Epidemics Are Ticking Time Bombs Like Gladwell's Tipping Points
Word-of-Mouth Spreads News and Germs
Dr. Jan Scholten says, "I think Hahnemann has done great work in this respect. Epidemics have been big success stories from the start of homeopathy all over the world. Epidemics is one of the aspects where homeopathy can be proven easily."
Homeopathic remedies have prevented the spread of epidemic disease in history. When homeopaths recognize the particular remedies that alleviate symptoms at the outbreak of illness and network to utilize these specific remedies we will see excellent results.
I believe in taking part in the healing of the earth through action. Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his book "Outliers" that developing your skills through a concentrated effort of 10,000 hours results in a successful outcome. However, I would like to focus on his previous book, “The Tipping Point,” which also has a relationship to the Time and Place element in "Outliers."
I believe either a single person or groups of individuals have the power to change the direction of events, cultural behavior and the course of history. Through numerous examples and statistics Gladwell shows in "The Tipping Point" how change occurs in our lives. Armed with this information we can put into play a movement toward this critical point of change.
One major factor is ‘word-of-mouth’. At this very moment, I am speaking and connecting to you using the internet, as if you are my neighbor around the block or sitting in my classroom even though you may be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Maybe seeing my face and my enthusiasm will encourage you to take action, or maybe just spread the news.
It is winter and thoughts of influenza are in the air and in being reported by the media. Some seasons are more harsh than others. Researchers calculate the probability of an event and we prepare for the worst. How many have taken a flu shot? I bet not many of you hubbers, or homeopaths out there. Why? Because, like me, you may not want to be manipulated by some mass fear or governmental action. You are a free thinker and desire independence and innovation. You want to find ways to solve problems on your own. Word-of-mouth spreads news. Sneezing and coughing spread germs. And when there is a virulent strain goes viral the disease spreads rapidly.
The topic of ‘epidemics’ is popular with homeopaths. When winter arrives and holiday seasons bring people together, we want to know which homeopathic remedy works best for particular kinds of flu. This is an occasion when the homeopathic community forge alliances, discussing trends, documenting life cases, searching for homeopathic solutions and creating spread sheets to evaluate outcomes. So not only do germs spread, but information is disseminated via databanks and word-of-mouth.
In Gladwell’s perspective ‘epidemics’ do not just multiply and spread germs, but focus in popular consciousness, changes in belief systems, and innovative new technologies bring about major shifts in evolution. Epidemics have a life cycle. They come and go, like a malarial miasm. It’s like a storm, pressure builds up maybe slowly and then, bam! just enough moisture in the air to cause precipitation.
Alternatively, just one case, like in the AIDS epidemic, can spread like wildfire. And the world is never the same. By the time we observe the effects of a major outbreak, the one starting point, that “tipping point” may need a Sherlock Holmes to unearth the causation.
Pass It On
Latest News On HIV AIDS - Over 1 Million Years Old
- Scientists believe HIV-1 was passed from chimpanzees to humans
Findings open a new avenue in the quest to understand the origins of HIV
- Contemporary Media and Internet Jargon: Accelerated ...
According to the Random House Dictionary's senior editor, Struart B. Flexner:
Break Down in the Medical Care System
Today, we see the traditional medical system breaking down. We are standing in the middle, but what are we doing to “tip” the axis and move the system into a new orbit, into a new paradigm?
Gladwell says it’s like in epidemiology when there is a critical mass for something to change, like the point when water boils or water freezes into ice. And everything surrounding that point is also effected. Whole communities are effected. That is why they traditionally quarantined those contracted with epidemic disease, in order to stop the spread from effecting outlying areas and other points of contact. The idea here is that the ‘tipping point’ does not just apply to disease, but to everything related to humankind and nature. Thus, we can effect the tipping point in our society, in science, art, language, clothing, ad infinitum.
