Do Everything You Can to Avoid the Hospital
A good friend of mine recently lost her Mom to what started out as an ear infection. By the time the US medical system had finished with her she’d added a bladder infection, the flu, and kidney failure. She died in the hospital surrounded by loved ones.
This is an all too typical scenario when the conventional standard of care is followed: using a toolbox driven by industry profit and dictated by bureaucrats rather than the doctor who took an oath to “first, do no harm”.
Whether you’re in your retirement years or responsible for an infant’s welfare, and everyone in between, it’s important to understand how detrimental a hospital stay can be to your overall health and how to avoid one.
Hospital Protocols
The vision of the hospital as a “house of healers” and the place to go when you’re hurting needs a reality check.
Hospital administrators dictate more of your individual care than the doctors and nurses you interact with. These administrators have never met you, never seen your chart, and know nothing of your health issues. They write policies, known as protocols, which medical staff are required to follow.
The impact of hospital protocols became very obvious at the height of the Covid-19 publicity when it came to light that hospitals were receiving Government incentives to treat patients according to federal requirements. These payments included:
Added bonus payment for each positive Covid-19 diagnosis (so you were tested even if you showed up in the ER with a broken leg).
Another bonus for a Covid-19 admission to the hospital.
A 20 percent “boost” bonus payment from Medicare on the entire hospital bill for use of remdesivir instead of medicines such as Ivermectin.
Another and larger bonus payment to the hospital if a Covid-19 patient is mechanically ventilated.
More money to the hospital if the cause of death is listed as Covid-19, even if the patient did not die directly of Covid-19.
It’s beyond the scope of this article to go into the implications of this particular set of protocols but they are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wide-ranging dictates coming down from hospital management going back decades.
First, Do No Harm
wrote extensively of her personal experience battling hospital protocols in her 2016 autobiography Rising From the Dead. Humphries is a Medical Doctor who left a successful nephrology practice (kidney specialty) after clashing with hospital administrators over the requirement to administer flu shots to every patient who was admitted whatever their current state of health or reason for being there. As she saw more and more patients with kidney failure after receiving these shots with no history of kidney problems, she began to question the practice. She went on to write the 2013 opus Dissolving Illusions which is a remarkable read.For more about flu shots read 8 Tips to Strengthen Your Immune System This Flu Season. For a broader dig into the science and efficacy of vaccination check out my discussion with a naturopathic doctor in Turtles All the Way Down: Vaccine Science and Myth.
Another common hospital protocol is the indiscriminate use of antibiotics such as Vancomycin which has also been shown to damage the kidneys as well as your microbiome, putting additional strain on your immune system and likely leaving you susceptible to other infections.
One of the leading causes of death in hospitals worldwide is sepsis ((also known as septicemia or septic shock) which is essentially when your body is overwhelmed by an infection leading to multiple organ failure and death if not properly treated. Even though studies have shown the efficacy of IV (intravenous) vitamin C and thiamine (vitamin B1) in sepsis outcomes, few hospitals adopt this cheap protocol often refusing even to add vitamin C to any other treatment.
The overuse of tests and procedures in hospital settings is widespread, with one study estimating they result in up to US$100 billion in unnecessary healthcare spending every year. For you as an individual though, or your loved ones, the concern goes far beyond the costs involved. It could literally mean the difference between life and death.
5 Tips to Avoid a Hospital Stay
Preventive Care is Key. This does NOT mean flu shots and statins. You need to eat nutritious food, minimize your toxic exposures, move your body, prioritize sleep and maintain solid social connections. My book provides a full explanation with practical recommendations for all categories of ill health.
Become a Better Healthcare Consumer. See these 10 tips. Question your doctors: don’t just blindly take their advice. They are likely limited by a conventional toolbox of pharmaceuticals and surgery without any training on the efficacy of alternative methods that work with your body to support its self-healing.
Use Natural Remedies as a First Line of Defense when faced with a health issue. Explore earlier articles like Why Ear Infections Are a Red Flag and 10 tips to Treat Them and A Highly Effective Yet Neglected Remedy.
Understand That Surgery is Never Routine. If you are recommended surgery seek a second opinion from a doctor with a different toolkit and perspective1.
Partner With a Health Advocate. Bring someone with you to doctors appointments who can be more detached in the moment and ask plenty of questions. If you are admitted to the hospital it’s imperative to have someone monitoring your care and making sure there is good reason for every test, procedure and drug administered2.
About the author: Emma Tekstra is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, an independent health researcher, and author of “How to Be a Healthy Human; What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Health and Longevity.” With a 30-year background in employee benefits and corporate health and wellbeing, she consults with employers looking for real solutions to runaway health care costs, and to startup companies bringing health solutions to market. Read more at About page.
Related articles:
A Better Way to Treat a Sinus Infection
8 Tips to Strengthen Your Immune System This Flu Season
Why Ear Infections Are a Red Flag and 10 Tips to Treat Them
Read this study on the trauma of surgery.
Read this review of Iatrogenic hazards. ie. the risks of modern medicine.
Most are death centres, just like aged care facilities.
100% Correct and Accurate