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Trapped in the Medical Labyrinth

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We’ve all seen satellite photographs of the earth that show a portion of the globe from afar without any details of the earth’s surface. Google Earth allows even a computer neophyte like me to zoom in from space to image my own backyard. I’ve even been seen a satellite image of our red family car parked in our driveway! Using this technology, major rivers and mountain ranges, invisible from space, can be brought into view. The closer you zoom in, the more details you will visualize.

Look at the skin on your own hand. Now, bring your hand closer and closer to your eyes. With closer inspection, the topography of your skin comes into sharper focus. From a distance, your skin seems smooth and unblemished, but with closer examination, surface irregularities, small scars, pigmented spots, freckles and veins will come into view. Don’t rush off to see a dermatologist STAT! These are the normal imperfections that every physical object has if it is studied at high magnification.

What do mountain ranges and freckles have to do with medical quality? Everything. The medical profession is increasingly devoted to finding ‘freckles’ in every organ of the body and then demanding that they be investigated.

In the next posting, I will explain how innocent and healthy patients are pushed into medical labyrinths every day and then spend years there searching for a way out.
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  1. AnonymousMarch 29, 2009 at 3:11 PM

    I have to chuckle at myself reading your example of looking at the skin on your hand. I have gone to the dermatologist for this reason of a spot on my face or a wrinkle I'm not ready to explore. Meaning, I'm over 50 and don't want to accept the aging process. The doctor said my skin is in pretty good shape for my "age". Love that one. He gave me some suggestions and said come back in a year. Well 2 years later and I again complained about my skin and he said, "I don't see the problem". His nurse couldn't either. I said give me the mirror and I'll show you. They gave me the "regular strength" mirror and I said don't you have a stronger one. They both looked at each other and laughed and said, "put it away". Others aren't looking at you through mirrors 10x magnified. My point, is that we are so inundated with information that we're overly conscious of what's "wrong" with us. I can't condemn the medical profession completely with their findings or what could be wrong, everyone is covering their butts "these days".

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