Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Imagine Which Medical Condition They Would Have Died From Without Modern Medicine

People Imagine Which Medical Condition They Would Have Died From Without Modern Medicine

Modern medicine is a marvel. It's the reason why we've been able to effectively eradicate some serious diseases and improve the quality of health care around the world. When you take these two things into consideration, it's easy to see why vaccine hesitancy can be such a frustrating topic for people right now.

Many people would not be able to survive without the benefits of modern medicine. That's what we learned after Redditor forevernostalgic23 asked the online community,

"If modern medicine didn't exist what medical condition would have died from or been severely impacted by?"

"Bad vision..."

"Bad vision alone would have made me terrible at most things."

jackatman

I had bad vision until my early 20s. I second this.

"I would have had a very short life..."

"I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age seven. I would have had a very short life without modern medicine."

Glass_Brocolli2701

Having known many people who live with diabetes, I am glad that they are still here.

"I probably would have died..."

"I probably would have died at 6 years old from strep throat."

freddygotfingered

​This is a big one: In the past, it commonly killed many people. And guess what, it still does? The CDC estimates approximately 11,000 to 24,000 cases of invasive group A strep disease occur each year in the United States, with 1,200 to 1,900 of those cases resulting in death.

"I was born..."

"I was born with a bilateral abdominal hernia and amniotic fluid in my lungs, no way I would have survived infancy without modern medicine."

wickedblight

"My brother and I..."

"Rabies.

My brother and I were bitten by a rabid farm kitten when we were 6 and 4 years old. Without the foresight of my grandfather who had the cat tested and modern medicine creating the vaccine, my parents would be childless."

imastrongwoman

Frightening! I saw Cujo as a child and that told me all I needed to know about rabies, thank you very much.

"I would have gone deaf..."

"I would have gone deaf from recurrent ear infections as a child and then died at 14 from pneumonia."

Isaac1867

"But since that..."

"I was born two months premature, so I'd likely not survive that in an earlier era. But since that, nothing."

NosDarkly

"Mom and Dad..."

"The way I was born. Mom and Dad had to feed me through a tube down my nose the first year and a half."

unhip1

"If the recurrent..."

"If the recurrent tonsillitis didn't get me, my appendix would have been the end of me as a teen."

Brilliant

"Neither kiddo nor I..."

"Giving birth. Neither kiddo nor I would be alive without emergency surgery."

remembertowelday525

Amazing, right? Be grateful for modern medicine––there are new developments each and every day. And who knows what the future has in store for us? Will there be a cure for cancer? Alzheimer's disease and dementia? The sky's the limit.

Have some stories of your own? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments section below!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Seth Meyers discussing Donald Trump
@MarcoFoster/X

Seth Meyers Responds To Trump's 'Truly Deranged' Personal Attack Against Him With Hilarious Takedown

After President Donald Trump lashed out at late-night host Seth Meyers on Truth Social over the weekend and called him a "truly deranged lunatic," Meyers responded to Trump’s “ranting and raving” about him with a damning supercut on his program.

Trump apparently tuned in to Thursday night’s episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, where Meyers poked fun at the president’s complaints about Navy aircraft carriers using electromagnetic catapults instead of traditional steam-powered ones. Meyers joked that Trump "spends more time thinking about catapults than Wile E. Coyote."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @rootednjoyy's TikTok video
@rootednjoyy/TikTok

Girl's Hilarious Reaction To Getting Divisive Candy For Halloween Caught On Doorbell Cam

In the '80s and '90s, kids were raised with the understanding that they got what they got, and they should say, "Thank you," for what they received. This was true for birthdays, holidays, and trick-or-treating on Halloween, even if they got candy they wanted to throw away the instant they turned the corner.

But kids today are much more communicative about what they like and don't like, and they can be brutal in their bluntness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lauren Boebert
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Lauren Boebert Slammed After Photos Of Her Racist ICE-Theme Halloween Costume Emerge

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert—one of the most prominent MAGA voices in Congress—has sparked outrage after she and her boyfriend Kyle Pearcy attended a Halloween party dressed as a Mexican woman and an ICE agent.

Boebert wore a sombrero and a traditional Mexican-style dress to a party in Loveland, Colorado, while Pearcy, a realtor, attended dressed as an ICE agent, complete with a uniform and weapon. The event took place amid growing outrage over President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown that is tearing apart families across the country.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Marjorie Taylor Greene
ABC

MTG Just Admitted The Awkward Truth About The Republican Healthcare Plan On 'The View'

Speaking on The View, Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke about sparring with House Speaker Mike Johnson over healthcare—and revealed that the GOP does not have any replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) despite what Johnson and her fellow congressional conservatives tell the public.

Democrats have continued to reject Republicans’ proposed continuing resolution to keep the government open without considering an extension of the premium tax credit that helps subsidize health insurance for people earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level.

Keep ReadingShow less
protest with flat Earth sign
Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash

People Share The Best Ways To Shut Down A Debate With A Flat Earther Family Member

The Flat Earth conspiracy theory is strictly a modern online movement, rumored to have begun as a prank, that gained momentum among people who mistrust authority through the power of social media.

There is a persistent myth that Europeans in the Middle Ages believed the Earth was flat. But that is a 19th-century fabrication to sell Columbus Day, not historical reality.

Keep ReadingShow less