Life

A Fine day to You

Supper Talk
At home in the 1940’s when I was growing up, supper was the last meal of the day. I believe it is referred to as dinner at the present. The talk was usually about daily occurrences such as school, crops and etc. There was also table etiquette which meant your hands were clean, you set up straight in the chair and no elbows on the table and no subject was discussed that would turn the stomach. These were good rules to follow.
Fast forward to the Twenty First Century and things have changed. It is not unusual for me to turn on the television at supper time and watch the local and national news, especially since the children grew up and left home. At best during each half hour program there are about fifteen minutes of news and the rest is a bombardment of commercials, representing an irritating array of drug products. Most commercials are loud, abrasive and the contents are often inappropriate to watch during mealtime. Serenity pads are explained, reducing the leaking of bodily fluids and constipation is discussed proclaiming the natural wonders of a patent medicine that will reduce the prolonged discomfort of irregularity. Viagra of course is among the products flashed across the screen with romantic music in the background with a couple sitting in bathtubs on a hill overlooking a valley. Cholesterol is portrayed graphically with scenes of a high toned man or woman about to succumb to the destructive force of blockage in an artery. Butterflies float above sleeping people and leave at dawn insuring a goodnight’s sleep. Inhalers representing hay fever, colds and asthma flash across the screen. Pills for bone strength or loss show someone climbing a mountain. All of these commercials nearly always end with the statement, “ask your doctor,” including the infamous Purple Pill.
What has happened to the human race? Anyone after learning about the advertised products should take a couple minutes when asking a doctor about a particular medication and if there are any disabling side effects and weigh the odds against a debilitating occurrence happening. This is not to say that many people suffer from conditions that warrant some medication, but to offer it at such a grand scale is suspicious to me at least.
My wife and I while in a restaurant one morning sat behind an elderly man who while waiting for his order to arrive, carefully placed on the table sixteen pills of assorted colors and size and then one by one he placed them in his mouth and sipped some water. I have wondered if he had only one ailment and was taking the pills to counteract side effects of the side effects of the side effects of the side effects of the first one. This is not to say the man needed all the pills, but I know a few people who have been forced into such a scenario. On fellow after taking popular cholesterol medicine, along with blood pressure and blood thinner medication experienced devastating side effects and was permanently crippled and forced to retire on disability. He is no longer on any of the above medications, but remains disabled.
Many of the medications seen on the airways and in magazines and newspapers are patent products not unlike those in the 1940’s and 1950’s. They remain untested for the most part and some do relieve itchy skin or rashes, but I think the buyer should beware and seek the advice of a trusted physician.
A man of ninety plus years after being involved in an automobile wreck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. He returned home with several prescriptions to fill. After a week or so of taking the medication he became senile, chasing the devil from his yard each day. He was taken to a nursing home and from that time on his health rapidly declined. They took away his cigarettes, a smoker of eighty years, a man of endless energy and sound mind.
The hospitals and medical centers are perhaps second only to prisons in growth. Health is a number one business in the country, (and rightly so) but from the time of birth until death, people are encouraged to take medication. For the most part a headache is no longer treated with an aspirin, but drugs that have deadly side effects. We are a nation of people it seems, unwilling it seems to be uncomfortable and turn to some kind of pill to sleep, to walk, run and play.
We are living longer and I believe most people who live long are watching what they eat, enjoy using their brain and keeping active. Medicine has undoubtedly helped many to live longer, but it must be regulated and not overdone. I am sure it is tempting to medicate every discomfort, but after all life is uncomfortable most of the time but exhilarating. Adios