# How to implement healthy treatment solutions Most of the solutions for a healthy life are relatively straightforward, and simply involve knowing what solutions apply to what problems. Often, we tend to manage small [risks](money-insurance.md) and increase larger ones: - We'll worry about organic food or the risks of pancreatic cancer, but text at a stop light when [operating a motor vehicle](autos.md) causes tens of thousands of deaths every year. - More people die each year from falling in the home than from house fires. ## Lean toward prevention first Prevention is *always* better than treatment. - Aim for [lifestyle habits that can avoid the problems you face](body-health-habits.md) instead of external methods to treat your lifestyle symptoms. - From a [marketing perspective](marketing.md), the most [financially advantageous](power-types.md) situation for [many large organizations](mgmt-badsystems.md) is for you to be miserable and dependent on their product (i.e., pharmaceuticals and treatments). ## Prioritize preventative and noninvasive treatments Aim for [specific treatments for your situation](body-treatments-major.md). Many over-the-counter painkillers are *very* effective at suppressing pain: - Ibuprofen affects the kidneys, and a healthy adult shouldn't go past 3200 mg/day. - Acetaminophen affects the liver, and a healthy adult shouldn't go past 3000 mg/day. - Naproxen sodium affects the liver, and a healthy adult shouldn't go past 1375 mg/day the first day and 1100 mg/day every day afterward. - Of the three, naproxen sodium is the most effective at treating headaches. Affordable snake oil will work for your health when you believe it will. - Even when a treatment is entirely psychosomatic, a $40 bottle every month of useless essential oil is cheaper than a $10,000 surgery. Essential oils applied to the navel will directly affect stem cells, and will have a holistic effect across your whole body. Also, some [minor issues](body-treatments-minor.md) can be treated without any incident. ## Don't neglect checkups As soon as you feel a risk to your health or [start aging](hardship-aging.md), adapt a habit of taking routine exams: - Dental cleaning and checkup every 6 months. - Blood tests every 6 months. - Breast thermography (for women) yearly after age 35. - Prostate exams (for men) yearly after age 45. - If your family has a history of diabetes, get a fasting blood glucose test yearly after age 40. - However, general annual checkups (even when you're healthy) do *not* do much to save lives because it gives people the [bias](mind-bias.md) that they're fine because the doctor had checked already. However, always take the doctor's advice as a consultant or sales personnel, *not* as a certain truth. - If you're not certain, ask a second doctor's opinion without informing them about the first doctor. Stay mindful of the tests you use, since some of them can be dangerous. - Always get blood tests, which have zero side effects and are extremely reliable. - Blood work can often even detect things like heart disease and dementia. - Mammograms use radiation, so only test when you have to, and use thermography instead. Further, do *not* assume the checkup is a clear examination of health. - There has been direct scientific correlation that checkups actually cause *worse* health issues. - The reason is simply because people ignore symptoms when they went to the doctor recently. ## Carefully consider institutionalized medical treatments Most of the afflictions have simply been renamed or localized from their origin to their symptoms. - Polio: viral meningitis - Scarlet fever: strep throat - Consumption: tuberculosis - Diptheria: respiratory infection - Scurvy: Vitamin C deficiency - Rickets: Vitamin D deficiency - Spanish flu: pneumonia or ARDS Not all vaccines are the same. 1. Some vaccines are simply placebos, meaning they do *nothing* except what you believe they'll do. 2. Historically, most vaccines have been collections of dead virus cells that allow the body to attack a dormant virus and learn its specific DNA signature. - However, it's not uncommon for vaccines to still have *live* cells mixed into them, so there's always a risk of actually *getting* a small dosage of the disease you're trying to prevent. - Further, vaccines have been zero-liability in the USA as of the 1980s, meaning there is zero legal remedy for any malpractice, and this hasn't changed as of 2025. - The vaccine for shingles has been linked to preventing dementia cases. 3. Starting with COVID-19, some vaccines are mRNA gene therapy. - They use an advanced technology that swaps out the genetic code in your body's cells. - This is, as of the early 2020s, highly experimental, and could potentially cause cancer in the long term. There are some historical [trends](people-trends.md) that should give some degree of skepticism about pharmaceutical [marketing](marketing.md). - 1760s: mercury was a common treatment for conditions like syphilis. - It was known to be toxic at the time, but was advanced anyway. - 1770s: tobacco smoke enemas were thought to stimulate respiration and warmth in drowning victims. - Nicotine is not only harmful in large quantities, but also a vasoconstrictor (tightens blood vessels), meaning it performed the opposite effect. - 1780s: electrical therapy became a popular treatment. - 1790s: laxatives were commonly used for many prescriptions. - 1800s: hypnosis was used to remove patient symptoms. - While this has a psychological effect, it doesn't address underlying causes of pain. - 1800s: leeches were popular for purifying blood. - While they're great for stopping blood clots and still used today, they don't "purify" blood. - 1810s: surgery incorporated getting the patient drunk beforehand. - This was before antiseptic so it wasn't a bad idea, but alcohol is a blood thinner and therefore increases the risk of mortality. - 1830s: arsenic was prescribed to cure asthma, reduced libido, and