Having experienced a bit of this lately, thought addressing the social implications of pain, it's diagnosis, it's alleviation (such as acceptable/unacceptable treatments or medications) and what works for some!
Marijuana for Cancer Patients
Should the law dictate what treatments are allowed for pain, disease and/or dilapidated conditions? Should a drug that is only a misdemeanor for possession of a small amount be treated like a felonous act? Should the dealers that sold to them be arrested?? Or should legitimate sales channels be made available???
Pain-relievers (killers)
Addiction is always a concern. The social implications are often that those hooked on any drug will often try to support their habit, even through criminal acts. Does that mean we should stop using them altogether? Are we not able to manage those drugs or patients where addiction is likely or possible? Paregoric used to be effective against diarrhea in babies, toddlers and children. Parents truly concerned with their becoming hooked on those substances or unable to judge how much to use the reason why we can't use it? Or is it like marijuana in that getting it means it requires criminal actions or some kind of legitimization.
Self medications and self-treatment
Are people able to perceive how much pain they experience? Can they communicate it directly to their physicians?? Are physicians automatically dismissing the importance of the degrees or levels of pain of which the patient claims? Why do they ask the person when they first examine them what "they think the problem is". Do they mean to say we should recognize recurring problems or have an idea of what is going on with our bodies?? And yet they might scold them for trying to deal with it at home instead of rushing into the doctor's office (with an appointment of course) or the emergency room for a 2-3 hour wait at least? Should the patient avoid taking anything to expedite the treatment... and even avoid eating?
Different reactions
Everyone reacts different to medicines and they certainly react different to pain. Aspirin has long been touted as a cure-all for general pain, headaches, fever reduction and so on and so on. If a kid screams because of an ear-ache, is he just trying to get attention or has swimmer's ear become a painful infection? Does the close proximately of that or a toothache to the brain mean that more focus is paid to the suffering?
What are the values of pain? Do they alert us when there is something seriously wrong or is it over-emphasized on it's importance? Should we always numb the pain? And when it's not done in socially accepted ways, we can always just slap a label upon them like "junkie" or "alcholic". Instead of being incapacitated in some way, they are just called "lazy". Diabetics brought on their conditions with poor diet and had nothing to do with family history, right? Just like some people are more susceptible to cancers, infections and allergies... not everyone experiences it the same way. Was it a mild case of mumps or a lymphatic buildup?
Is it acceptable to have public healthcare programmes? To support the elderly? Our bodies wear out over time.. do not heal as quickly as when we were very young. Even very healthy individuals can wear themselves out, their organs as well as cartlidge, tendons and even bones. Drinking milk always going to fix the problem with latter or with Osteoperosis? Are female patients treated with a little more contempt by the medical community because of an additional range of medical considerations... like breast or cervical cancers, menstrual pain, utero-vaginal infections or menopause?
How much have we been jaded by the medical and legal communities, by bad experiences and how much do we prejudge other people's condition or level of suffering? Should the loudest squeaking/squealing wheel get the oil first? Or should we tough it out so people don't see us as wimps... so when someone is literally dying, we have a few seconds of conscious screaming before they pass out?
