The announcement that the government is pouring more billions into the insatiable money monster that is the NHS, reminded me of an article I published on Steemit about why more people should be more responsible for looking after their own health first, and use the local doctors surgery and hospital system as a reassuring, in the background, standby or last resort.
The irony is that judging by the contents of many home medicine cabinets people will say they are trying to do just that.
A BBC programme revealed how natural remedies like herbal teas can be the answer to many day to day health niggles and concerns.
The main thrust of the programme was to reveal the extent of the money being spent on over the counter medicines.
The shelves of chemists and supermarkets are laden with a bamboozling array of brightly packaged remedies, claiming to cure everything from A-Athlete’s Foot to Z-Zits (Acne)
A similar dazzling array is repeated in the bathroom cabinets of many homes.
So convinced are people that they need them,we now spend £2.5 billion annually in the U.K. on over-the-counter medicines.
I was discussing the subject with a friend and he also cannot understand the seeming contradiction between people being healthier, living longer, yet medical services are swamped and stretching to cope.
He said on a recent hospital visit he saw a nurse pushing a trolley from bed to bed. She was wearing a high visibility bib on which was printed. ‘Medication Dispensing. Do not Distract’.
He was shocked to see the vast quantity and variety of pills, potions, and powders stocked on the trolley. It made him think of a remark made in the chemist shop where he worked –
“They will soon be making pills for which there are no known ailments”
Dr Chris van Tulleken was the BBC presenter and investigator into common complaints and the top selling products designed to treat them.
His research involved finding what happens when they are taken, and he also undertook to be a human guinea pig to test them.
His conclusions are surprising and could save you a fortune.
One alarming example he gave was of 3 separate oral pain killer products, each containing the same active ingredient and potency, and all with the same product licence, meaning they were identical inside the packaging, but each separately claiming to treat a different part of the body - Muscle Pain. Headache, or Period Pain.
He said once the medication entered the blood stream it was impossible for it to home in on specific areas. It goes where the blood goes.
It does not have a built in Sat Nav or can ask the way!
Dr Tulleken swallowed a tiny pill sized camera followed by a pain killer tablet which could be seen dissolving in the stomach. Not for the squeamish, but fascinating.
From this test the doctor was able to confirm that the pain killer ingredient was spread evenly through his body. In his words - "There is as much in my big toe as there is in my head"
He said this could potentially lead to dangerous over dosing, because if someone was unfortunate enough to suffer pain in the 3 areas at the same time and took a dose for each - then!!!!
Also, 3 products in the cabinet where 1 would do.
My Next Post - How more than a quarter of one American State's citizens, have at least one of 21 listed health issues, that qualify them for doctor recommended treatment with Medical Cannabis!
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