of monthly health newsletters. He may be contacted at Wysong@Wysong.net and a free subscription to his e-Health Letter is available at http://www.wysong.net .

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

Work at Home Jobs Vs Self Employment
Work at Home Jobs vs Owning a Home Based BusinessNot everyone is interested in owning their own home business, but a lot of people are interested in dropping out of the rat race a little bit. More and more jobs are available where you can work from home.

Legitimate Work From Home Jobs - 4 Important Things to Consider Before Starting This Career Path
When you are selecting legitimate work from home jobs career, money is important, but there are some other factors that should be considered before making the final decision Before beginning even legitimate work from home jobs career, you should think about some of the factors that will help to make your venture succeed or fail

Work at Home Agent - Job Ideas For a Work at Home Agent
Are you interested in jobs that require you to spend hours on the phone talking to customers If you like personal relations work and have good interpersonal skills, then do consider the opportunity of being a work at home agent

Finding that Work at Home Job - A Job in Itself
The trend of corporate America creating work at home jobs for telecommuters is growing, which is good news for those of you who are looking to do your work in your pajamas every day. Technology has made the work at home job more appealing to both bosses and employees, though it does not mean the trend has hit the mainstream, so a work at home job can still be hard to find.

Work at Home Businesses Versus Work at Home Jobs
Is a work at home business better than a work at home job? You bet. Hands down. But each option has pros and cons. It may be that for right now you're just not ready to start a work at home business. Its a big committment. That's OK. But if you're dedicated, smart and willing to work harder than most, settling for a work at home job could be selling yourself short.

Being A Work At Home Business Opportunity Seeker And Finding Work From Home Jobs
The problem with work from home jobs is simply that so many people want to have them Because of this, there are lots of people who want to take advantage of people who truly want to be able to have the freedom of a home business

On Campus Interviews - A Chance For Your "First Job" As Well As Career Employment
During the course of training or secondary educations some organizations - companies, firms as well as major non-profit organizations of great status and reputation will offer campus interviews to graduating students in such fields as engineering, electronics, business management, law accounting, computer information systems and marketing

2 Major Reasons to Get a Computer Work at Home Job
It surprises me how many people are still skeptical about putting their computer to work Thousands of people earn work at home incomes via the internet

7 Benefits of Owning a Computer Work at Home Job
Computer work at home jobs are growing in numbers Some cost very little to start-up and others are completely free to start

4 Legit Work From Home Jobs That Work
Everybody is turning to the internet to work from home and hopefully leave their day job. This means that finding legit work from jobs has become more popular than ever and you can understand why when hundreds of people weekly are quitting their day job and are working out of the comfort of their home.

Work From Home - How To Prepare For A Work From Home Job
Surely, you must have already heard about the perks of working from home Not only do you get the opportunity of being with your loved ones, but also the chance of earning good money doing what you like

Legitimate Work at Home Jobs Career - 4 Amazing Tips to Increase Efficiency
When you have picked one of the many legitimate work at home jobs career and are ready to settle down and make some money, it helps to make your home based business as efficient as possible One of the most important benefits resulting from obtaining legitimate work at home jobs career is the ability to improve income levels through increased efficiency in performing the tasks associated with the jobs

Work From Home Jobs For Moms - Jobs You Can Do at Home
A Legitimate Work from home job is a desire that many moms have, and being able to generate a great income while working from home is very possible I created this work from home jobs for moms lens to give you information about legitimate work from home jobs for moms, and for anyone looking to make part time to full time income

Work at Home Data Entry Jobs, Work at Home, Data Entry Jobs
37 Work at Home Data Entry Jobs - The New Age Career Move