Essay on Science and Health:
Whereas Science has conquered time and space it has also raised great dangers for mankind in the form of Atom and Hydrogen Bombs and life. But this does not imply that science in itself is something bad. Everything in this universe has a dual application- the good and the bad and it is for mankind to use it in the way it desires.
In the previous ages, countless deaths took place for want of medicine for a particular disease or due to contamination and infection due to unsanitary surroundings. Many lost their lives because the physician could not be brought in for want of transport facilities. Science has gradually changed the face of the world and the changes brought within the last one hundred and fifty years are the most remarkable and have surpassed the progress made during the four thousand years preceding one hundred and fifty years. Whereas for humanity other aspects of science are equally important, the aspects of health are the most important.
Epidemics of cholera, plague and smallpox took a heavy toll on human lives till the invention of vaccination by Dr Jenner and inoculation for hydrophobia and other diseases by Dr Pasteur. The greatest of all discoveries in the history of medical science is the discovery of Penicillin by Dr Fleming and certain other sulfa-drugs and antibiotic medicines. Formerly it was germs that killed the man but now it is the man who kills the germs.
The old-time belief that the diseases were caused by ghosts and not by germs appears to be a foolish belief of our ignorant ancestors. The treatment by superstition and hypnotic methods also sounds strange and silly.
Apart from the remarkable achievements in the field of medical science the wonderful advancement in the field of surgery is all the more stunning. Whereas it was impossible to save a man even to save a man who suffers from heart, lungs or brain injuries of a serious nature. Broken bones can now be normally joined and the whole functioning of the various parts of the body can be seen through instruments. X-rays have made it possible for us to see minute internal injuries and to affect the cure of deep-seated ulcers and tumours in any part of the body. The big hospitals of today are living monuments to the remarkable work that science has done for the benefit of humanity.
A series of medical institutes of a specialized nature help in the daily improvement of medicines and operations of various parts of the body and it looks as if science is becoming successful in the speedy eradication of all the diseases and ills of the world. Our country can boast of a large number of institutions of medicine and surgery and a long chain of leading and most modern equipped hospitals in Asia.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Verily science has not overlooked this aspect of human health while developing medicines and surgery. Equal attention has been given to the development of new colonies on scientific lines. The buildings, roads and town-planning engineering have steadily improved and modernized the residence and the daily living of the public. Large-sewage disposal works enabling the removal and disposal of the daily filth have been designed and constructed. Residences today can be very neatly furnished and kept neat and tidy by means of the sanitary fittings that have been properly designed.
The old-time mud huts with thatched roof and kachha floor with swarms of flies and mosquitoes feeding themselves on human blood are being gradually replaced by neat cement concrete, well-ventilated, nicely decorated, scientifically designed, well laid out and decent houses properly fitted with the sanitary fitting with no filth around, no flies to be seen and no mosquitoes to suck human blood.
To propel and stir up the human structure, food is indispensable. Food sometimes even serves better than medicine and helps to cure temporary setbacks to health. The unclean food used by the past generations was often the cause of disease. The quality, quantity and variety of the daily diet have now been vastly improved with the help of scientific methods.
“Science has, therefore, made it possible for human beings to lead a more congenial life will all the comforts of home, relish of food, relaxation of mind, removal of disease and regularity of habits. The generation brought up with the aid of the invention of science with special reference to their application to health will definitely be possessed of better bodies most brilliant brains and blooming personalities”.
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