Monday, 22 November 2010
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CT Scans, Circumcision and 3 Other Useless Medical Practices
Again, I love reading about random crap. So when I stumbled upon this gem, I was surprised at how NOT useless this information was!
According to a post on Cracked, there are five extremely common, but insanely useless medical practices that occur these days.
Want to know what they are? Then keep reading, DUUHH.
5- CT scans: These full-body x-rays are extremely common, since they're able to show internal organs, bones, and other health issues that may cause someone pain and suffering. They help assist doctors in figuring out what is wrong with their patients when regular medical exams just aren't good enough. So why are they useless, you ask? Well not only are they useless, but they're dangerous. CT scans pump the body full of insane amounts of radiation, up to hundreds of times more than a traditional x-ray, and doctors predict that almost 1-in-50 future cases of cancer will be caused by use of CT scans.
MRI scans, on the other hand, have been found to have NO radiation, and can do essentially the same exact thing as a CT scan. So CT scans should be obsolete, right? Try again. The profits made off of CT scans will keep these cancer causers around for a long time.
4- Yearly physical exams: We're all told to get a yearly physical. Some colleges and universities even demand one before you start classes your freshman year. They provide us with solid numbers on our weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and can guide you if you're trying to adjust any of those numbers. So what's the issue?
Well, according to the Department of Health and Humans Services, physical examinations are basically useless unless you're already showing symptoms of something. Hypochondrias thrive off of physical examinations, hoping to hear that their accelerated heart rate after jogging is the reason why their stomach growls when their hungry. Physical exams are expensive... so save yourself the money and only visit the doctor when you're feeling ill.
3- Circumcisions: This ancient practice is a baby boy's worst nightmare. While millions of men are circumcised and will strut their stuff proudly when doning their Birthday Suit, there seems to be absolutely no reason for men to get circumcised. The people over at Cracked write, "[circumcision is] medically comparable to removing a male baby's nipples at birth -- sure, they're useless, but all things considered, why add expense and/or risk if you don't have to?"
Good comparison, Cracked. But parents will still promote nipping away at their baby boys peenie just because it's a fad that lasts.
2- C-sections: A c-section is the golden ticket for busy, business-oriented women who are most likely to book a c-section appointment and then hand the baby over to a nanny. But the c-section is widely viewed as a practice that is used in dire situations, where normal childbirth is impossible to do safely.
The problem is that childbirth is one of the most natural miracles that happens everyday. Keyword: natural. Babies are born when they want to be, and when they're READY to be. Yanking Baby Boy Smith from the womb too early is not necessarily dangerous for the baby, but it can be dangerous (and costly) for Mommy-in-Training. C-sections carry higher possibilities of damaging Mommy's insides, needing a blood transfusion, higher mortality rates for both Mommy and Baby, higher risk of blood clots for Mommy, and of course scar tissue. And those are just a few of the possible-to-probable issues that mothers and babies can have.
And what's number 1, you may ask?
Well, Cracked can tell you that one.
Have you ever had any of these procedures before? What do you think about this useless, but common medical practices?
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About the Author
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- From: msenergydrink
- About Me: While I tried to stay in college for as long as I possibly could, I picked up a Psychology minor, forcing myself to learn a little about mental health. What I didn't know was how closely linked mental and physical health, are to each other. Now that I've graduated, I've enjoyed writing about all different aspects of health for Healthkicker. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's no way to live healthy unless you're happy, too. I'm hoping to be able to give as much insight as I can, while picking up a few tips from everyone along the way!
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Comments (168)
I TOTALLY agree about circumcision! It makes sex less pleasurable and there is NO BENEFIT!
dude, there are places where you can't choose to have a c-section, and it's only given if medically necessary. I'm not really into having children period, but one of those top reasons is because you can't choose. I'm fucking tiny and I like my vag to stay the same.
how are c-sections useless??? most women just cant deliver via the vagina. not their fault but its got to come out somewhere!!!
next in the news: men who deliver. serious about this one. heard it on the news a couple of days ago.
i never really went to the hospital. I've spent a good deal of time there, and there is no point. it hurt my feelings and has made me increasingly aware of death.
I don't think c-sections are useless. There are plenty of women who have difficulty delivering naturally, so c-sections help save their life and the life of the infant.
...or is it mice who deliver...
...or mice delivering frozen eggs...
*LOL*
whatever~ it was shocking.
CT scans are a lot cheaper than MRI scans. and very useful in identifying tumours etc in the brain.
C-sections are sometimes necessary when the fetus gets distressed and would otherwise die if they weren't delivered immediately. Some women have naturally very small pelvic outlets so how on earth are they going to get the baby out any other way?Maybe you should actually think about WHY medical procedures are done - obviously benefit outweighs risk. DUH.antibiodics? as #1 really? Is the person who wrote this an idiot?
so accordding to the internet. Cracked.com is a comedy sight. Lols
Maybe you should stop being a dumbass and not get all of your health information from Cracked. Either that or stop paraphrasing it (I'm talking about your C-section comment) in such a way that makes you look like an utter tool.
My mother had to have C-Section, and it was not because she trying to get my little brother out before time, it was because she couldn't get him out period. It was difficult with me, and she was in labor 15 hours and she listened to an idiot doctor. Sometimes women have to have c-sections.
And seriously cracked.com? I read it for fun, not taking anything seriously..
And number one is antibiotics? Really? Without antibiotics, most of us would of never been able to live beyond the age of 30. It may be used and abused but it does save lives all the time and it's made us live longer and cured us of all sorts of horrible diseases and help prevent them.
