How Can the Study of Ancient Disease Contribute to Increasing Our Understanding of Past Societies - Term Paper Example

How can the study of ancient disease contribute to increasing our understanding of past societies? Knowledge of the past always gives an insight intowhat the future holds for humanity. This is true in the case of understanding the basis of ancient diseases which eventually give an idea about how the societies of the past shaped up and what their priorities were at the time. It presents to the humanity the basis of today and as to how the societies of the present times can take proactive steps so that the future turns out to be even better at the very end for one and all. Similarly an insight into the diseases and maladies of the past presents to us the different facets which can be researched upon either today or in the future so that the same ailments could be better treated in a controlled situation. It is also a fact that these ailments have already been discovered owing to different scientific and medical discoveries and explorations. The field of science has really marveled the mind of the ordinary man so much so that he understands all by himself that he could be cured from just about any disease which comes in his way. He has this intrinsic feeling from within that the medics would do their best to make him get rid of the disease at hand and thus cure him of his troubles and miseries. However before moving into that direction, it is better to grasp an idea and gain an understanding as to how the societies of the past chalked out plans to combat the various diseases and ailments and whether or not there was any follow-up action in the wake of increasing population, limited resources and a host of other factors. Globalization has changed the face of disease once and for all. It has made easy access to doctors, surgeons and other field specialists no matter which nook and corner of the world they practice from. Seeking second advice has become a norm. The same is more common for a third world native who first consults a doctor from his own country and society and then moves out reaching the developed nations like United States and United Kingdom in order to have a second opinion. All this has been made possible due to technological changes and shifts in the thinking mechanisms of people. What is required in the present times is merely to send the reports through Internet or email and wait for the specialist to look at them and reach a particular conclusion. All this ease has been made by none other than human beings and the credit for this surely must rest on our shoulders. Globalization began during the Age of Exploration but since the world had to move out and reach to different sets of audiences, the diseases started to spread in a left, right and center manner – thus having a remedy for the disease that had already taken the lives of a lot of people in some other society or country for that matter. Bhopal (2002) is of the view that the natural progression as far as disease and its related understanding is concerned stems out from the thinking mindset of the people living within a specific society or culture for that matter. What this means is that the causal understanding is indeed very pivotal in gaining an insight as to how to tackle the disease once and for all. This causal understanding is in line with the prevention and control regimes related with the disease itself and makes a point or two about the effect the disease had on the people in the particular society at the specified time, within history. The natural history of disease, as Bhopal puts it, owes largely as one of the significant bases coming directly under the descriptive epidemiology field of medical science. [Bhopal, 2002] The natural history of disease takes into perspective the “iceberg phenomenon” which is basically a parable that focuses on the aspect of every health problem there are similar or lesser known diseases and thus the former outweighs the undiscovered remains coming under the tenet of the medical science which indeed is the unseen part of the iceberg. In other words, the iceberg is much more inside (the water) than is apparent outside. This means that the iceberg phenomenon aims to explore the hidden part of the diseases which have yet to be explained, discerned and determined and only time and further research into the relevant fields could reap rich dividends. Consequently the iceberg phenomenon puts an end to the assessment that is made in the wake of the burdens related with disease and thus the attached need for similar services. This also echoes the need basis of selection of specific cases that lead to further study and examination and which are a representative of the very same. This is known as the “clinician’s fallacy” which provides for a somewhat vague picture of the nature as well as the causes leading up to the disease results that come from the examination and study of the minority cases linked with the disease itself and which are seen in the clinical settings. The basis of ancient diseases contributing to our understanding of the societies of yesteryears gains an even more interesting twist when we find out that the people of those times did not know that such maladies existed. Had they known about them, they would have surely done something about it and explored the ways and means to counter the disease right on its hand. There was less technological advancement as compared to what we see today and the sense of intellect was much less when there is a comparison and contrast with the human beings of present eras. Thus the edge seems to come from the advancements in the medical science and the incorporation of technological regimes to the very same. With that, there has been a basis of opening up of the minds of the common man and woman on the street as to how he can best remedy the disease which he or his family member has acquired. Furthermore, human understanding has developed all these years and there has been a general change within the mindset since the man tries his best to gain more and more knowledge and information related with the disease and thus tries