Glasses / insulin / ritalin – everyone's got an opinion!

[jpsimard]

Did you know that roughly 75% of adults use some form of corrective lens so that they can see clearly? Think about that. We’re talking about glasses, contact lenses or even reading glasses. In third world countries where there aren’t optometrists, people get by just fine without glasses.

So I have to wonder, are sight problems just a luxury of modern medicine? If we didn’t have the knowledge of these conditions, would people who consider themselves to be sight impaired still feel as if they had a “problem” that needed correction?

75% is a massive amount of people, so it stands to reason that because this is a relatively new problem in society. Take astigmatism, for example which I “supposedly” have. They first lens to correct this problem was only invented in 1825, no doubt by some early form of pharmaceutical company looking to cash in on an “exaggerated” condition.

Isn’t it true that people can still see without corrective lenses, but that they only have to try harder to see? Honestly, it’s just an excuse for something that people without glasses can do so easily – and no one likes someone who can’t own up to their laziness! I mean, heck, if you take a vision impaired person and take their glasses off, they look just like regular people, so how can you tell if they actually need glasses?

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Did you know that roughly 2.8% of the population (and that number is expected to double in the next twenty years!) use some form of insulin or blood sugar regulator so that they can survive? Think about that. We’re talking about insulin injections, metformin and diet monitoring. In third world countries where there aren’t dieticians, people get by just fine without help.

So I have to wonder, are blood sugar problems just a luxury of modern medicine? If we didn’t have the knowledge of these conditions, would people who consider themselves to be sight impaired still feel as if they had a “problem” that needed correction?

2.8% is a massive amount of people , so it stands to reason that because this is a relatively new problem in society. Take type II diabetes, for example, which “supposedly” runs in my family. Insulin, the drug used in 40% of cases to help treat type II diabetes wasn’t discovered until 1916, no doubt by some early form of pharmaceutical company looking to cash in on an “exaggerated” condition.

Isn’t it true that people can still eat without needing insulin to help regulate their blood sugar, but that they only have to try harder to see? Honestly, it’s just an excuse for something that people without diabetes can do so easily – and no one likes someone who can’t own up to their laziness! I mean, heck, if you take a diabetic, they look just like regular people, so how can you tell if they actually need insulin?

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Did you know that roughly 15% of adults use some form of medication so that they can think clearly? Think about that. We’re talking about stimulants, anti-depressants or even self medication like excess caffeine consumption, or tabacco.

In third world countries where there aren’t psychiatirsts, people get by just fine without medication.

So I have to wonder, is adult attention defecit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) just a luxury of modern medicine? If we didn’t have the knowledge of these conditions, would people who have problems with attention still feel as if they had a “problem” that needed correction?

15% is a massive amount of people, so it stands to reason that because this is a relatively new problem in society. Take adult ADHD, for example which I “supposedly” have. The first stimulants to treat ADD/ADHD were in the 1920s, no doubt by some early form of pharmaceutical company looking to cash in on an “exaggerated” condition.

Isn’t it true that people can still focus without stimulant medications, but that they only have to try harder to focus? Honestly, it’s just an excuse for something that people without medication can do so easily – and no one likes someone who can’t own up to their laziness! I mean, heck, if you take someone with ADHD and take their medication away, they look just like regular people, so how can you tell if they actually need medication?

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Would you question a blind person the use of their cane?

Would you take away my glasses and tell me to squint?

Would you doubt that a diabetic needed insulin?

Is the earth flat?

NO.

Think about it. ADHD is no different. I don’t mind answering your questions, but remember that it’s no less frustrating for me to try to explain just how difficult it is to do my taxes, pay my bills or even make a phone call then it was for Copernicus to explain to the church that the world was in fact not flat.

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[Wgreen]

Just a small point— Copernicus didn’t posit a round Earth (Pythagoras figured that out in the 6th century B.C.); he formulated a heliocentric theory of the cosmos.

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[billd]

apples ‘n oranges. 200 years ago, and in some existing “third world countries” such people would be DEAD.

Laws of nature. If you can’t see to hunt or gather food, you die. If you can’t hear the bear behind you , you die. You have no dentist to fix that infected tooth, you DIE. (recently saw a show where remains were found of a teen who they figured out was killed by an infection in their molar)

I see little in there that can be used, honestly.

They don’t get by, they DIE. OR they suffer, starve, go through life sick, unproductive, etc.

You also have it backwards that they were looking for a way to treat diabetes when the drugs were found…….. the drugs didn’t find the illness. I have researched the history of some of the modern medical finds – people died, suffered, were sick, etc. – and someone who was NOT a drug company typically found help, often a university, etc. – and it was later commercialized.

Prior to that, they died, or were sick their whole lives, missed a lot of work or were supported by families, etc.

So when folks come at you with such arguments – it’s normally so full of holes and lack of logic, I won’t say it here.

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[jpsimard]

Whoops! I stand corrected Wgreen.

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[Anonymous]

JP, are you elucidating the fact that we expend way too much effort trying to keep the herd from thinning…….monkeying with the natural selection process as it were??? If so, is the natural progression of things then, that we are indeed devolving, and through some misguided sense of altruism, rapidly developing a significantly inferior breed of homosapien?

Actually I can’t argue with that………not if I lift my head and look around…….

Toofat

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