[skepticalmd]

Absurd that there is zero mention of Mithridates in the article.

As always, Chesterton's Fence applies to medicine.

Be very wary of anything outside of healthy diet, sleep, exercise, and relationships.

If you don't know why your body is fevering, don't lower the fever. If you don't know why your blood pressure is high, don't lower it.

We in the medical field vastly overestimate our understanding of human physiology.

[Sebb767]

> If you don't know why your body is fevering, don't lower the fever. If you don't know why your blood pressure is high, don't lower it.

And if you don't know why you have cancer, don't do anything about it?

Like, I get the point with fever (which is a known defense mechanism), but high blood pressure is a big problem in the long run and even if it's just a symptom, not doing anything about it is not likely to be the best move.

[samtho]

The point is that we treat certain things like high blood pressure as a primary issue instead of a secondary one. Instead of addressing something cholesterol, which can often be a lifestyle issue, more emphasis is placed on just taking the statin.

[lazide]

because most people will refuse to address the lifestyle issue, not because they aren’t made extremely aware of it!

[nashashmi]

Fever happened and doctor thought it was virus. Fever hit 106. As I didnt take Tylenol. Fever turned out to be sepsis salmonella. Should have taken Tylenol.

[mmastrac]

This is so wrong, sorry.

Humans evolved to reproduce as a species successfully, not to ensure the optimum survival of an individual. Not everything your body does is in your best interests: something that tends to be the best solution for long-term survival for a group might be entirely wrong for your specific case.

[beedeebeedee]

> This is so wrong, sorry

That's an overstatement. More than one thing can be true. What you said is valid, useful and mostly true, and so is what skepticalmd said above.

[mlyle]

Suggesting people forego blood pressure treatment is a pretty dubious suggestion. We have a whole lot of data that it reduces mortality and morbidity.

[beedeebeedee]

That may be, but the prior comment was an overstatement. Nuance is important. Many things can be true, and being skeptical and having an open mind is important for all aspects of life, especially medicine and science.

[hooverd]

If the human body was a codebase you'd be cursing the idiot who designed it. It's just good eonugh to get the job done (reproduction) before the wheels code off.