America, superstition, and disease

[B. de Corbin]

When we read about the Ebola outbreak in Africa, we are also told that that the superstitions of the Africans (such as the belief that the doctors are spreading it) hampers efforts to control the outbreak.

Finger pointing is soooo easy...

But in America? We're not a bunch of superstitious backwoods hicks, are we?

Yes we are. Our superstitions often come in the form of conspiracy theories. For instance:

Chris Brown: Ebola Is a 'Form of Population Control'

When AIDS came in - for those of you who remember - many people claimed it was a government plan to eliminate gays.

Then, there is the superstitious belief that vaccinations cause Autism.

It goes on, but you get the idea...

[Ophidia]

Re: America, superstition, and disease

My husband still believes that 'night air' causes illness. He won't leave a window open at all, & gets upset if I do. He also believes that going to bed w/wet hair will cause colds & flus. Oh, and he has sensitive ears because of his mom getting an ear injury while she was pregnant with him.

/facepalm

[thalassa]

Re: America, superstition, and disease

My husband still believes that 'night air' causes illness. He won't leave a window open at all, & gets upset if I do.

I can understand this though, on some level... At night time, cortisol levels drop and histamine levels rise....its part of our bodies circadian fluctuation (along with stuff like temperature increase, etc). Cortisol has some preventative action against asthma attacks and histamine causes allergies. Enter "night air"--or, lets call it what it is...enter all those mold spores! 8 hours of less resistance and increased amounts of stressors, and you wake up with a lovely post nasal drip, feeling like crud and wheezing like a smoker running a marathon.

[Ophidia]

Re: America, superstition, and disease

I can understand this though, on some level... At night time, cortisol levels drop and histamine levels rise....its part of our bodies circadian fluctuation (along with stuff like temperature increase, etc). Cortisol has some preventative action against asthma attacks and histamine causes allergies. Enter "night air"--or, lets call it what it is...enter all those mold spores! 8 hours of less resistance and increased amounts of stressors, and you wake up with a lovely post nasal drip, feeling like crud and wheezing like a smoker running a marathon.

I get the allergy problem, and in winter here we get the inversion layer which traps pollutants & makes all that worse. But the way the hubster talks about it is less about allergies & respiratory symptoms, and more like the Victorian thing, with all the romantic terms for tuberculosis... Malaise, consumption, wasting sickness.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: America, superstition, and disease

The fact that old, disproved ideas still survive doesn't bother me that much - it's the kind of thing one would predict. What really bothers me is when people decide to, literally, go backwards, and make a conscious decision to "forget" what they know, because it doesn't match their preferred world view.

I just read this, and found it interesting:

How Did We Become a Society Suspicious of Science?

But something has been lost. Fifty years ago science was king. Science had respect; it was bigger than ideology. No longer. Radio blowhards contemptuously dismiss scientific findings and endorse ideological claptrap. Anti-science stalks the halls of Congress and kooky ideas are rife among Boards of Education. Formerly, all parties in public debate, liberal and conservative, displayed deference to science. Now we have Senator James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, openly denouncing the findings of climate scientists as a hoax. The Texas State Board of Education, which is dominated by religious fundamentalists, prefers the propaganda of ax-grinding cranks over the recommendations of hundreds of qualified scientists and scholars.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: America, superstition, and disease

Busting common health myths about antibiotics:

Save Money And Be Sick Less By Making Sure You're Not Duped By Any Of These Silly Myths About Meds