Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

Ryujin · 2026-03-23T21:48:12+0000

Dannyalcatraz said:
My dad also has an MPH, so not only did I get a nice informal medical education, I got a lot of stuff on public health measures as well.

One of his MAJOR mantras- after prevention is cheaper than cures- is that public health policies have saved more lives than medicine ever will. Pharma researchers and MDs may develop a vaccine, but public health officials are the ones who set the policies regarding who gets them and when- especially if they’re deemed crucial enough to mandate inoculations for subgroups or even huge swaths of a population.

Indoor plumbing and sewers likely save more people than any drug every discovered.

prabe · 2026-03-23T21:51:08+0000

Ryujin said:
Indoor plumbing and sewers likely save more people than any drug every discovered.

Same with insecticides.

Dannyalcatraz · 2026-03-23T21:51:37+0000

Ryujin said:
Indoor plumbing and sewers likely save more people than any drug ever discovered.

That, plus hand washing. (If only it were more commonly practiced…

)

dragoner · 2026-03-23T21:58:17+0000

Dannyalcatraz said:
That, plus hand washing. (If only it were more commonly practiced… )

Europe lagged way behind Africa and Asia as far as medical practices.

Whizbang Dustyboots · 2026-03-23T21:59:34+0000

I Cannot Wait Winnie The Pooh GIF by Maudit

Ryujin · 2026-03-23T22:00:20+0000

dragoner said:
Europe lagged way behind Africa and Asia as far as medical practices.

They were doing reasonably well, apart from thinking that lead was a cure-all, until Rome fell.

Dannyalcatraz · 2026-03-23T22:03:15+0000

dragoner said:
Europe lagged way behind Africa and Asia as far as medical practices.

Ryujin said:
They were doing reasonably well, apart from thinking that lead was a cure-all, until Rome fell.

My favorite medical history factoid is that some of the surgical procedures for using skin grafts for cosmetic nose reconstruction surgery were invented in India about 2500 years ago, and are largely unchanged.

dragoner · 2026-03-23T22:19:21+0000

Dannyalcatraz said:
My favorite medical history factoid is that some of the surgical procedures for using skin grafts for cosmetic nose reconstruction surgery were invented in India about 2500 years ago, and are largely unchanged.

Indians were at one time considered to have magical healing knowledge, likely due to understanding sterilization. Inoculation against smallpox was used in Africa in the 1600's, China in the 1500's.