Archive
Many questions raised about Swine Flu
Last week I talked about the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918. It killed 21 million people in 11 months, more than twice as many as died in years of war. The problem is will it happen again? Even if it does, there are many questions to answer. Will it be as lethal a disease with the availability of present day antibiotics? Will it be the swine flu virus that causes the influenza? Could the vaccine be worse than the disease for some people? In essence, should Canadians run for the woods or roll up their sleeves for the shot? The current fear of Swine Flu stems from a happening at Fort Dix in New Jersey in January 1976. Several healthy recruits...Read More
Archive
You should know about Swine Flu vaccine
Most Canadians are in a no-man's land state of mind about the Swine Flu vaccine. Some patients quickly say they don't believe in flu shots. Others conclude they don't want to risk having a reaction from the vaccine. Still others say that they will ask their doctor what to do. If they follow this latter course. I wish them luck. Doctors I've asked seem as non-plussed about whether or not they would take the vaccine as patients. One surgeon thought it might interfere with his operating for a day or two. Many were undecided on the issue. A few thought they would wait until an epidemic seemed more likely before they rolled up their sleeves. And a couple had a novel...Read More
Archive, Medicine
Consumers Beware
Is it possible to believe what the doctor tells them? Or are there too many "Water-gate-type physicians" around, who too frequently lead patients up the primrose path? It is a question more and more North Americans are asking these days and ending up with incomplete answers. A few people still have implicit, faith in the medical profession. Just look at their track record. Antibiotics save untold thousands from dying of pneumonia and a host of other diseases. Cortisone enables other thousands to be free of wheelchairs. Cardiac pacemakers add years to the lives of heart patients. Surgeons are transplanting hearts and kidneys. But others feel doctors have fallen from their exalted perch, that you simply can't and shouldn't believe them. How much truth...Read More