I just heard a show about the new words/jargon being used in our ‘cell phone’ generation. The Digital Culture host even asked listeners if they could ‘create’ new words. Everything, including language, is moving so fast that Wired magazine's "Jargon Watch" columnist Jonathan Keats couldn’t keep up with the pace of change in our culture. With the evolution of technology, the ease in communication and mobility, evolution of society, germs, language, everything goes at warp speed.
We need to stop and take a close look at where we are going and what we can do to cope in this kind of environment. I believe it is to look both inside at what's going on with our soul; and to find those who we believe have the knowledge to disarm the ticking bomb.
Scientific American Mind
- Which Flu Risk Would You Take?
Individuals facing a medical dilemma are more likely to choose a riskier course for themselves than for others.
- Flu Math: Do You Take The Flu Shot?
Suppose you have a 5 percent chance of dying from a flu vaccine but a 10 percent chance of contracting and dying of the flu when an epidemic strikes. Do you take the flu shot?
- The Wood-Chipper Episode and Avian Flu Epidemics: What's The Connection?
Between 1971 and 1973, California killed 12 million chickens to stop the spread of Newcastle disease, a type of avian influenza. In 1997, Hong Kong killed 1.4 million chickens to control a strain of avian influenza.
Can We See the Pattern in the System?
Malcolm is a genius. He sees the changing world as a pattern. Applying the metaphor of disease as a contagious illness that spreads through contact, he transfers this principle to masses of population that spread through word-of-mouth new concepts and ideas. It’s like the ‘copy cat’ syndrome. If one person can get notoriety, or Andy Warhol’s moment of fame, whether it be for fame, fortune, revenge or compassion; then that behavior occurs more often. When a person wants to make a statement and finds a method that works, others will copy - just like the crisis in school bomb threats.
When there is an epidemic it does effect the way we live on a grand scale. We must ask ourselves do we make policy as a reaction to an immediate threat based on fear, misunderstanding and ignorance? Or do we change public policy based on insight, understanding and knowledge?
No Bathroom Passes for Students
Old News: School policies curtail the usage of bathroom passes, which leads to kidney infection and constipation in these students in epidemic proportions.
Under a new policy at the Lawrence Middle School (NJ), seventh- and eighth-graders are allowed to leave class for the bathroom a maximum of 15 times a month. As a result, some are afraid to use up their bathroom passes too quickly and end up with a full bladder and nowhere to go. The pass system went into effect as a way to monitor the school restrooms and stop students from skipping class. It was the latest in a series of disciplinary measures school administrators have taken in response to behavioral problems that have included an increase in bomb threats.
Crisis in Health Care Movement
MRSA Super Bug California Epidemic [Staph Infection]
With Dramatic Shifts in Weather Patterns Comes Global Shifts
The shift has already occurred. We see the rise in epidemic proportions on childhood disease, an increase in auto-immune disease, obesity, cancer and diabetes at younger ages, the appearance of gangs and violence in the schools.
Dealing with the School Bully Epidemic One authors writes,
- “We as a country spend billions of dollars annually on anti-bullying programs in our schools, yet the incidents not only continue, they appear to be getting worse in severity and frequency, and occur in increasingly-younger students. Today, our kids stand a one-in-four chance of becoming victims of some form of school-based violence before they reach high school. News flash: what we're doing isn't working!”
Yes. What are we doing about it?
The Archimedes Movement , founded in January, 2006 by former Oregon governor John Kitzhaber, works to engage Americans in solving the biggest challenges we face today - reframing the Health Care System.
- "Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I can move the Earth." – attributed to the Greek mathmatician Archimedes
Cleaning Out An Infection. Please Don't Watch If You Are Squeamish
Disease Spreads With Rising International Travel
- CDC Efforts to Prevent Pandemics by Air Travel 2005.04.06: Infectious diseases do not recognize borders. In this age of expanding air travel and international trade, infectious microbes are transported across borders every day, carried by infected people, animals, animal products, insects, and food.
- Exposure to Mumps During Air Travel -- United States, April 2006 - 515 possible mumps cases reported to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Mumps: acute viral infection beginning with myalgia, anorexia, malaise, headache, and fever, followed by tender swelling of parotid or other salivary glands.
- Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers - Yellow Book | CDC Travelers' Health Guide Official U.S. government health recommendations for traveling. Provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prevention of Specific Infectious Diseases - Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
Epidemics and Natural Healing
Tuberculosis, once a romantic 19th-century disease, has returned, reaching epidemic proportions worldwide.
Where's your next disease coming from? From anywhere in the world--from overflowing sewage in Cairo, from a war zone in Rwanda, from an energy-efficient office building in California, from a pig farm in China or North Carolina. "Preparedness demands understanding," writes Pulitzer-winning journalist Laurie Garrett.
This book described how to use common homeopathic practices to protect yourself and your family against deadly diseases.
The book gives patients the courage to turn away from modern medicine and its reliance on medication as a solution to all healing problems. The body itself is the repository of all knowledge necessary to accomplish healing. The symptoms of disease - from headache to cancer - are the body's method of alerting us of deeper root causes that must be addressed.
One headline reads, Expert Warns of Tuberculosis 'Time Bomb'
A TB epidemic in Russia intensified and spread by the rise of HIV infections has the potential to spread multi-drug-resistant TB worldwide. HIV infections are growing faster in Russia than anywhere else in the world, said Dr. Lee Reichman, executive director of the New Jersey Medical School National Tuberculosis Center and co- author of "Time Bomb, The Global Epidemic of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis." "When the HIV epidemic hits the pool of latent TB infections, there's going to be an explosion of MDR-TB. TB and HIV are like gasoline and a match," said Reichman.
TB can be one of the first signs of HIV infection, while HIV infection can quickly turn a latent TB infection which would normally be controlled by a patient's own immune system. But, this active, infectious TB in a weakened body hastens the demise of AIDS patients worldwide.
Overcrowded Russian prisons are incubating both TB and HIV. Many inmates with TB develop resistance to two or more of the four main antibiotics used in treatment. Of 300,000 prisoners released each year, 30,000 have active TB and 10,000 have MDR- TB. We have no records after the prisoners die.
Drug Resistant Tuberculosis | Drug resistant TB emerges in China.
It should be noted that 500 million international travelers going through 5,000 international airports each year adds to the risk for everyone.
- International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators
ISTTE, The International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators is an international organization of educators travel, tourism and related fields representing all levels of educational institutions, ranging from professional schools and high schools. Persons who travel need to check with authorities in case of the spread of disease.
- Science Direct Article on Influenza
Always check with organizations that post announcements when an outbreak occurs, such as the Science Direct site. [As an example: "Mixed outbreak of parainfluenza type 1 and influenza B associated with tourism and air travel"]
Tuberculosis: The Silent Killer - MDR-TB
Who is in Control? Who is Directing the Health Care Movement?
Dr. Reichman says that the solution to these epidemic diseases is in the hands of government. You can play a role in voicing your opinion to government representative where you want to devote research dollars.
I believe each individual can make a difference. Join with others to make our voice heard. Take a stand. Be a part of the Health Freedom Movement.
Epidemics Are Like Ticking Time Bomb
When conditions reach a critical mass, a "Tipping Point" occurs when the whole house of cards fall, explode or implode. Which ever way it happens, it's sudden and intense. Panic ensues. Will we be prepared on all fronts? How much can we stretch our resources of energy, ingenuity, technology, and human capacity to recover?
Again and again we see diseases, which were once quieted, resurface in new stronger forms as they have mutated against our arsenal of antibiotics and pharmeceuticals [often times derivatives of natural whole foods and plants].
When will we learn to strength our selves through improved life style, hygiene, diet, exercise, spirituality and the energetic holistic remedies at our disposal? Strengthen the ground to resist the entry or weaken the impact of the bomb.
Essential book for understanding the recent past and current state of public health in the US. This multi-authored volume documents the role of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in enhancing both public health theory and practice.
