Have you ever had surgery? What for?
The content discusses the author’s personal health journey, highlighting his lack of surgery throughout life despite experiencing several illnesses in childhood. Growing up in a modest family, he relied on different medicine and local practitioners for treatment. He eventually saw health improvements through Ayurveda, leading to a robust immune system that protected him from surgeries. The text touches on advancements in medical facilities, the emergence of modern diseases like cancer and AIDS, and the importance of a strong immune system supported by a balanced diet. The critical role of surgery is acknowledged as a last resort for severe health issues, emphasizing the need for a healthy lifestyle.
His reply was an instant no. While replying, his face was flat but not stolid. He was stating a fact. He had never undergone surgery till the time he was asked about it.
He is lean, but not scrawny, and, except for minor occasional sneezing, he has not had any ailment that required medical attention. His body looked robust, and he walk a distance of about ten kilometres, but had a lesser capacity to run.
It was not like that in past. During his childhood days, he used to fall ill often. During those times, he had limited access to things. His family was a mediocre one, which managed to pull together. With six progenies, fulfilling the basic need was a task. They had no luxury of illness and costly treatment. He used to take medicine from a charitable Ayurvedic dispensary or a local homoeopathic “doctor”. Medical facilities were incipient, and unqualified and untrained “doctors” were aplenty. They used to write RMP (Registered Medical Practitioner) as their qualification, and they were treated as angels by rural folks.
Despite constraints, he sometimes fell ill. He remembers the day he felt shivering, followed by a high fever. Elders at home, especially her mother, noticed reddened skin like rashes on his body. It was measles. He was “treated” with care because of the belief that Goddess Durga had come upon him. They used to speak to him as if they were addressing Goddess herself. There was no treatment for the disease, and they believed that the Goddess would turn away her “Bāgh” (Tiger) soon, relieving their child. They would keep Azadirachta (Neem) leaves around his bed, and no one was allowed to approach him without obeying proper protocol.
After a week or so, he felt better. The rashes had gone, and the skin was looking fairly healthy. The matriarch of the family declared that it was the time of the final worship of the Goddess. After the worship, the child would be healthy. The rituals were performed, and it was finally declared that all was well. He faced many such occasions. He suffered mumps, whooping cough, and Typhoid, but did not get proper treatment except homoeopathic treatment from the doctors described above. He survived all of them, which explains why he accumulated enough antibodies to fend off diseases later in life.
The illness followed him till he was forty. Every season he used to suffer from cough, cold, eosinophilia and viral fever that hampered his physical ability. Once he met a person who suggested that he take an Ayurvedic concoction, “Chyavanprash”, mixed in hot milk. It did wonders. He felt a marked difference. His health gained momentum, and soon the ailments became a thing of the past.
Despite everything, he was never found to have an ailment that required surgery. Organs were probably working properly. Since then, he has never had any health issues, and now he is blessed with a healthy body and mind. He sincerely wishes good health for his compatriots.
With the advancement of time, vector-borne diseases like Cholera, Malaria, Typhoid, et cetera have become rare, though they have not been completely wiped out. Thanks to improved health facilities and a massive cleanliness drive, vectors have almost become insignificant.
A new generation of viral diseases and other complex, deadly diseases has erupted. Cancer, AIDS, Corona, and heart diseases are but a few to name that have become frequent. Except for a few among them, like Cancer, heart and/or brain that need precise surgery. Many people view medicinal treatment as an effective and safe choice for addressing health concerns.
The body has a unique system of self-defence. This is the antigen-antibody reaction. It is a process that initially detects a foreign intruder in the body and tries to fight it out. The armies of White Blood Cells (WBC) take this task head-on and destroy the intruder. They start creating a type of chemical, popularly known as an antibody, for that particular antigen. The antibody eliminates harmful pathogens, helping to keep the body’s health. A mild fever can be experienced in the process that is taken care of by body systems, and if need be, antipyretic and analgesic medication serves the purpose. In technical terms, which has now become common parlance, it is the “Immune System” of the body.
A Strong Immune System is the ticket to a healthy life. A healthy lifestyle and food habits are the key to maintaining immunity at a required level. Vitamins and minerals, also termed as “micronutrients”, are beneficial in maintaining required immunity. Pursuing a balanced and healthy diet is necessary. Seasonal fruits, pulses and protein-rich diet should be an important ingredient of one’s regular diet.
It is heartening that with improved health facilities, the number of specialised hospitals, trained staff and super-speciality doctors, the death rate due to diseases has considerably fallen. People are enjoying good health at reasonable costs in government hospitals. Though there are grey areas that need to be addressed.
Cases are becoming frequent when private hospitals try to extract money by scaring patients and creating exigencies to carry out surgery on the patient. Even in trivial cases of discomfort, reports show that patients had to pay a significant amount of money to the hospital. This is creating a miasma of suspicion and doubt in the minds of patients and their families. It is derogatory to the medical profession and casts aspersions on the profession as a whole.
Surgery has been in use since antediluvian times. Sage Sushrut, who lived in the 6th BCE, was the father of surgery. He wrote a valuable treatise, “Sushrut Samhita” (compendium), documenting every detail of human anatomy and the process of surgery with apparatus and tools.
An important and vital aspect of medical science, surgery is the ultimate choice after every effort has failed. It’s like cleaning a closed, clogged system that can’t be removed by treatment. Heart bypass surgery, inserting stents in a blood vessel, removing tumours/stones from organs like the gall bladder or brain and surgical removal of the appendix from the abdomen are but a few examples where surgery helps considerably. In such a case, surgery remains the only choice which gives long-lasting relief.
Surgery is very precise and requires expert hands to carry out. A surgeon has a deep and exhaustive knowledge of the structure and functions of internal organs. He works with utmost care and accuracy to save the life of his patient.
The wish for good health, a fit and agile body, has been the priority of our forefathers. They always wished good health and a healthy lifestyle for humanity as a whole and their loved ones in particular. They advocated and followed that a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. It is right and it should be so. A proper health is dependent on a healthy and regular diet. It gives energy and replenishes the lost and worn-out tissues, fights diseases and keeps fit. Thus, a regular and a little restrained life is necessary for good health, where a surgical scalpel is the last choice.
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