Is the profit motive in 'treating disease' ignoring some basic truths about 'parasitic' causes?

Question

Is the profit motive in 'treating disease' ignoring some basic truths about 'parasitic' causes?

Do you recall the history of 'ulcers', well they were falsely believed to be caused by 'stress' until they found a bacteria that casued them.

Well one person I know very, very well spent some 16 years suffering from 'intestinal problems' labelled IBS, or Crohns only to find literature that suggested that this 'illness' or symptoms were caused by a 'parasite' of sorts; giardia is the most common.

Logic would suggest that even common bacteria like giardia require 4-5 tests to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that you don't have this common bacteria.

If you do, and the tests can't find it, then you will suffer symptoms from anemia, depression, and a whole host of other symptoms.

The question is a simple one, is today's medicine so concerned about the profit motive in treating symptoms rather than a simple cause of many illnesses like Cancer , depression, Schizophrenia; parasites?

Answer 1

You raise a good point.
The profit motive is to blame for virtually all of the ills of the first world nations, in my humble opinion. Certainly, everything concerning basic needs (food, shelter, health care) and human rights (education) should be as far divorced from the profit motive as possible. But of course, you have to have funding for these things, which could mean letting the government own some profit-making enterprises. Utilities are a logical choice. But this is (gasp! horrors!) socialism.
You might be interested in doing some introductory study of an alternative branch of medicine. Our theories and definitions of sickness and wellness can be quite different from the conventional model.
Many homeopathic patients come to us with symptoms that cannot be explained. We try to trace them back to their origin, to understand what was going on in the person's life that could have provoked their dis-ease, and that is what we address. We have thousands of remedies and pick the one that best fits the whole picture.
Of course, I believe in bacteria and parasites too, and genetic susceptibility.
I hope medicine in the future finds a way to integrate the best of both conventional and alternative methods and treatments.

Answer 2

I agree that there are other sources of influence on mental illness other than the prevalent "disease model." Aside from parasites, I think there are other issues being overlooked-- most notably community prevention supports.

No doubt it's about the money. Those pharmaceutical companies are making a fortune. What I don't understand is why insurance companies are supporting this-- they pay out so much more than they ever have. But then again, I think many of them are somehow still making record profits.

Until patients start suing for mistreatment/misdiagnosis, we will continue to medicate and search for a "biological" cause.