37 photographs. 3 minutes. Millions of lives to save: XDR-TB
Assistance is Needed. Volunteer to Help
There are notable homeopaths working in remote locations around the world on finding solutions to epidemic disease. Jeremy Sherr has been doing research and healing work with AIDS patients in Tansania, Africa.
His project, called 'Homoeopathy for Health in Africa' has already treated 40 patients as of December 2008, with one former patient totally negative, and others making progress. This is his mission:
- To treat as many AIDS patients as possible (A minimum of 500, hopefully much more)
- To find out if AIDS in Africa is an 'epidemic' or not.
- If it is, to find a genus epidemicus.
- To spread the knowledge gained throughout Africa and the world.
- To establish a research program that will validate his work scientifically.
To donate tax free send a check directly to one of his affiliated charities in England and the USA to the attention of Jeremy Sherr's "Homeopathy for Health in Africa" project. If you are so inclined to Donate To Healing in Africa. Jeremy Sherr, as of 2011, has reported about the incredible results from homeopathic care with the most dire cases of AIDS in Africa.
You can learn MUCH MORE about the healing work of AIDS and other Disease on Jeremy Sherr's Website that is part of the Tanzania Ireland Alternative Medicine Project.
They are short on funds and need money for the clinics, the school, remedies, equipment, translators and administrators. Any financial help is appreciated. Donations can be made on Jeremy's website and you can email Liz Norman at email@example.com.
For US/Canada clinic/school questions and donor referrals or for information about the research study contact Tina: Project Manager.
An Epidemic Ignored by Ronald Braithwaite
In 1997, Braithwaite said, "The problem of HIV and AIDS in prison settings is a time bomb ready to go off."
Kenneth Mayer, M.D. 2008 and the 2008 AIDS Conference
Treatment for AIDS has changed. Although physicians believe drugs can control HIV infection, it is too expensive to afford covering all the patients in need during this world-wide epidemic. We do not have the medical infrastructure to manage all cases. There are more than a dozen drugs to suppress the virus but none by itself is effective. There are 35,000 to 50,000 new infections per year in the U.S. alone.
Please Do Not Smoke
Disney Film All About Malaria & the Mosquito
Some Simple Solutions
Some approaches to improved world health are simple and cost effective
When it comes to public health, lives are often saved, or dramatically improved, by things that cost the least. Simple undertakings—such as washing hands, using a seatbelt or donning a bike helmet—carry little cost to the individual. But collectively such interventions can make a huge difference in global health. John Hopkins School of Public Health consulted experts from around the Bloomberg School to come up with 10 of the least expensive ways to save millions of lives around the world. Take a look. . .
Quit smoking.$0 - It costs nothing to quit cold turkey; interventions like the patch cost about the same as cigarette. Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world—killing one in 10 adults worldwide, or about 5 million people each year. The 2004 U.S. Surgeon General's Report concluded that cigarette smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body. "If you think about smoking cessation, there are few interventions that can save so many lives and so cheaply," says Jonathan Samet, senior scientific editor of the 2004 report. The good news is that it's never too late to stop. Within hours after a smoker inhales that last cigarette, health begins to improve.
Increase vitamin A supplementation.$0.04 per dose -In 1985, ophthalmologist and epidemiologist Alfred Sommer discovered that a capsule of high-potency vitamin A given to children in Indonesia twice a year reduced the number of child deaths by 34 percent. (The micronutrient made them less vulnerable to measles, malaria, diarrhea and dysentery.) Today, the WHO, UNICEF and their partners provide more than 400 million supplements a year for children in developing countries. That translates to hundreds of thousands of kids saved every year. But it's estimated that only one-quarter to one-third of children who need vitamin A supplements receive them.
Expand oral rehydration therapy. $0.10 per one-liter packet-Originally developed to treat cholera, oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is effective in treating dehydration due to diarrhea from any cause. ORT is also remarkably simple: Mix one packet of a powder containing glucose and electrolytes in water, and give it to people with diarrhea until they get better. Since 1980 when WHO and UNICEF introduced ORT in the developing world, the number of deaths due to diarrhea in children has dropped from 5 million to 2 million per year. The challenge today: to see that ORT is more widely used in developing countries to reduce mortality further, and in developed countries that favor IV treatments to reduce health care costs, says R. Bradley Sack.
