All through this series we tried to understand health. We have been trying this for centuries. Many think we have achieved it and many think we are approaching it every day with new updates in technology. But here we already witnessed some misconcepts over health in relation to communicable diseases like measles and corona which for years were misleading us. Without realizing these facts and adopting these knowledges in healthcare nowhere in future are we going to tackle common communicable diseases or new epidemics and chronic or deficiency diseases. Modern medicine changed our perspective on health but still is not the last word of health. I believe readers of series 1 of FOH-2 have realized my concern. FOH likes to give some statements before winding this series up.
We need to change the definition of health which identifies every fluctuation in body as danger to health, as ‘disease’. But these fluctuations may be reactions of our own body to promote health which in itself reflections of health. A definition which incorporate features like
1) Health is an optimum condition of living being where all organs are working perfectly well.
2) Disease is another condition of body which may not be identified in concrete but may revile itself through signs and symptoms.
3) Many fluctuations and signs in body( which is distinct from disease but categorized as disease for quiet long time) whose presence is much necessary for an individual to achieve back health (eg: Runny nose represents primary reaction of nasal mucosa trying to get rid of covid or influenza virus and hence a health worker should treat these cases without interfering this sign)which must be identified as reactions of a healthy human body and included in the definition of health but unfortunately is labeled disease.
Without incorporating these three factors while defining health or disease safeguarding health would be impossible and treatment become a farce. In a man when a diseased condition advances we get an aggregate of signs and symptoms and this aggregate is not the totality of the disease. It is a cross section of health condition of an individual at a specific time of ill-health and these can be segregated as signs of disease, healthy reactions, and signs of advancement of disease. A close and deep study can reveal this simple fact. Definition of WHO “Constitution of WHO” which states that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” is an incomplete definition and achieving health through this concept is an Utopian affair. Only a few can understand the sole of this discovery.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Alvin Toffler
Thankyou