House is one of my favorite T.V. shows. I don’t like mysteries typically, but it captivates me because it’s like a modern day fairy tale for adults.
Many of us have experienced a physical illness where we dream of a doctor (or an entire team of brilliant doctors, like on House) who would diagnose and fix us in an hour. Actually, minus commercials, about 30-40 minutes.
In the real world, though, if you have a strange set of symptoms it is unlikely that even one brilliant doctor, let alone six, will be willing and able to persevere until she finds the the root of they problem, and the possible treatment or cure. It could take 30-minute appointment after another for years – sometimes never getting any closer to discovering what the cause of your bizarre symptoms.
The juxtaposition to how things actually happen in the medical world is why I like watching House. The T.V. show brings satisfaction frequently dreampt of, but rarely experienced.
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The other night I was watching an episode where the “doctors” suspected the cause of a man’s symptoms was an autoimmune disease. Such a suspicion is common on House because most of the patients’ cases tend to be complicated, mysterious, and difficult to diagnose – like autoimmune diseases.
This episode really intrigued me because this was the first time I heard about the “hygiene hypothesis.” Dr. House suggested that this theory, which proposes that the lack of childhood exposure to germs is responsible for the high incidence of autoimmune diseases seen in adults, was the reason for the patient’s symptoms. House went on say that the hygiene hypothesis explains why autoimmune diseases are more prevalent in developed countries – because of our advanced medical capabilities.
Too advanced, perhaps…
Tags: allergic disease, allergies, autoimmune disease, hygiene hypothesis, hygiene theory, multiple sclerosis
House’s hypothesis makes sense to me after all we need to challenge our immune system to strengthen it just as we challenge ourselves in other ways to strengthen ourselves.
I find that I have to be my own “House” in order to find the ‘cure’ to what ails me. That is why health has become the focus of my life. If not health then what else could ever be more important to us? Without our health we have nothing.
Keep on blogging.
Thanks for your insight and for tying the way we strengthen our immune system to the way strengthen ourselves in other areas. Very true.
Also true that it is important (and necessary) to be our own “House.” Often we feel a lack of control when it comes to illness, but being a proactive patient benefits us on many levels. I’m very interested in how patients can work best with their doctors, and other health-care providers, to make relationships more synergistic.
Keep on educating…