Build pit latrines in developing countries.$50 per latrine, depending on materials - In areas that don't have flush toilets, ventilated pit latrines can tremendously reduce the environmental contamination by parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms and by a whole range of bacteria and viruses, says tropical disease expert Clive Shiff. Though people don't often talk about them, pit latrines hold the potential for preventing most intestinal diseases, which frequently can be deadly in the developing world.
Use bed nets treated with insecticide.$4.80 per bed net -Malaria is transmitted to humans by the female Anopheles mosquito, which bites almost exclusively at night. Bed nets have been shown to control the spread of the disease in endemic regions. And yet they are underused. Says Clive Shiff: "At least 70 percent of people in the village need to use the net; then you see a major reduction in the transmission of malaria." The nets need to be treated with insecticide to effectively kill mosquitoes and serve as a barrier. Treated or untreated, at just several dollars each, they're a bargain.
Treat premature newborns with antiseptic baby wipes or sunflower oil. $0.30 per treated baby wipe; Sunflower oil: $0.20 per treatment-Preterm babies with a low birthweight are often born with skin that isn't well formed, making them subject to potentially fatal infections, a major cause of neonatal mortality in developing countries. Special kinds of emollients can enhance the function of the skin barrier and reduce the incidence of life-threatening infections. Sunflower oil applied to babies' skin a couple of times a day for a few weeks resulted in a 40 to 55 percent reduction in sepsis, according to research in Egypt and Bangladesh, says neonatal health specialist Gary Darmstadt. And epidemiologist James Tielsch has found that using baby wipes (treated with a quarter percent of diluted antiseptic solution) a few hours after delivery reduced neonatal mortality 28 percent for low-birthweight babies.
Use home-based water purification systems.$0.04 per sachet-More than 1 billion people in the world don't have access to safe water. The encouraging news: Simple household water treatment can stop the spread of deadly waterborne diseases such as cholera. Water expert Kellogg Schwab points to PUR packets from Procter and Gamble, which are very effective in purifying drinking water in developing countries. The ketchup-sized sachets contain some of the same components (chlorine and flocculent) used to treat water in the U.S. Users merely mix a packet into a bucket containing 10 liters (2.5 gallons) of water. The chlorine kills pathogens, the flocculent causes dirt and contaminants to settle out, and the decontaminated water is then filtered through a cloth before consumption.
Increase condom availability.$1 or less per condom-Treatment for HIV/AIDS today is much more effective than it was 20 years ago, but it doesn't actually cure the disease, and we don't have a vaccine. That's why the best way to stop the disease remains prevention. Behavior change and condom use can check the global pandemic, says AIDS researcher Chris Beyrer. In Thailand, a free condom campaign reduced the HIV rate in military recruits from 10.4 percent in 1991 to 2 percent a decade later. Unfortunately, shortages of condoms exist in some developing countries that need them the most, and donor countries need to continue to subsidize their cost.
Breastfeed. $0 - Breastfeeding is a vital source of nutrition for infants everywhere. In the developing world, the practice can be a matter of life or death. Feeding babies only breast milk for the first six months protects children from infection, especially diarrhea, says nutrition expert Keith West. According to UNICEF, exclusive breastfeeding until six months of age could save the lives of 1.5 million infants every year, and the health and development of millions more would be greatly improved.
CREDITS: Jonathan Samet, Alfred Sommer, R. Bradley Sack., Clive Shiff., James Tielsch, Kellogg Schwab, Chris Beyrer all have profile pages on the website of JohnHopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Gregory Petsko: The coming neurological epidemic
Epidemics in Our Aging Population
Biochemist Gregory Petsko presents a short talk on epidemic neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinsons, as the world population ages.He gives a few suggestions, like taking Omega 3.
