I went to the Emergency Room a couple of months ago because I was afraid I was having a heart attack. At the time, there was a consistent pain in my upper left arm into my armpit, as well as in the left side of my chest. Being young and healthy made this incredibly alarming. When I arrived, they took my information and samples of blood to run some tests. After an hour, I was brought to a room where I had x-rays taken, and then brought to a second room to await their results. After another hour, the results came back negative for anything unusual or concerning. I was then given an EKG and an IV, and placed in a different waiting room for two more hours. From there, I was taken back for a CT scan. After the scan, I waited in the previous waiting room, where I stayed for another hour to get my final results that were, again, inconclusive to the source of my pain, but they were able to rule out any heart disease, blood clotting, or anything that could become a major health issue. The pain in my arm and chest ended up going away, and was most likely related to carrying heavy trays at work. I was asked a lot of questions during this process. In dominant American biomedicine, doctors use methods of verbal inquiry alongside physical examination, and I find this to be a positive aspect. Using one without the other could result in misdiagnosing more commonly or undergoing more tests than necessary. 

For the past couple of winters, I have gone to Urgent Care feeling incredibly sick. I have acquired an upper respiratory infection that stays dormant during the rest of the year, and comes back like clockwork every winter. I am asked very few questions, but one in particular is asked every time–if I smoke. This infection has become quite common among patients of this Urgent Care because I am never the first–or tenth–person to come in with similar symptoms. The treatment options have not changed since the first winter I went in even though the infection comes back stronger each new year. I am given some steroids, told to drink a lot of sugary drinks like apple juice, and required to get a lot of sleep. Treating the symptoms, but not the original problem, is a negative aspect of biomedicine. I will still have to go back this winter because my infection has not been killed off completely. This relates back to our lecture about the difference between biomedicine and the public health system. Only treating the individual instead of the population brings back more sick people with unresolved infections. 

Overall, I have still had a positive experience with biomedicine, but that’s all I know, and I know it has its limitations. I am curious about differing medical practices–such as acupuncture–but have yet to experiment with them. The idea of homeopathic medicine has always made me uneasy though. Whenever I get a flu shot to avoid getting the flu, I feel like I just end up getting the flu anyway.

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