The Impact of Current Lifestyle and Healthcare Practices
“Degenerative diseases are increasing, infectious diseases are on the rise, and one out of every six couples cannot give birth to a child” (Appleton, 2002, p.6).
In today’s society we have many new chronic diseases, such as fibromylagia (painful muscle fibers), vulvodynia (pain in the vulva), and irritable bowel syndrome (irritation of the bowels), in which the title of the disease is actually only describing symptoms in sophisticated medical terminology but failing to define the actual problem or cause. Given this, it is not difficult to understand how a very complicated illness like Interstitial Cystitis (IC) continues to be misunderstood. It appears that there is an ease of acceptance for names of conditions with unknown origin. These chronic illnesses are syndromes, which in Western terms are defined as, “a collection of different signs and symptoms occurring together,” the treatments for which are largely symptom based (Thibodeau & Patten, 1996, p. 31). Alternatively, Classical Chinese Medicine would not group symptoms together to make such a diagnosis, but would rather focus on identifying aberrations of normal physiology that led to the collection of symptoms. Determining the underlying imbalance would direct treatment accordingly.
There is no question, however, that the technological advancement of modern surgical procedures and medications such as antibiotics and steroids has been life altering for those in life and death situations. These protocols have saved immeasurable life rendering Western medicine irreplaceable. Unfortunately, many medications are being overly or inappropriately prescribed. They are no longer prescribed only in life or death circumstances, but in situations where other more timely therapies could be applied, such as allowing the immune system itself to do its work. It is common practice for antibiotics to be used for viruses and uncultured bacteria (keepantibioticsworking.com, 2004). For this reason, there are increasing problems resulting in bacterial imbalances and numbers of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotic therapy. According to Arizona Water Resource (2000), the Department of Agriculture is finding pharmaceuticals in both our water supply and our fish. This translates into the low-grade chronic ingestion of hormones, antibiotics, anti-depressants, NSAIDS, chemotherapeutic agents and other drugs into each of our bodies. The ingestion of antibiotics on a low-grade level in our water supply, food supply, and prescription overuse are all part of the increasing resistance to bacteria, and also contribute to the imbalance of general body chemistry that may lead to infections in the first place. As bacteria become more virulent and our immune systems grow more compromised, we are changing the state of health and disease in our society (keepantibioticsworking.com, 2004). The use of chlorine as a way of neutralizing bacteria from our water system may be contributing to cancer, particularly bladder and rectal cancer (Tibbetz, 1995).And Gillespie (1986) correlates a chemical, polychlorinated biphenyl, in nitrofurantoin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic for urinary tract infections, with disrupting hormone function.
Other practices, such as chemical birth control, may be having adverse effects on those using it. The chemical prevention of unwanted pregnancy is becoming one major factor in the creation of chronic disorders according to many alternative medical practitioners today. The following side effects are only a few listed from the PDR (2001): arterial thromboembolism, myocardial infarction (heart attack), cerebral hemorrhage, and cerebral thrombosis (stroke). Interestingly, the development of chronic conditions such as gastrointestinal symptoms, vaginal candidiasis, colitis, and even “cystitis-like syndrome” are also included among the possible side effects of many chemical birth control prescriptions (PDR, p. 2377). There is great complacency in weighing the possibility of side effects on both the part of the person and the physicians prescribing them. And this kind of prescription use continues to grow, as do prescriptions for depression and anxiety as we are increasingly medicating ourselves for the escalating uncomfortable feelings that individuals seem to experience in society today.
Other points of concern are diet and lifestyle. Poor eating habits include the ingestion of non-food source chemicals, high amounts of sugar, and alcohol, which also contribute to chronic disease by the effect these substances have on the gastrointestinal ecology (Rona, 2006).
Alternative forms of medicine (and in this text we are specifically addressing Classical Chinese Medicine) integrate diet and mental health practices in the etiology and treatment of disease. Diet and mind-set changes are a part of patient protocol throughout treatment to redirect the human body towards its innate ability to maintain homeostasis. Eating has become something we practice purely for the pleasure of the palette without concern for nutrition. Sodas have replaced water and juice. Cake has replaced fruit, and alcohol continues to be a significant part of our social behavior.
Perhaps there is a subconscious understanding about these issues that has been ingrained in our minds since childhood, and this understanding motivates how we handle our health and how we address disease. This subconscious thought affects how we reflect upon disease: its definition, its treatment, and its cure. Dietary factors and certain health practices can greatly affect the condition of the body due to its already non-static status and thus, they can re-activate disease.
The psychosocial and legal aspects are too vast to address within this text but appear to have an impact on how doctors as well as patients function within our society. When we reach beyond that which we have been conditioned to think, and we think upon our challenges with a greater perspective and logic, it is only then that perhaps we may see a picture that is more likely to give us the answers we are seeking.
The word “cure,” according to Yuen (2003), implies that we do not play a part or have control over our health. It implies that we are given a diagnosis and treatment for a condition that becomes part of our identity. By contrast, Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM), like many forms of alternative healing practices, contends that we are each responsible for the conditions of both our minds as well as our bodies, and it is our responsibility to learn from our experiences, which includes disease, and recreate a new path, understanding that every action has a reaction. Therefore, everything we do matters and will affect us in one way or another. We need to learn to make choices that maintain balanced healthy lives. When we have mastered balance, we have continued health.