Prevention or medication?

So far it seems we rely a lot on medication.

Prevention or medication?
Prevention is the answer.





We really need to tackle the 'it'll never happen to me' feeling that it seems many people have. People seem to ignore the risks of smoking, drinking, recreational drugs, lack of exercise and poor diet. I don't think education is the answer, we all know the risks. Something needs to be done to get people to accept the risks. We seem to have developed in to a society that buries its head in the sand and pretends that these things will never strike us down. We are not invincible and if we take risks there is a high chance we will pay for it.





Switching to a Prevention Over Cure system would initially be more expensive, but over time I am sure that it would be a much more cost effective system. Take the dental system for example, people seem to be more aware of the risks and take more preventative measures. Any dentist will tell you that the people who brush, floss and have regular check ups have to spend less on treatment.





Medication should be available where needed of course, but we really need to hit this nail on the head, and deal with the unhealthy lifestyle issues that contribute so much to the ill health of the nation. It isn't just the obvious problems, we need more information about healthy footwear for example, and how to care for your eyesight.





Education needs to start young - there should be a new syllabus introduced in primary schools. I also promote an increased level and qaulity of food technology lessons for all our children, as well as more physical education lessons.





More GP surgeries should offer the 'exercise and diet on prescription' services - obese people benefit more from information on healthy eating, support from weight loss groups and regular exercise than they do from weight loss drugs such as Orlistat.





We also need to see more efficent monitoring of our nation - when was the last time you had your blood pressure or cholesteral checked? Most illness/conditions are much more treatable when caught early, and we need to increase our screening efforts for things like cancer, diabetes and hypertension.





We need to improve accsess to mental health services - we need to offer people more 'talking therapies'. There shouldn't be such long waiting lists for counselling and physcotherapy - the longer these conditions are left untreated, the worse they become.





A healthier nation would be more productive and much more happy - surely that is the way to go?
Reply:I rely on prevention by using a good multivitamin and an antioxidant supplement and some other supplements to stay healthy.
Reply:Definitely prevention, medication should be a last resort.
Reply:Prevention is a lot cheaper and better for you than medication. I agree that a lot of people rely far too much on pills.
Reply:Prevention
Reply:Definately prevention.
Reply:Prevention would be better because it would lessent the already stretched NHS for a start.





If people were able to know more about healthy eating (and it was cheaper than junk food) then there would be less cancers, heart disease and obesity.





Think of the money saved in the long run
Reply:I'm with the Government on this one:-


Medication, medication and more medication or was that Education?


Never mind , who knows who cares, I think its time for my pills.
Reply:I have never used any vitamins, i eat a lot of fruit and vegetables even though i do not like veggies. We eat a lot of fish and i feel if you are healthy why do you need to take vitamins. If you don't need them , don't use them. I will go so far as to say i would take a zinc tab but that is it. If you take care of yourself you do not need all those tabs.:)))
Reply:Prevention is better than cure - sometimes there IS no cure.
Reply:Medication normally means visiting your Doctor who will write your prescription for the medication. Some say Doctors have a vested interest in supporting the drugs industry. But what do Doctors themselves really think on this issue of medication or prevention?





The BMA, which is the Doctor's National Organisation within the U.K. and which explicitly represents the consensus opinion of all British Doctors clearly states





"Many deaths in adults before the age of 65 are PREVENTABLE, being due to accidents, and/or linked to such factors-as smoking, an unhealthy diet, excessive drinking and insufficient exercise".





They go on :-


"adoption of a healthier lifestyle, the wider use of screening for cancers, and measures to reduce accidents could lead to substantial improvements in health"..





Is there anything else to be said on this issue?
Reply:prevention unless it's unpreventable, then medication.
Reply:Prevention, medication and just living well.
Reply:I'd prefer prevention but you cant always rely on that like for cancer etc even if you are the healthiest person alive and dont smoke or drink you cannot prevent it happening in which case you'd need the medication.
Reply:you do have to rely on medicine after you've had major heart surgery so i guess you haven't an option
Reply:Theres no money to be made in prevention. Theres a fortune to be made selling you a crap lifestyle then patching you up when you start to fall apart.





However it up to people to take responsibility for there own health not the role of government.
Reply:it makes sense to prevent but lifestyle has become so busy tht health has become the least thing some ppl worry abt,





We really need to take a step out of our world we live in and think who are we all doing this for? if we will not be around to enjoy our fruits then is it all worth it?
Reply:Nope! 2 condoms rather than chlamydia or abortion
Reply:Prevention is the way forward but most are too lazy to think about this and it is fairly simple to do. You dont need to take any form of tablets or vitamin additives you just need to concentrate on a good healthy diet with plenty of fibre,vegtables and fruit and after that the body will function on providing exactly what it needs.


There are alot of diffrent situations though, I was reliant on medication due to a major injury I suffered and my doctors know I was hating life on the medications which I was taking for 5 years, having to change from one to the other every three months. Eventually the proffesors of phsyciatry spent a day with me discussing my situation, that is how low I had gone. It was after this conversation they decided to pass me to neurosergery and they solved my problems and now I dont need medication any longer.


As for the rest of the human race as medications are being used more and more there are becoming strains of certain viruses that are immune to the medications. Has this gone too far already that when prevention fails medication wont be able to help.
Reply:prevention is better than cure
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Prevention.





I've been taking vitamin supplements for YEARS.





(hasn't helped me very much tho lol)
Reply:Prevention is better than cure.
Reply:Prevention every time! However it is not possible to prevent most things. Left alone, i.e. without medication and without consulting a doctor, most minor aliments with cure themselves within about a week.
Reply:Prevention is much better than medication. With prevention you need no medication, or much less. But doctors and pharmaceutical cos will push pills at us for a "quick fix" as long as they can make money. We need to go back to slower, healthier lifestyles instead of reaching for that (expensive) pill.
Reply:I think medication only treats the symptoms, in order to prevent the issue you need to find the root cause. For example you have a headache so you take paracetamol which whilst curing your headache for a few hours is also doing undesirable things to your liver. But you keep getting headaches so you keep taking the paracetamol and subsequently keep damaging you liver, building up a tolerance and become addicted.


Actually the cause of your headaches is dehydration, or a deterioration in you eye sight. Wouldn't you rather explore the cause than rely on medication to cure the symptoms?
Reply:Absolutely right! We rely far too much on medication rather than leading a lifestyle which prevents illness. Life is too fast, too greedy, too materialistic, too individualistic, too stressful... Calm that lot down and we'd all be a lot happier and a lot healthier.
Reply:Prevention of course.Unfortunately some complaints can only be controlled with medication.


It`s better than the old days when people had to suffer without relief.
Reply:Prevention is obviously always better but it's almost impossible to always predict what you have to prevent. Having said that come November every year I start taking 1000mg of Vitamin C daily until the end of February. And it works!
Reply:Id rather see thorough treatment and proper investigation of symptoms, I have been on pain meds for 2 years, endless chiro treatment, and physio, no one has definatively said what the problem is! Prevention is ok if things can be avoided, but when the need for the meds is a direct result of some thing that couldnt be prevented without the ability of hind sight it doesnt really apply.
Reply:Get right to the cause and forget treating the symptoms. Chiropractic is such an healing art. You get right to the core of the problem, which is usually a pinched nerve( a subluxation). I have been using chiropractic for ages and it works. I am 63 years old and I feel terrific. I would strongly advocate for prevention and natural care and medication would be my last choice. This is my own personal preference, based upon my own experience. Everyone is different.
Reply:Prevention is better than cure.