Monday, September 27, 2004

Alternatives

I saw a program on Discovery Health that left me shaking with rage. The show was Babies: Special Delivery. I am addicted to shows like these ever since I had my kids. I just want to see how many do it without an epidural. Not many. However, there was one lady who went to a Birthing Center - where you won't get any medication unless you have to have an emergency C-section. She and her husband were the alternative medicine types - the ones who tout the superiority of Eastern science over Western science in moronic, cult-like voices.

During labor, it was discovered that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. Warning: Grossness. For the single, or childless men out there, meconium is the baby's first poopoo. If she does in while still inside her mother, it can be dangerous for the baby when she takes her first breath. If it is inhaled into her lungs, she can develop severe respiratory problems or infections which could result in death. It is just one of those things that can go wrong. Anyway, the baby ended up developing a fever. The doctor recommended anti-biotics right away. The parents argued that the baby had just been swaddled too much and that was the reason for the elevated temperature and that anti-biotics caused more harm than good. The father was studying acupuncture if that tells you anything. So they were risking their newborn's life to possible meningitis, or e. coli because of their untested medical philosophies. They finally allowed bloodwork to be done on the baby just to see if the bacteria levels were elevated. Surprise, they were. Then the morons had the nerve to ask if the test was accurate. Ok. Your baby is exhibiting all the signs of a bacterial infection and the test comes out positive. Do the math. I've never heard of a kid dying from taking anti-biotics, but I have heard of them dying of encephalitis because their parents were too susceptible to every idiotic medical trend to get them the proper care.

Finally, the ham-faced, moonbat of a father allowed the anti-biotic treatment, but not before the fucking idiot stuck his finger in his mouth then stuck it in the baby's mouth. Why? Because that is how African tribes supposedly bond with their babies. You have to wonder that with all of his study of Eastern medicine, WHY HE ISN'T AWARE OF THEIR INFANT MORTALITY RATES!!!!!

I was screaming with rage at the television. I wanted to infect him with e. coli and watch him suffer without anti-biotics just to see how many crystals he would stick up his ass.

Don't get me wrong. I approve of alternative medicine. Jethro is going to be a chiropractor so I darn well better. But Eastern medicine is mostly preventative. Those morons were right up to a point. Anti-biotics are largely overprescribed. There are many natural alternatives to drugs on the market now from cholesterol reducing drugs to anti-depressants that have less or no side effects, and are just as effective. This is all true. But there is a point where none of it will do you any good, and where Western medicine is a dire necessity. At that point, all Eastern medicine will do is prepare you for death, whereas Western medicine will save your life. It may excruciatingly wrench it back from the jaws of annihilation, but your life will be saved. One of those moments is when a newborn, with her delicate immune system, is wracked with fever and is threatened with meningitis. Put aside your elitist bigotry, put your disgusting finger back in your own mouth, and save your daughter. It should be second nature, but some people are so determined to see themselves as mentally superior, that they forego all sanity.

And another thing I've noticed is that white people are the ones subscribing to these moonbat philosophies. Asians have embraced Western medicine. My MIL, who was a midwife in Vietnam, is well aware of Eastern medical techniques. But she is also aware of how children and mothers die because these are the only techniques available. She digs Western medicine.

Anyway, I'm done with this rant. I wanted to use so many more hateful words to describe this father, but I think his behavior will do the talking for me.

10 comments:

Traci Dolan said...

Bottom line is... any medicinal practice is enhanced by good common sense, be it western or eastern or alien. Acupuncture cannot cure a bacterial infection, nor can antibiotics cure a sore muscle. Wake up peeps and use your brains.

tinyhands said...

Not that she needs some stranger chiming in, but I didn't read Zelda say anything about Eastern medicine being hokey or wrong. I believe her argument was that given the circumstances, it wasn't the best course of action for a newborn.

And accupuncture does claim to be able to cure a bacterial infection by strengthening the body's natural response.