Take positive steps now to preserve your health, the health of your children, our communities, countries, and the world.
- AntiCancer Author David Seran Schrieber | New York Times Best Seller: Anticancer: A New Way of Life. Anticancer describes natural methods of health care that contribute to preventing the development of cancer or to bolstering treatment.
- Wendy Harpham on Healthy Survivorship: Let's Stop the Cancer Epidemic
With limited resources devoted to cancer survivorship, we have to ask ourselves, "What is the best way to spend the money?" Should we devote limited resources to improving methods of treatment or prevention?
One Thing Leads To Another
The Obesity Epidemic
The world now faces an obesity epidemic. Our population is changing before our eyes. We, as homeopaths, have resources at our disposal to make a difference. Trained as holistic practitioners we must educate our clients and model correct lifestyle. When everyone sees the effects we have in our small community all eyes will turn toward us for help, just like in the Influenza epidemic of 1918.
The obesity time bomb; Obesity in the region is reaching epidemic levels, according to medical experts. Here Public Health Minister DAWN PRIMAROLO talks about the new schemes the Government has introduced in Tyneside to help curb the rising problem.(News)
Article from: Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England) Article date: November 14, 2008
Scary statistics setting out the numbers of people who are overweight and therefore damaging their health are repeated often. But it doesn't make them any less shocking.
In the North East 12.5% of children aged two to 15 are obese, with a further 15.5 % qualifying as overweight. And 61% of men and 60% of women are overweight or obese.
Last year, the cost to Newcastle Primary Care Trust of being overweight or obese was pounds 42m, and unless action is taken now, this figure is projected to rise to pounds 52.3m in
Let's Take Action Before The Bomb Explodes
Time is Ticking Away
Obesity is liken to a time bomb about to explode.
It is well recognised that overweight and obesity increase the risk of this country's biggest killer diseases - coronary heart disease and cancer - as well as diabetes, high blood pressure and osteoarthritis.
The National Audit Office (NAO) found that obesity is responsible for more than 9,000 premature deaths each year in England and reduces life expectancy on average by nine years. Obesity also has significant financial costs, both to the NHS and the wider economy. In common with other countries around the world, levels of obesity in England are rising. The consequences are serious.
Department of Health Key points
- Obesity levels in England have tripled in the past two decades; around a fifth (21%) of men and a quarter (24%) of women are now obese whilst almost 24 million adults are now overweight or obese.
- Obesity is also rising among children - in the five years between 1996 and 2001, the proportion of obese children aged 6-15 years rose by some 3.5%.
- Cases of maturity-onset diabetes are starting to emerge in childhood.
- Worldwide, around 58% of type 2 diabetes, 21% of heart disease and between 8% and 42% of certain cancers are attributable to excess body fat.
- Obesity is responsible for 9,000 premature deaths each year in England, and reduces life expectancy by, on average, 9 years.
- Obesity costs the economy at least £2.5 billion a year - including costs to the NHS and cost to industry through sickness absence.
- Stemming the increase in obesity rates will need effective measures to improve diet and increase exercise levels in the population.
- Action by the food and fitness industries, as well as by government and local agencies, is needed.
Epidemics Out of Control
Epidemics imply that illness, disease, disorder spreads out of control. The once useful defense systems of the body and medical techniques no longer support the balance and order needed to maintain life.
Each week I learn about another disease that once rarely seen, now becomes commonplace. Laura Stangret has written the blog "Lyme Disease Epidemic" on Homeopathy World Community that contains pertinent information.
Are you proactive about your health? Post thoughts in the comment section
Are you concerned about catching a contagious disease?
What precautions do you take for your health? Answer in Comment Section
Do you take extra precautions in life style to prevent the spread of epidemic disease?
About the Author
Debby Bruck, CHOM is a student of Kabbalah and Homeopath. She teaches qigong, healing movement, guided imagery, and meditation. Debby believes that homeopathy is the wave of the future that provides hope and healing to those who have tried every other approach. Follow Debby on Twitter.