higgs

My fun little polemic argument that I wrote for school.

what do you think?




Doctors & Parasites

I love the shows on Animal Planet, the educational channel on TV. But, they recently began to air a show that sends chills down my spine. It's called Monsters Inside Me, and it's not the parasites, that are the subject of the show, that scare me (although they are horrifying); it is the fact that many of the victims suffer for years while doctors misdiagnose or ignore the problem. One man's arm was being slowly digested by amoebae, while his doctor continually prescribed the wrong medication.
Before this show came out I, like many people, felt that there was no parasite problem in the United States. I believed that it these worms, amoebae, and insects were only a plague of the third world. The show points out that they are very present in the US, and any of us could become an unwilling host. Drinking water, going swimming or hiking, eating sushi, and playing with pets are just a few of the mundane ways we can become infested! These don't sound like only third world activities to me!
Regardless of the fact that these parasites are well known, people suffer for years because doctors misdiagnose the problem over and over again! WHY? Because most American medical schools don't require courses in parasitology.
Medical schools are not only failing the doctors, whom they are being paid gobs of money to educate; they are also failing the general public. Therefore, the general public should demand better medical treatment, and our GP's should demand better education. Because the next star of Monster's Inside Me might be you!