But back to the main topic- On the bright side, the parents will probably be suing the city for the child having to recite the line "one nation under God" or suing the school for some perceived slight at sending the child home for having lice, at which point the child will be home schooled and grow up lacking any semblance of social skills. Well, I'm not sure what the bright side of that is anymore...

Zelda said...

Inanna and Tinyhands - You both nailed it. Eastern medicine is not hokey or wrong. But it is by and large preventative. The trick between the two is knowing when which is appropriate and not being so close-minded that you refuse, for no reason other than stubborness, the benefits that one or the other has to offer. Especially for a newborn.

My husband is going to be a chiropractor. Alternative medicine will be our staple income. Believe me, I will shill for it if I think it will be helpful. But Inanna is right. Acupuncture will not cure a bacterial infection once it has pervaded your body. Acupuncture can help boost your immune system BEFORE you get sick, but once you are infected more aggressive measures are needed. Also, if you are like my MIL, and you have watched babies die for lack of anti-biotics, you tend to have more respect for Western medicine.

Unknown said...

Zelda - you have the best rants and comments. I love your spirit grrrl. YOU ROCK!

Try reading Ina May Gaskin's "Spiritual Midwifery". It opened my eyes. I guess some women have orgasms during childbirth. My sister had all her kids at home al natural. I was too young to know about this.

I believe in modern medicine, and I also believe in hippie crystal medicine. I think we should all have a choice. However, I dont like people forcing their beliefs on children. That isnt fair, and could cost them their lives.

Love ya sweetie.

Zelda said...

I've heard about the "orgasm during childbirth" as well. I'm not buying it, although I guess stranger things have happened. Perhaps if you were really really really really masochistic. :-) And I agree that you should have the right to whatever hippie crystal meds you want, but when a newborn is sick and there is a very real chance that it is e. coli, or meningitis, you don't fuck around. Even the Eastern doctors would tell you the same.

Zelda said...

Just my opinion: As far as practicing medicine goes, it doesn't really matter if it's Eastern or Western. Neither antibiotics nor acupuncture actually cure anything. What both forms do is give your body a chance to overcome the overwhelming illness. Antibiotics do it by helping to control the spread of the organism. Acupuncture helps by stimulating the immune system. The body has a tendency to heal itself. However, sometimes it needs a little help. If you give penicillin for a gram negative bacterial infection, it's not going to be effective. Vitamin A works better than vitamin C for viral infection, but then you have to monitor liver enzymes for toxicity. It all depends on how well educated the doctor is.

In the case of the newborn, embryology will tell you that a baby's immune system is immature. That baby needed something fast. As for the finger in the mouth thing, the things that grow on your hands and under your fingernails can be quite hazardous to someone who is immunocompromised. The baby needs a chance for her immune system to be built up. However, you can see that upon being born she was already overwhelmed with an illness. Although antibiotics can cause problems (I'll have to blog about how sometime), the benefit at this point in time outweighed the risk. I would have chosen the antibiotic route on this particular case based on the information given to me.

Zelda said...

Just a reminder everyone: I am not advocating anything. I am only an intern at this point. I am not a practicing doctor yet. DO NOT take any I say as advice until you consult a doctor.

Jenn said...

I am just shaking my head at that guy?!

I had all 3 of my boys el natural, not by choice, oh I wanted meds darn it, but when the boys decided it was time to grace me with their presents they thought it was best to do it as quickly as they possible could!

Zelda said...

Jenn - Me too! Both my daughters came too fast for the epidural. But I still wanted one.

Angi - The mom was trying to look like she agreed with her husband, but I am pretty sure she was the one who insisted on the antibiotics. I think if was up to her husband, the baby would have gone into convulsions before he would have done anything.

Johnnie - I sincerely hope not. These people were European and obviously considered themselves part of the "intellegensia." You know the types. They think the third world offers magical cures for everything, forgetting all logic, and ignoring their infant mortality rates and the average age of death. They probably despise religious people, but they are just as batty as those loonies who die because they refuse basic treatment for routine illnesses, although they would be loathe to admit it.

wilde_thought said...

Zelda, you have such good discussions here.