People Imagine Which Medical Condition They Would Have Died From Without Modern Medicine

People Imagine Which Medical Condition They Would Have Died From Without Modern Medicine

Modern medicine is a marvel. It's the reason why we've been able to effectively eradicate some serious diseases and improve the quality of health care around the world. When you take these two things into consideration, it's easy to see why vaccine hesitancy can be such a frustrating topic for people right now.

Many people would not be able to survive without the benefits of modern medicine. That's what we learned after Redditor forevernostalgic23 asked the online community,

"If modern medicine didn't exist what medical condition would have died from or been severely impacted by?"

"Bad vision..."

"Bad vision alone would have made me terrible at most things."

jackatman

I had bad vision until my early 20s. I second this.

"I would have had a very short life..."

"I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age seven. I would have had a very short life without modern medicine."

Glass_Brocolli2701

Having known many people who live with diabetes, I am glad that they are still here.

"I probably would have died..."

"I probably would have died at 6 years old from strep throat."

freddygotfingered

​This is a big one: In the past, it commonly killed many people. And guess what, it still does? The CDC estimates approximately 11,000 to 24,000 cases of invasive group A strep disease occur each year in the United States, with 1,200 to 1,900 of those cases resulting in death.

"I was born..."

"I was born with a bilateral abdominal hernia and amniotic fluid in my lungs, no way I would have survived infancy without modern medicine."

wickedblight

"My brother and I..."

"Rabies.

My brother and I were bitten by a rabid farm kitten when we were 6 and 4 years old. Without the foresight of my grandfather who had the cat tested and modern medicine creating the vaccine, my parents would be childless."

imastrongwoman

Frightening! I saw Cujo as a child and that told me all I needed to know about rabies, thank you very much.

"I would have gone deaf..."

"I would have gone deaf from recurrent ear infections as a child and then died at 14 from pneumonia."

Isaac1867

"But since that..."

"I was born two months premature, so I'd likely not survive that in an earlier era. But since that, nothing."

NosDarkly

"Mom and Dad..."

"The way I was born. Mom and Dad had to feed me through a tube down my nose the first year and a half."

unhip1

"If the recurrent..."

"If the recurrent tonsillitis didn't get me, my appendix would have been the end of me as a teen."

Brilliant

"Neither kiddo nor I..."

"Giving birth. Neither kiddo nor I would be alive without emergency surgery."

remembertowelday525

Amazing, right? Be grateful for modern medicine––there are new developments each and every day. And who knows what the future has in store for us? Will there be a cure for cancer? Alzheimer's disease and dementia? The sky's the limit.

Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Teacher standing in front of a classroom
Photo by Taylor Flowe on Unsplash

It's a teacher's job to leave a lasting impression and set a good example for their students.

With this in mind, particularly in this age of viral videos and social media, teachers have to be very careful of what they say during class hours.

Even so, there are very few teachers who haven't said something they've regretted when teaching a class.

Sometimes to control unruly students, other times when they've simply had enough.

Then too, sometimes teachers leave their students baffled and perplexed by what they say in their classroom, well aware of what they were saying.

Always making for a memorable story.

Keep reading...Show less
woman in white crew neck t-shirt sitting on gray sofa
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

As a kid, I never raised alarm bells even when I started to feel sick. My mom got stressed easily and was busy taking care of my younger brother, so I never wanted to be a burden by making her take me to the doctor only to find out nothing was wrong.

However, in fifth grade, my ears started to hurt and I knew something was wrong. I told my mom, she took me to the doctor, and I found out I had an ear infection.

Now, an ear infection isn't serious at all, and it was easily treatable. Still, I learned something from that experience: no one knows your body better than you. You know if and when you're sick and how serious it is, even if you don't now exactly what is wrong.

Redditors can corroborate this. Many of them have experienced symptoms that told them they were sick in some way -- usually with a very serious illness -- and are ready to share those experiences.

Keep reading...Show less
A couple holds hands on a date, candlelit table and two glasses of red wine
Photo by René Ranisch on Unsplash

When in the beginning stages of dating, it's important to know as much as humanly possible.

The element of surprise is no longer a fun aspect of romance.

Ask the small questions. Ask the hard questions.

Interrogate. Grill. Investigate.

Of course, you should do it with a subtle hand instead of an interrogation lamp.

The truth is all we have.

Ask everything.

Keep reading...Show less
Woman letting go of boyfriend's hand
Photo by Everton Vila on Unsplash

As much as we always hop for our dating efforts to be worth it and for every relationship to work out, we all know that some relationships are not destined to work out.

But sometimes relationships end for totally valid reasons, and sometimes the reasons are painful, if not devastating.

Keep reading...Show less