to remedy it with the passage of time. It is because of ancient disease resistance that the human beings of present times have become vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. They did not know about any such disease in the past therefore there was no alarming signs and hence no warnings for the patients or the potential ones. Almost everyone who was caught in the disease of AIDS died and this became a mystery death by all accounts. It is a fact that globally the ancient disease are still widespread and they continue to occur every now and then within different patients. The need of the hour is to find a remedy for them and then properly find solutions as to how these do not occur ever again in the global contexts. Leprosy is a similar ailment that haunted the lives of millions way before the year 1998 but the same has changed and now there are proper medications in the wake of spread of leprosy. World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 800,000 new cases of leprosy in the year 1998 alone. It is most widespread in countries like India, Indonesia, Brazil and other third world nations. The ancient disease has seen all epic eras – the Ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Ancient Near Eastern Texts, The Code of the Nesilim, The Tablet of Adapa and so on. What lies to the loss of the past societies is the fact that they did not know of the basis of these diseases let alone the causes of innumerable deaths until the specific diseases were discovered and eventually the remedy for the same were devised with the passage of time. Still in the present times there are instances where the diseases are known to everyone yet the remedy is not there – this being the case in events where thorough research has not been undertaken and there are problems coming to term with the results which were envisaged in a successful manner in the past. Advances in medical technology have done a great deal to produce miraculous cures and recoveries. In some circumstances however, these advances have created problems for the elderly. More aggressive technology approaches are used to extend the life of the elderly. On the whole the elderly, as well as others, welcome that development -- even if they fear some of its consequences. A number of different institutions and educational centers have of late endeavored to expand their business and hence the field of imparting education by recruiting physically fit men and women. Specifically so because of the reason that these people, both men and women get along with the young students quite well and treat them much like their own sons and daughters. They, for that matter, do not have any problem mingling to terms with these students and hence the atmosphere of these educational centers and schools have really taken a fresh change ever since women have been inducted in them. But all in all, the problems women face in these educational institutions and office places are aplenty and need to be dealt with in a stern manner, because health and wellness is one such factor that must be shed light upon by all and sundry. The health management profession in the time like that of today is more vehement as well as ones that provide a fierce rivalry between the different colleagues working in that environs. This is quite different to what was witnessed some decades ago in the similar settings of office workplace. People who are more preferably referred here as the professionals have made their marks in the specific business or traits they do and do well, so much so that they have broken their lives into many different realities, one such being their job from the health perspective. Others include their families and different significant relationships that they might have in their personal lives. It is possible but not usually that these lives mingle with each other. Men in some cases and women in a number of them are at the receiving ends of their life when they have somewhat difficult times coping with their personal as well as professional lives and not to forget the health that deteriorates during all this while. The problems thus quoted entail from minor ones to that of major significance, in their lives as well as their dependents’. Many people have been able to find out the reason for a man or a woman to be unhappy about this entire scenario at the health institution. In the present times, the assessment of one’s medication knowledge and one’s behaviors leading to the provision as well as the attitudes that are produced as a result of it reflect the overall temperament and bearing of a person’s hold on his medication. He is advised to at least disclose at least to him whatever he thinks about the particular medicine and must make sure that the doctor understands his belief and view point, not only about the medicines that are being undertaken by him but also the manners in which it is completely hated by the patient. There thus is necessary to establish a criterion for evaluating particular medicines and the way of medication for a certain patient and which lies solely on the nurse’s part. Apart from these, some already set values, beliefs and notions that a patient holds for a general medicine or the way of medication also goes a long way in establishing his dislike for the same and this must be properly and immediately addressed by the nursing care department. Some nurses and for that matter, patients have trouble remembering the particular medications and it is therefore, advised to have a proper check and inspection of this crux, which happens on and off but should be a rarity in the first place. The factors which occur with one’s compliance to take certain medication is first and foremost his attitude, his past beliefs on the medicines taken or by one’s relatives or family members. Also the way in which the particular medicine is actually given by the nurses is also an important factor and needs to be properly seen in the context of medication and ever-developing attitudes of the patients. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bhopal, R. S. Concepts of Epidemiology. Oxford University Press, 2002 Word Count: 2,107 Read More