From the beginning of time, man has been intrigued by the human body and how it works.Learning how to heal the body and understand it better has always intrigued man and caused him to try different methods of healing. Priests and medicine men often used strange incantations and herbal powders to try to bring healing to those who were sick and ailing.
Hippocrates, born in 460 BC, is commonly referred to as the Father of Medicine.Medicine was no longer viewed as a philosophy or spiritual phenomenon, but was now viewed as a profession. He and Galen of Pergamum, a Roman physician, studied the bodies of monkeys to learn more about how the human body works. Dissecting and studying human cadavers was illegal at this time, so scientists and physicians had to find other ways to study the body. Thus, they had to resort to using the dead bodies of various animals. Scientists and physicians would often use the bodies of monkeys, as they are similar to the human body.
Although these men laid the groundwork for what we know as modern medicine, there was still much to be learned and understood about diseases and infections and how they affect our bodies.Man’s perception of medicine changed even more at the onset of the Black Death in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. No longer did people believe what everyone else said, but now medicine was viewed as a science, which meant that it was allowed to be further studied, contradicted and proved.
Because medicine was still not understood by most people, many turned to folklore for their health needs. These were ideas of cures that were passed from generation to generation. Most folk medicine was not able to be proven reasonably or medically, but because a particular remedy worked for one or two people, the idea would be passed on to their families and friends, and soon, it was believed and practiced as truth.
Some folk medicine practices were so bizarre that it’s hard to imagine today that people actually believed them. For example, one folk tale was that the root of rhubarb worn on a string around your neck will prevent stomach aches. People also used sorghum molasses, raisins and onions to cleanse their blood and thus hope to cure their boils. To prevent the common cold, people were advised to tie a big red onion to their bedpost.Entire communities believed in these remedies and they were rarely questioned.
Around 1880, Robert Koch, a German physician, discovered how bacteria are transmitted and shortly thereafter, antibiotics were discovered around 1900. Doctors from countries all over the world were quickly learning more and more about how diseases affect the body and how the body responds to medicines.The world could hardly keep up with how quickly medicine was progressing.As people realized that infections could often be cured or controlled by proper hygiene and drugs, their ideas about their bodies began to change.
Pharmacology originally developed from using herbs and plants to make medicines. As more and more drugs were developed, governments became concerned about their quality and began to put rules and regulations on them. It takes several years for a drug to be approved by these organizations, but it is for the safety of everyone. Knowing that your drugs are of the highest quality is necessary for peace of mind.
People all over the world are given prescriptions every single day. Usually, after hearing a patient’s symptoms, a physician will know what needs to be prescribed. There are medicines of every kind and shape prescribed to people, for every kind of ailment imaginable.Having a prescription, however, does not insure that the patient will be able to get the medicine that is needed. For various reasons, a drug may be out of stock or it may not be accessible at all due to problems within the manufacturing companies.
Another problem that a physician may find is when a particular drug is found to be effective for an illness not specified by the FDA. Referred to as out-sourcing, it becomes most frustrating when a doctor must give a patient a less effective drug until the FDA approves the drug in question. The patients also suffer, as they know there are medicines that can help them, but they find them hard to attain.
For example, Gabapentin, a drug originally developed for epileptic patients has been difficult for some patients to find. Due to its ability to help with various types of pain, many physicians found the drug to be beneficial to many of their patients. However, a Gabapentin manufacturer must be found in order to prescribe the drug. A manufacturer of Azithromycin, on the other hand, is much easier to find, as this drug has been proven to kill bacteria associated with upper respiratory infections. Recently, it has also been discovered that low doses of Azithromycin may be helpful in treating Lyme disease.
The CPHI pharmaceutical ingredients event gives customers of the industry a chance to meet various manufacturers and discuss their products.Every day, the world is learning more about the intriguing world of medicine. There is every opportunity for medical professionals today to make the best choices and feel confident in the decisions they make.