As modern medicine advances, we often marvel at the technological and pharmaceutical wonders. While they seem miraculous, we must only use these when indicated and generally shown to be useful!
A good example is ultrasound in pregnancy. This can be used to diagnose many fetal abnormalities, as well as growth issues (aside from sex of the baby, twins, and position). However all this can be achieved with two regular ultrasounds during pregnancy.
Many women routinely get an ultrasound at every visit, and often have an incredible 3-D ultrasound which can show features clearly. But this may not be without its dangers!
Most safety studies were performed on equipment made before 1992. Today's equipment emits much stronger acoustic waves than older versions. In addition, animal studies have suggested ill effects from ultrasound exposure, such as neurologic abnormalities and hyperactive behavior. And there's always the concern that too many ultrasounds can lead to false-positives.
Get your one or two ultrasounds. That's enough!
http://www.wsj.com/articles/pregnant-women-get-more-ultrasounds-without-clear-medical-need-1437141219
And again more news about antibiotics. In the past we used to give children antibiotics quite freely. Now we are seeing evidence that this can change the normal bacteria that grow in their intestines and have deleterious long term effects.
In a study in the UK researchers looked at 152 children with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and compared them with 1520 without. The arthritis children were twice as likely to have received antibiotics, with an even higher correlation of having received these in the past year! As well another study has shown that certain cases of Ulcerative Colitis respond to "fecal transplants" which change the bacteria in the colon.
Again, treat only when necessary, not when convenient!
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