“Think once and take a step!
Don’t worry, ’twill be called hep!
Many will come and go away
But a leader will only work this way!”
What is the difference between wife and girlfriend?
Well, a girlfriend will tell you, “be a hero!” while a wife would tell you, “Do not try to be a hero!”
Do not worry! This is not a life lesson! In fact the moment we tell anything to kids in a serious tone and the words exceed the limit of a standard tweet, my kids exclaim, “Aw! Do not give us life lessons!”
The theme today is being a Hero! Being Heroic may not always be good! In medicine once it was almost barbaric by today’s standards!
read on!
Now even a mother would give this advice to kids. Do not try to be a hero and this is not gender dependent! Your mother may not want you to take unnecessary risks! Now if you are the mother of the crazy dude in KGF then that is an exception and not an example!
By and large an average human who is salaried and married and has kids lives his or her life by being in the sidelines! Following rules is the norm and not taking risk is the way to go! You do not get into any unnecessary fights and you do not argue if you can!
You have realized that you cannot change anything much even if those reels tell you to stand up and fight!
Even as doctors with the advent of litigation and consumer acts, many practice what is known as a defensive medicine. They will keep you safe after they make sure that they are safe! Now whether this is good or bad is a blog for another day!
What we know now when we read history of medicine is that when an average doctor today thinks twice before even giving in injection; there was a time when medical practitioners used to much more which could be deemed even savage now!
That whole phase of medicine was ironically called Heroic medicine!
Heroic medicine, also referred to as heroic depletion theory, was a therapeutic method advocating for rigorous treatment of bloodletting, purging, and sweating to shock the body back to health after an illness caused by a humoral imbalance.
Between 1780 to 1850 it rose to the front of orthodox medical practice and at the time was known as the “Age of Heroic Medicine” !
Pockets of medical methodology that can be classified as “heroic” appear in the early 17th century with Parisian physician Guy Patin and French anatomist Jean Riolan the Younger. Patin, nicknamed “Le Grand Saigneur” (the Grand Bloodletter), was infamous for his rigorous procedure plans, which included intensive courses of bloodletting and application of Senna!
Intensive bloodletting treatments can be identified throughout American history, with William Douglass in Massachusetts advocating for a heroic treatment plan in the early 18th century.
Many associate Benjamin Rush with an abrupt acceptance of heroic techniques into the realm of mainstream medicine, especially in America. Founding father, creator of University of Pennsylvania’s medical school, and known as the “American Hippocrates,” Rush was well respected and revered in the medical field.
The Philadelphia Yellow Fever outbreak in 1793 is looked upon as a major event in the merging of heroic medicine into the course of best practices in the medical profession.
Much of the city was left incapacitated by the rampant epidemic. As healers fled the city, Rush bravely remained to treat people, and ultimately himself, with drastic regimens of intensive bloodlettings and purgatives.
Heroic medicine was used to treat George Washington on his deathbed in 1799. He was bled repeatedly and given Mercury chloride (calomel) and several blisters of cantharidin to induce sweating. Washington died shortly after receiving this rigorous heroic treatment!
Not that heroic you would say right!?
Now when you read this you may feel that this type of medicine has no basis or was practiced by Quacks but during the peak it was very much in the hands of the professional, as the invasive interventions involved were beyond the capabilities of rustic practitioners!
The thought process was that the symptoms were not regarded as the body’s attempt to fight the disease, but were considered a complication that would exacerbate the patient’s condition and do further harm. Practitioners believed that a fever should be suppressed and any drugs used should be powerful and given in large dosages.
Now see the simplicity of the solution! The blood pressure is high so reduce the blood and it will reduce the pressure! Now that may be a plumber thinking but he may feel that it is right!
Of course now the doctors are not that Heroic if you consider the old term! Knowledgeable and great diagnosticians are better pronouns for them right!?
Now of course hero is a better pronoun for some at least like birthday celebrity Shivraj Kumar…
Now don’t be a hero and sleep on time!
Shubh Ratri!
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