As a guide here at About.com I hear from people with many differing opinions and for the most part, I respect them. I don't always agree! But I realize that when it comes to something as personal as health, then we human beings will have differing points of view. And that's as it should be.
As it should be -- UNLESS -- it begins to have a negative impact on others. If someone develops a belief that can cause illness or death in someone else, I have no patience for it -- and I will try to expose it, too. Others, like you, need to know about it.
Wonder what I'm talking about? I'll give you some examples:
1. A conversation with a friend of mine - an MD for whom I have a great deal of respect. Dr. Nicholas Bennett is a pediatric infectious diseases expert with specific interest in AIDs, including a PhD based on AIDS research. We talked about AIDS denialism -- that is, people who pretend AIDS doesn't exist, simply so they won't have to deal with it. Dr. Bennett maintains a blog where he writes about AIDS denialism.
Here's the problem with people who deny AIDS exists: for them, as individuals -- that's their choice. If they develop HIV, then AIDS, and they die from it because they didn't take care of themselves, then I'm sorry for them. Playing ostrich, putting their heads in the sand and pretending they aren't sick, causes them to die. Further, their loved ones suffer because they lose someone they care about.
On a grander scale, however, are those denialists who become activitists -- and they are dangerous. When they try to spread their influence, that means someone else is choosing not to be treated, or decisions are being made that deny the treatment people need. Dr. Bennett's describes a situation where patients in South Africa have been denied treatment because of denialists.
(I have to wonder -- if their agenda denies treatment, can they be considered murderers?)
2. On a similar scale, I hear from people who believe all kinds of conspiracy theories about swine flu. Some tell me it's a government conspiracy - that the government is trying to kill us with either the swine flu, or with the vaccine, so therefore we should.... what? I'm not sure. They just want me to know that swine flu is a government conspiracy. I'm not even sure which government they are talking about. And what I truly don't understand is just why they thing the government would want to do that -- there is absolutely nothing to be gained.
So I say to them -- gee -- then don't get the swine flu vaccine if you don't want to! For me -- once it's available to me, I will most certainly get the vaccine. Why? Because I don't want to get sick. I can't afford to. And because I like the odds which, to this point are: 10,000 Americans have died from swine flu. Zero Americans have died from getting the swine flu vaccine. I like those odds.
3. Here's the one that upsets me the most, because it involves innocent children whose parents are not smart enough to take advice from wise people, instead taking advice from a false prophet.
This is the one where certain people who are NOT experts, who PRETEND they are experts, tell parents not to get their children vaccinated because the vaccine causes autism. I've written about this before, but it remains disturbing to me because children are getting sick and dying unvaccinated. Their lives could have been saved. And the very scary part is that their parents really thought they were doing the right thing. I can't imagine trying to live with myself knowing I had trusted the wrong people.
When you have medical decisions to make, don't rely on wishful thinking at the expense of facing reality. Empowered patients aren't blind. They aren't ostriches. They don't follow false prophets. And they don't ignore reality.
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