Happy Birthday, Epidemiology!

in ,

There was a time not so very long ago in human history when we believed that miasmas (bad air) caused illness. Doctors didn’t even wash their hands between seeing patients because how could gentlemen be responsible for spreading illness?

There were no microscopes, so no one could look and see bacteria doing battle with our own immune system. People could only know what they observed and what they observed was that the areas where disease was most prevalent were also very smelly from the dead and dying people.

We know now, of course, that the smell so common in areas where poor people lived wasn’t the cause of their illness, but another product of the things making them sick. Bodies and human waste (lots of poo) left in the streets, rotting food, animals and humans living in close proximity, sewage in the water. Germ Theory tells us that these things become the breeding grounds of virus, bacteria, fungi, and other tiny critters which make us sick. By eliminating those risks from our environment, we eliminate a lot of the pathways those germs take to making us ill.

Read More

MNÁwesome: What Happens When We Legalise Abortion?

in , , ,

If you follow me (or probably any other Irish person) (or read Irish news) (or are passingly aware of when Ireland makes foreign headlines), you probably heard that the Republic of Ireland voted last month to repeal the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution (Bunreacht na hÉireann). It was a massive, multiyear campaign that took off running after the tragic—and completely preventable—death of Irish dentist Savita Halappanavar.

I know that this topic is hard for many people and that there are a lot of very strong emotions. As a devout Roman Catholic, I’m familiar with both sides of the issue. I’m not going to dig into the intricacies of the philosophy on when life begins, but I will say this: I desperately wish that I lived in a world without abortion. I wish that I lived in a world in which every pregnancy was planned and healthy and no one ever had to make the decision whether to terminate their pregnancy. I wish I lived in that world, but it doesn’t exist. It is not my place to tell someone else what they need to do with their body and in no other instance do we insist that it is.

Read More

Bats Are Not For Snuggles: You and Nature’s Cutest Insectivores

in ,

For the last two months, my Twitter feed has been a very long series of requests for people to not touch bats, so, in celebration of Halloween and #BatWeek, I’m going to talk about how you should (and should not) interact with one of nature’s cutest creations. I love how adorable bats are and am constantly amazed at how important they are to our natural environment. Their noses are incredible feats of evolution and wiggle like they don’t even care that my heart can hardly bear it. That said, they're not safe for humans to touch without special training and personal protective equipment. 

Read More

Health: More than Healthcare

in ,

Exploring the ways that our social connections, the community we live in, and economics influence our health

When we think of our health, our first thought is usually of going to see a physician (or other medical provider) and having tests like an MRI done, but access to medical care only makes up a small proportion of our overall health. Our health is shaped much more by the social determinants around us–the air we breathe; the water we drink; the amount of education we have; the safety and accessibility of our housing, nutrition, and public transportation. Together those factors build a framework that we call “The Social Determinants of Health.”

Read More