@NightCometh@xanga - I'm VERY relieved to hear you say this, but I'm oh-so-surprised you'd forgo the procedure, being probably the most hardcore Christian on Xanga.
Not nitpicking, I'm just saying.
For the record, yes, there is a BIG difference in sensation. I've experienced it both ways. I'm at least three times more sensitive now than I was pre-restoration.
@LG - Christianity and circumcision have no relationship, other than what Paul said about it in the New Testament. He said it wasn't required at all for Christians. And that's the last we've heard of it. People do it now like superstitious people in the middle ages. It's kind of amazing.
@NightCometh@xanga - As a long-time member of the intactivist movement I'm quite aware of its roots in modern history, and the fact it was started to prevent boys from masturbating (which, at the time was thought to contribute to mental illness. Go figure).
But yeah, it's only really done in the US to non Muslims/Jews. Outside of the US it's just not done as a "medical procedure" (where, even it's losing ground: only a third of boys born in the US were circumcised last year, and that number continues to drop). 4/5 of men worldwide are not circumcised.
Sorry if I sounded snarky with that, it was not my intention. But you are very right about the fact that it does make sex less pleasurable for BOTH partners actually. There's a reason it is a mostly abandoned procedure - now if only the US would catch up with the rest of the world.
(And for everyone else: No, it's not a good way to prevent STIs/AIDS either, despite what they're pushing now. Either keep it in your pants or cover up if you just have to have promiscuous sex, which isn't worth the risk anyway. Circumcision confers next to no additional benefit to condom use, and obviously no additional benefit to abstinence.)
I agree that circumcision is useless, from a medical perspective. C-sections and antibiotics are both over used but that doesn't make them useless. Yearly physicals? how did that even make the list. They are about the cheapest and most cost effective way to catch many chronic diseases early, when they are most easily treated. Getting a regular physical is one of the best things you can do for your health.
wow i definitely disagree. i think all of these aren't useless at all.
I hope this is a joke. This shouldn't even be on Healthkicker.
I don't think these procedures are useless. In fact, I highly encourage people to get yearly examinations. The author of this "article" just implied that you shouldn't get it because it's expensive and it doesn't work until you're showing signs of disease. The reasoning might be correct, but if you put off the examination all together you would not even know you're having a disease unless it's too late.
My grandfather had skin cancer twice and he would've just brushed it off as another sun spot or something benign if he didn't go for a check-up.
And CT-scan, X-ray, chemo, surgery, etc are all dangerous. So should we just encourage people to think that it's useless while they sit there with broken limbs or die? The radiation level in CT-scan is low. Unless the your doctors go on a rampage and makes you take a scan every single day, you won't die from radiation.
please don't be writing this when you don't fully understand these medical procedures... not only are CT scans cheaper than MRI scans, they are also a lot faster and does not require the patient to keep completely still for the entire exam like MRI does. This becomes a lot easier for techs to deal with patients that are in a lot of pain / have involuntary movements. Also, if the patient has any metal at all in their body, e.g. a pacemaker, knee replacement or even tattoos, it's a contraindication for them to get an MRI scan. So no, my friend, CT scans are not "useless"
I never get yearly physicals, the only one that really applies to me here. Used to, but that was because I was an adolescent, it was mostly paid by insurance, and my parents wanted it. Now I can choose for myself and I say no! That and I have a great fear of doctors/ hospitals, even though I am somewhat hypochondriac. Luckily, I've never been seriously ill, and I hope my health status remains the same, but who knows....
Also, antibiotics. Proud to say I never take them (haven't since I had things like strep/ ear infection in my childhood. I bravely wait out my colds... which happen yearly or less.
Regarding that tip... where exactly can a person find ether anyway? hah. And I wonder what it does exactly.... *too lazy to find out*
MRI's take longer, are more expensive (as someone already mentioned), and can't be done on people who have metal objects (i.e. joint replacements, steel plates, metal lodged in the eye) in their bodies. And CT is a better modality for identifying intracranial bleeds.
All procedures have risks and benefits. Leave it up to individual patients, and the doctors who are actually caring for them, to determine what is necessary!!
@LG - "But yeah, it's only really done in the US to
non Muslims/Jews."
Did you mean circumcision is done to both Muslims and Jews? It is required in Islam as it is in Judaism.
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@wild_n_cool@xanga - You're absolutely right. CT-scans are not useless.
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C-sections are important; they shouldn't even be on this list... nor should yearly physicals.
@actuallyfeel_alive@xanga - I should rephrase: the US is the only country that does it to non-Jews and non-Muslims (i.e. it's the only nation that does circumcisions for non-religious reasons).
Sorry, I don't really know what I was saying.
you trust "cracked" for medical advice? CTs are a quick method of determining cerebral hemorrhage and are an imaging option for people with pacemakers or other metal in their bodies that make them MRI-incompatible. and with the poor quality of preventative care (and the dividends preventative care pays in comparison to treating a disease after it manifests), i cannot believe you would deride the yearly physical.
i notice that posts from this author tend to be very misinformed.
@LG - Lol, thanks for clarifying that. :P It now makes perfect sense!
@MissPixieGlitter@xanga - I'd trust Cracked over a doctor. Why? Because of the doctor mentality: "Screw you, I don't care if you get better (and in fact I don't want you to, because I'd be losing money if you did), here's [whatever medical test/treatment], now give me your money."