Advancements in Humanity’s Health

The human life expectancy has never in history been higher than it is now because of many factors. Hygiene is a major contributing factor. The advances in modern medicine during the last few decades has astounded the medical community. Illness is continually diminishing while health and well being is increasing in ways the world has never seen before.

The importance of hygiene cannot be overstated. Water treatment has become a priority world wide since the late nineteenth century when New York City realized that by efficiently disposing of waste while providing clean water, the disease and mortality rates in the dark, dank, and disastrously over crowded tenements plummeted. Historians have since learned that many of the world's worst plagues and epidemics may have been easily avoided had the people of the time been educated about proper hygiene.

With the discovery of penicillin (which lead to other antibiotics) and the benefits of vaccinations, disease has never been in more peril. There are a multitude of drugs to help almost every discomfort and malady. In fact, a rising danger has become the danger of taking multiple prescriptions that may have dangerous interactions with each other or with foods or over the counter medicines. This can be easily avoided, especially with the accessibility of the Internet. Look up a reputable website with a comprehensive prescription list and see if they have drug interactions listed. To be on the safe side, also discuss it with your doctor upon being prescribed (be honest and disclose every drug you use) and your pharmacist when picking up your prescription. That way, you'll be sure to reap the vast rewards of the medical advances available while minimizing your risk of injury. Not only are medicine and revolutionary treatments making huge advances, common drugs are becoming less and less expensive, making it more likely that charitable organizations can provide them to third world countries.