# Would you still be alive without modern medicine? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970 "2012-12-13T22:49:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atakapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Atakapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atakapa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/1 "2012-12-13T22:49:10Z")
Think back on the injuries and sicknesses you’ve had to date. If none of our modern technology, medical knowledge, and treatments had been available, would you still be alive? For the sake of the poll, assume the available healthcare is roughly that a “Dark Age” serf might obtain. Personally, I’d be alive but miserable. Childbirth was textbook, without complications and on schedule. I have psoriasis, which apparently used to be confused with leprosy, and without treatment I’d likely be covered in ugly red sores. Add in nearsightedness, and I’m looking at life as a half blind leper. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/2 "2012-12-13T22:52:11Z")
Probably not, I am fairly certain the injuries received the time I got shot would have gone septic and killed me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/3 "2012-12-13T22:55:37Z")
Probably, but I’d be in so much pain that it wouldn’t really be a life worth living. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/4 "2012-12-13T22:58:00Z")
Nope, dead in my 30’s. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/5 "2012-12-13T22:58:57Z")
Burst appendix from infection at age 10. It would be unlikely that I’d have survived, but still possible. So I vote no. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/6 "2012-12-13T22:59:43Z")
Nope. I would have died at 19 when my appendix ruptured. I was clinically dead on the O.R. table for two minutes when the doc was cleaning out my insides. Had I survived that without modern meds, the month long 104+ temp I had afterwards would have certainly done me in. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/7 "2012-12-13T22:59:59Z")
Nope, I would have been dead. As it is, I’m only partially dead. Or undead. What I mean is, I’m part zombie (and thus have nothing to fear in the event of a ZA). ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/8 "2012-12-13T23:06:16Z")
Nope. Born 7 weeks premature in 1981; even with 1981 medicine I barely survived (so I’ve been told). I still have some lingering effects, so I’m certain I would have died within hours of birth. Also had a nasty lung infection in middle school that required something like 3 months of qid antibiotics. I don’t remember the name of the infection but I can’t imagine it would have been a decent outcome without the drugs. Voted for Later Problem, because I would have survived childbirth itself, but not much later. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/9 "2012-12-13T23:09:31Z")
Not even If I were a cat. At 18 I contracted bacterial meningitis and pneumococcal pneumonia. Fever of 107. I felt bad. :mad: I’ve had the flu a couple of times. I understand that was cause for concern a while back. I felt bad. :mad: Numerous cuts requiring stitches over the years. Glad I didn’t have them in say, 1200 a.d. Kidney stones. About 18 or so in 30 years. If the blockage and renal failure didn’t kill me, the pain would have driven me to jump off a high cliff, headfirst. They feel bad.:mad: Bad motorcycle crash. Got runned over. Broken ribs, punctured lung, torn liver. I felt bad.:mad: Had I been born just 50 years earlier, I’m pretty sure I’d be dead by now! ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/10 "2012-12-13T23:09:49Z")
2 NDEs so without CPR not a chance I would be around. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/11 "2012-12-13T23:10:37Z")
Alive, but almost completely unable to support myself due to fairly serious myopia, I figure. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/12 "2012-12-13T23:14:09Z")
I would have killed myself if it weren’t for the pill. I’ve self-diagnosed as PMDD, but that doesn’t quite fit. So I don’t know what it is. All I know is, if you told me I’d have to live without the pill I’m on, I’d rather die. So I’m not sure how to vote in the poll. It wouldn’t have killed me, technically. But I would be dead. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/13 "2012-12-13T23:14:53Z")
I’d be alive and well, except for the fact that I wouldn’t have a left leg. That would kind of suck. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/14 "2012-12-13T23:21:30Z")
I wasn’t sure how to vote. I would have survived my childbirth, probably would have died giving birth. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/15 "2012-12-13T23:44:17Z")
I’ve had kidney stone issues, and had my right kidney removed. Between the stones and the infections, without modern surgery and medicines I’d be at best an invalid. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/16 "2012-12-13T23:44:57Z")
Didn’t vote because my answer is that the probability of my not surviving childhood would have been higher. I had scarlet fever before I was four. Not sure how dangerous that was. Then I wouldn’t have had an immunizations, so a big increase there. When I was ten I had a major concussion, but all they did in the hospital was monitor me. Most of my other problems are associated with a modern diet, so I’m going to assume I’d get a pass on them. I’m Rh negative, so I’d be at risk of blue babies. Oddly, though, I had a rho-gam shot after my first one (A+), then didn’t have another RH positive baby (A-, O-). Although I suppose if there was no birth control, I’d have had more children and odds are one or more of the extras would have been Rh positive. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/17 "2012-12-13T23:52:26Z")
Severe traumatic brain injury here. Followed by a pulmonary embolism. I’d be dead. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/18 "2012-12-13T23:53:15Z")
Dead in my early 30’s from a systemic fungal infection that took some serious and expensive drugs to treat. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/19 "2012-12-13T23:55:25Z")
If I didn’t die when I was a few months old, I would have died a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Atakapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Atakapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atakapa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970/20 "2012-12-13T23:56:58Z")
> [@sahirrnee](#): > > I wasn’t sure how to vote. > I would have survived my childbirth, probably would have died giving birth. Excellent point. To clarify, “died during childbirth” refers to your own birth. If you are a woman who experienced a particularly nasty and complicated delivery that would have likely resulted in death without modern medicine, then mark “died from later causes.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-still-be-alive-without-modern-medicine/643970.md?page=2)