Slow days

I'm currently on a course of traditional Chinese medication, the formulation is that of powdered herbs (a combination of roughly five to seven types) to be stirred into a cup of lukewarm water and downed after lunch each day for half a month. Bitter, yes. But I've had worse tasting meds before.

The chinese physician who wrote my prescription merely had to feel my pulse and asked me some questions about general lifestyle and possible complaints. Not that I had any to invoke my visit, but it was about time I had a "tune-up". lol.

This debate of whether Tradition Chinese Medicine (TCM) or Western medicine is better has been going on for quite some time now, I believe since the goodness knows when. But which one IS better? I really can't say for sure.

As a trained scientist, I am inclined to argue that the abundance of peer-reviewed papers in favour of any conventional treatment is strong evidence for its effectiveness. From the earliest Penicillin to the latest advancements in anti-retrovirals, the results of countless of experiments serve as convincing arguments indeed.

But also reported in "Western" publications is the rise in - Superbugs. Infectious diseases which were mildly harmful turned malignant over prolonged exposure to antibiotics which have always been advocated by rookie and seasoned practitioners alike. In some countries, merely turning up sick with a flu or sore throat in a clinic will automatically land you with an antibiotic treatment. Its scary how advances in science and medicine can be so easily and so unknowingly abused.

Cases of these antibiotic-resistant bugs have been on the rise, the most famous being Methicilin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Sadly most acquire their resistance from environments such as hospitals! Will you imagine that, the place you go for treatment could also be the culture plate for nastier things to come.. But still, visits to hospitals are generally unavoidable. That does not mean that one should forgo treatment for diabetes for fear of these bugs, but rather some precautions ought to be taken.

But all hope is not lost! :) There are ways for you to fight back the severity of the infections ravaging our world... [Sounds so anti-Phyrexian]

1. Start by practising good personal hygiene (hand-washing, non-sharing of towels, etc)
2. By not indulging in use of antibiotics merely because the doctors prescribed it. Things like colds, flu, and many general symptoms do not warrant use of strong drugs.
3. If you do need antibiotics, BLOODY FINISH THEM!
4. You could try alternative medication like TCM as both are essentially natural products, or some modified analogue. Only that Western meds are seriously more rip-off.
5. Try not being "too clean". I would not have dreamt of  using antiseptics when I was a kid unless I receive a deep flesh wound. So why are mothers these days so disinfectant-happy when their kids return from a short playground trip is beyond me. You are doing a great disfavour to your child by lessening the workload of his immune system! In the event that he/she does get infected by avian influenza or SARS, I seriously doubt the kids will stand a chance if their immune systems didn't even have a dry-wet run through exposure to normal foreign microbial communities. Yes, one has to be cautious when it comes to health, but not be paranoiac in "protection"; you may cause the opposite to occur!

We aren't that much different from the humans who first evolved (I'm a scientist ^^, not an ID proponent, if you must know) so I don't think messing with the natural order of things will do us any amount of good.

Seriously, I have serious doubts about my blogging of non-chemical topics. blimey..