7 ms·

There should be a name for this, "medical theatre", analogous to security theatre. A brilliant performance art, with all its buzzing machines, expensive insuran

by _xnmw 4y ago

There should be a name for this, "medical theatre", analogous to security theatre. A brilliant performance art, with all its buzzing machines, expensive insurance, bright lights, pretty graphic logos, well-dressed specialists and doctors that aren't able to apply their knowledge correctly because they can't get simple things right, like letting patients sleep properly or recording and passing on information specific to a patient. All of this because the emphasis is on the "system" rather than the patient, and the solution is "more system". There is no amount of procedure that can replace genuine care and concern for a human being -- this man's father was lucky to have someone who was spending time with him observing these things, and presumably helping the staff avoid mistakes, and probably helping with the feelings of paranoia and hallucinations as well.

rapjr9 4y ago
I suspect part of what causes the hallucinations is withdrawal from alcohol combined with opiates. When you need emergency care nobody asks or seems to care if you are dependent on alcohol, they simply put you in the ICU and wait for you to wake up, going cold turkey. Maybe there is nothing they can do about it, but it seems like they should at least be aware of it and perhaps working on a solution. That they have not seems to be due to moral judgements (you shouldn't have been drinking so much in the first place.) Perhaps small intraveneous doses of alcohol would help (although the opiates would make that complicated since they interact with alcohol.) Maybe some type of blood cleaning would help. Ignoring it seems like the worst choice, particularly since it can cause physical effects besides hallucinations. This is one of a number of areas that medicine ignores. Another is environmental causes of diseases; when was the last time your doctor asked for air, water, soil, and food samples from your home as part of your regular checkup?

by _xnmw 4y ago

rapjr9 4y ago

I suspect part of what causes the hallucinations is withdrawal from alcohol combined with opiates. When you need emergency care nobody asks or seems to care if you are dependent on alcohol, they simply put you in the ICU and wait for you to wake up, going cold turkey. Maybe there is nothing they can do about it, but it seems like they should at least be aware of it and perhaps working on a solution. That they have not seems to be due to moral judgements (you shouldn't have been drinking so much in the first place.) Perhaps small intraveneous doses of alcohol would help (although the opiates would make that complicated since they interact with alcohol.) Maybe some type of blood cleaning would help. Ignoring it seems like the worst choice, particularly since it can cause physical effects besides hallucinations. This is one of a number of areas that medicine ignores. Another is environmental causes of diseases; when was the last time your doctor asked for air, water, soil, and food samples from your home as part of your regular checkup?