Read a post about how we used to call our doctor a general practitioner. I'm guessing that has been replaced today by primary care provider, as that is what I'm asked all the time. Apparently that isn't my wife and has caused some confusion. But I could relate to that post although when I was a kid we just called him the doctor. You went to see the doctor if things got serious enough. You may or may not have known what his name was, let alone, whatever he was practicing to be. I thought there were like only two kinds, the regular guy and the surgeon. The regular doctor handled everything on the outside and the surgeon the stuff on the inside. Seemed reasonable enough to me.
I had very little experience with doctors until I had a heart attack. Then a little run in with cancer but it's all good now. Growing up we got our annual physical at the beginning of the school year. We lined up in the hall, in our underwear, and went in to see the doctor one at a time. Must have been fine as I didn't see him again until the next year. I do recall getting the polio vaccine on a sugar cube. Not sure if I ever had anything else though.
I did have to go to the doctor once when I got hit on the top of the head with a clam my brother had thrown. Yes, I missed the catch and took a blow to the old noggin. Blood was going everywhere and mom was freaking out. My mom was pretty much worthless in a crisis situation. Luckily the neighbor lady was with us at the beach. She soaked a beach towel in that salt water and wrapped it around my head. Off to the clinic we went and I got some "staples" in my head. The only other visit I remember was to get a physical for working papers when I was sixteen. Well now, that's not exactly right I do remember a doctor Zenger (a lady doctor) coming to our house when we all had scarlet fever. I guess we were being isolated or quarantined or social distanced, whatever it was called then. Seems like tomato soup and ginger ale got all of us cured of that.
Reading that comment about what we called our doctors back then got me thinking. Today everyone has their doctor. Today everyone has "their" everything. At least that is what I hear in all the commercials. Consult your doctors, any one of about a dozen you may have these days, personally I have a cardiologist, an oncologist, an optician and an ophthalmologist. And of course I have my primary physician who specializes in primary care I would assume. Guessing that just means he is first on the scene and directs traffic. I like him as he isn't continually trying to give me shots, vaccines or referrals to his buddies in other fields.
It isn't just doctors either. We are urged to have financial counselors, tax advisers, along with any number of other professionals that we refer to as "ours." He is my doctor, my lawyer, my Indian chief. I find it all so very amusing. Any one of them will be anyone's whatever as long as you pay them. You are buying a service you know? I have built somewhat of a personal relationship with my primary physician. I don't call him by his given name, he is still Doctor, although I say Doc and he doesn't seem to mind that. I have been going to him for years now whenever the need arises. I do have great insurance and for that reason do the regular visit thing. If I didn't have that, I wouldn't.
Well it is a different world today, no doubt about that. I survived my childhood mostly through the use of iodine, mercurochrome, ginger ale, tomato soup and walking it off. Band-aids "closed" most wounds. Dad was the primary care provider in my home. He would cure you, no doubt about that. You did learn soon enough that self-care was preferred. No need to disturb him for that minor cut, bruise, strain or sprain. Dad was pretty big on using rubbing alcohol to sterilize things, including cuts and abrasions. That was usually preceded by "getting the blood flowing" by squeezing at the wound. I was never bitten by a snake but I'm certain dad would have known the cure for that as well. He did use the "hot match" method of removing ticks. That was followed a gentle cauterizing of the spot where the tick was. Never got tick fever, must have worked alright.
It is now my thinking that we would just return to the basics once again. I'm thinking we have over complicated everything to the point of it being ineffective. Look all I'm saying is when I was growing up there was no confusion regarding genders or what doctor you needed. A doctor could carry just about everything they needed in that little black bag. No need for a nurse or a medical transcription person, no co-pays and waiting for approval. Doctors sure were a lot calmer back then, you didn't see them getting all excited about things. They didn't start ordering a hundred tests, asking their "colleagues" about what to do and all that. Nope, just reached in that magic bag of tricks they carried and dealt with the situation. Call me in the morning if you're not feeling better.
The only thing that couldn't be cured from that bag required surgery!
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