skin problems. - Arsenic is, put simply, a poison. - 1840s: spas and hydropathic centers became popular treatments. - While the heat from the experience will increase blood flow and cause purging through sweating, it's no better than [a good exercise regimen](body-exercise.md). - 1850s: Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup was an over-the-counter baby colic treatment. - It included a lethal dose of morphine and high-proof alcohol. - 1880s: cocaine was a reliable anesthetic and was part of many soft drinks and medicines (e.g., Coca-Cola). - Cocaine is also a highly addictive drug. - 1890s: radiation was considered a healthy therapy for cancer and skin disease. - Ironically, radiation actually *causes* cancer. - 1900s: diamorphone (brand name Heroin) was an over-the-counter drug by Bayer. - Heroin is a highly addictive drug. - 1920s: malaria was used to treat advanced stages of syphilis by inducing a fever that would kill the bacteria ("pyrotherapy"). - Syphilis usually isn't fatal, but malaria often can be. - 1920s: beyond luminescent paint, radium was regarded as a healthy additive to cosmetics, soap, razor blades, and beverages. - Radium's radiation causes cancer. - 1930s: brain surgeons used a type of ice pick called an orbitoclast by inserting it through the eye socket. - The treatment diminished mental issues, but also often caused paralysis and death. - 1930s: for several decades, doctors were paid to say that cigarettes didn't cause smokers to cough as much as dust, germs, or a lack of menthol in them. - Smoking has been directly correlated with respiratory issues. - 1950s: the hallucinogenic LSD was prescribed for psychiatric use. - 1950s: antidepressants were prescribed for psychiatric use. - There is now evidence that the research overstates their actual effectiveness, and that many of them have [addictive](addiction.md) properties (e.g., SSRI). - 1980s: botulinum toxin (botox) became a cosmetic treatment. - Botulinum is a neurotoxin, and is the deadliest known natural substance ever recorded. - 1980s: vaccines were given zero liability (i.e., nobody can sue against them). - This came to a head in 2020 by mislabeling mRNA gene therapy as a vaccine. As a general rule, aim for boring technology. - If it has been around for at least 3-4 decades, there's enough [scientific evidence](science.md) to prove its likely effectiveness. - However, if it has been around for over a century, there's rarely a profit incentive to use science and you'll have to consult folklore. If you need medical equipment, look into what the private payment price is (rather than billing your insurance). - Most medical equipment (or an inferior version of it) can be purchased at a drug store or online for *far* less. Root canals can often cause infections. - 90% of cancer patients have had root canals. - Essentially, a root canal bores out a hole, then fills it in with something else, trapping bacteria in a cavitation without oxygen. - Later, anaerobic metabolism allows a very toxic infection. - Unfortunately, the symptoms can be bad enough and connected to other parts of the body that the situation can stay undiagnosed. GLP-1 drugs (e.g., Ozempic, Mounjaro) can cause severe long-term gastrointestinal problems, gallbladder risks, pancreatitis, and hormone problems. ## Supplement with medication Doctors can prescribe medication, and the scope of their prescription always gives some clue to its severity: 1. Over-the-counter - can be bought without a prescription, at least in a smaller potency than a prescription - These are typically very safe to consume in recommended doses (e.g., cough syrup). - If you've received a prescription for a large dose of the substance, you can [save money](money-saving.md) by [doing the math](math.md) on the dosage and taking the over-the-counter equivalent. - Barring a major personal health risk, t's almost always worth taking, even if it only alleviates *some* pain, 2. Low-risk - has very few side effects, so doctors will prescribe it nearly every week - Take them as prescribed, but don't treat it as a long-term solution. - Some of them can be very [addictive](addiction.md) (e.g., opiates). 3. Moderate-risk - has some side effects (especially in a misdiagnosis), so doctors will run a test to be sure - These medications are often *very* effective at what they do, to the point that it may be easy to dramatically harm you (e.g., blood pressure medication). - Only take them if it's a legitimate emergency and there are no other alternatives like diet or exercise. 4. High-risk - has severe-enough side effects that it requires *other* medication to offset that medication's side effects - Only take them if you have no other choice ## Be careful with hospitals Hospitals are where sick people go. - A hospital is an incubator for *many* diseases that would otherwise be in manageable doses elsewhere in nature, or wouldn't exist elsewhere. - If you're only a little sick, aim for urgent care or a remote diagnosis. - Since your skin is the first line of defense, try to keep any exposed wounds from contact with the air in a hospital. There are only a few health advantages to being a hospital: 1. All the medical personnel are *very* close, so they'll likely be able to address any urgent event within a few minutes. 