Why is prevention of Diseases better than cure ?

 

It is said, ‘Prevention is better than cure’. Nearly 200 years ago, Edward Jenner, a doctor in England noticed the milkmaids seldom got smallpox. Smallpox was a common disease in those days. It was a deadly disease and few could survive. Dr. Edward Jenner’s patients included the young and the old, the men and the women, the rich and the poor. A milkmaid had an attack of cowpox. She came to him for treatment. Dr. Jenner noticed a few sores on her body. He removed the pus from one of the sores and injected it into a small boy named Phipps. Phipps caught cowpox. The boy recovered after a few days. He thought that Phipps would not get smallpox now. He wanted to check his idea, but was quite worried about the risk.

Dr. Edward Jenner decided to take this risk and injected the pus from the sore of a smallpox patient into Phipps. He watched and observed the reaction in Phipps. Phipps remained healthy. This was the beginning of the development of the vaccine for smallpox. The vaccine was improved and used all over the world for the eradication of smallpox. Smallpox has now been eradicated.

This opened the way for other scientists and doctors to develop vaccinations and injections to prevent other diseases. Today, we have prepared preventive medicines against diphtheria tuberculosis, tetanus, whooping cough, typhoid and cholera.

Another important way to control the spread of disease is by killing the harmful germs. Louis Pasteur, a French scientist found that the germs are killed at high temperature. For example, if miik or water is boiled at a high temperature, many harmful germs can be killed. This technique of killing the germs by heating is called pasteurisation. It is safe to use only boiled milk. Sick persons and small children are generally given boiled water.

Basic Health Care :

Now we have developed many simple and cheap ways of controlling the spread of diseases. Some of these ways are:

1. We should keep ourselves and our surroundings clean. – .

2. Nutritious and balanced diet is essential for keeping good, health.

3. Each one of us must do some physical exercise daily.

4. Supply of safe and clean drinking water is good for health.

5. We can keep our villages and cities clean by providing proper drainage and disposal of refuse at the right time.

6. Primary health centres and modern hospitals have been built in towns and cities,

7. Many medical colleges have also been opened to train new doctors.

8. People are educated about proper health care through newspapers, films, radio, television and books.

9. We should clean the stagnant water to avoid the breeding of mosquitoes and flies.

10. We must help each other to keep our surroundings clean.