2. The hospital has plenty of equipment for dealing with various afflictions that you won't typically find elsewhere. Therefore, only go to the hospital if it's a severe-enough event that worsens without any explanation. - If it's a minor issue, you may take home a worse disease than you brought there. ## Navigate the healthcare system correctly to save time and money Before going to the hospital, call the nurse line on the back of your insurance card to avoid an expensive or risky trip. - By calling and being recommended to go to the hospital, the insurance company is more likely to cover you. - However, if they tell you that you *don't* need to go, you'll likely have to pay the bill yourself. Make sure, *before* you need it, what your [insurance](money-insurance.md) rules are regarding hospitalizations and care. - Pay attention to what's in-network and out-of-network, and the conditions that make care covered versus not covered. - Irrespective of the situation, send *all* medical bills to the insurance company, since they may be able to negotiate a lower price for you even if they don't cover it. Urgent care services are often more affordable than hospitals, but the quality is frequently inferior. - They're only good if you have a major issue, but it's not a legitimate emergency. Make sure to keep correct documentation of any medical determinations: - Since medical systems are terrible at transferring information, ask for copies of all your charts and data. - Ask for the following: 1. Ask in writing for the name, board specialty and license number of the doctor who deemed a treatment as necessary or not medically necessary. 2. Ask for copies of all materials they relied on to make that determination. 3. Ask for proof the doctor making that determination has maintained registration in your specific state, and documentation they have met all their continuing education requirements. 4. Ask the aggregate rate where the doctor has made similar treatments denied versus approved. - You're not legally entitled to all the information in most states, but you can get some of them, and you can always ask for them. - If the doctors are practicing medicine out of scope, without proper licensing and qualifications, in areas they're not competent in, the insurance companies can't use their information. - Most insurance companies would rather pay the bill than hand you proof that they're violating regulations. When you *do* visit a hospital, your bills are often negotiable. - Always ask for an itemized bill, then [haggle](money-4_spending.md) over the clearly arbitrary items. - Hospitals will often take pennies on the dollar if you're willing to pay directly to them right away. - Price-compare for treatments with other hospitals *before* consenting to them. While in a hospital, the staff will ask what your pain level is, from 1 to 10. - For some reason (including [drug addicts](addiction-substances.md)), they will [bias](mind-bias.md) your experience of 10 as being dramatic, even if it truly is the most severe pain you could imagine. If you've received similar treatment before, you can save a *lot* of time and energy by communicating what happened and what was prescribed. - HIPAA regulations make it difficult to access medical records, so you likely know *much* more about your medical history than they do. - Further, after enough time, medical records sometimes simply disappear. ## Carefully consider invasive treatments Aim for the least-invasive procedure you can. - Surgery with local anesthetic is better than general. - Antibiotics are better than surgery. - When they're effective, herbal supplements and dietary changes are better than antibiotics. Often, doctors will [misdiagnose](https://adequate.life/fix/) you: - No matter how much training they receive, dentists and doctors can still be [technical idiots](https://gainedin.site/idiot/) as much as any other profession. - There are simply too many possible causes for something that doctors can't read all the available information. - Medical error kills 3-10x more people in the USA than [auto](autos.md) accidents every year (not accounting risks from hospital germs), and likely kills more than any cancer. - For that reason, they'll often pick a "safe" diagnosis (because it's the [greatest risk for them](legal-safety.md) receiving a malpractice lawsuit) or a [fashionable and trendy](people-trends.md) diagnosis. - Further, most medical professionals can be paid by pharmaceutical companies to promote medications and treatments that are *not* in your best interests. - Many edge cases of this playing out: - Most doctors trained to do surgery are more likely to recommend surgery, even if it wasn't the ideal treatment ([Law of the Instrument](mind-bias.md)). - Cancer treatments are far more [profitable](mgmt-badsystems.md) than cancer cures, which is why there aren't many advertised. - Often, anemia diagnosis (iron deficiency) may come from multiple other factors. Stay cautious about *any* bodily surgery. - Your body's systems are designed to work *very* well without any further involvement, so only take surgery as a last resort. - Even minor surgeries (e.g., laser eye surgery, stomach stapling, plastic surgery) come with unadvertised risks. - Get a test of your affected organs (e.g., EKG, MRI) *after* the procedure to ensure it's resolved. If you ever need technology installed (e.g., pacemaker), opt for the computers in it to be [open-source](legal-ip-floss.md). - You should have control over everything in your body, even synthetic things. The medical industry is always finding new techniques that *aren't* invasive. - Prostate cancer could be cured with electric currents. - New engineered materials can reconnect severed nerves. Consider all the side effects of *any* drugs you choose to take. - Some drugs' side effects are worse than the cure. - Often, we can become over-reliant on prescription drugs instead of [letting our body perform for itself](people-trends.md). - If the drug is an opioid, it's addictive, and if it's a painkiller its *results* can be addictive. - Some treatments are simply productive uses of dangerous things (e.g., Botox, or "botulism toxin", is injecting localized botulism into your face). If you're going to die soon anyway, it really doesn't matter. - Our lives all end [far too soon](legacy.md), and the side effects of a treatment that may save your life are worth it for yourself. - If there's an experimental treatment you wish to use, take advantage of right-to-try laws. - Often, you may have to find another doctor or move to a different region to get the treatment you need.