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

Mike Johnson; Pope Leo XIV
Heather Diehl/Getty Images; Burak Kara/Getty Images

Mike Johnson Ripped After Trying To School Pope Leo On The Bible After He Criticized Trump's Immigration Crackdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson was criticized after he tried to school Pope Leo XIV on the Bible after the Pope criticized President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and urged legislators to make sure immigrants' "spiritual rights" are being respected.

The Pope, responding to the news that Catholic migrants detained in Chicago have been denied access to Holy Communion, stressed that “the role of the Church is to preach the Gospel."

Keep ReadingShow less
Peter Attia; Jeffrey Epstein
Renee Dominguez/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images; The US Justice Department/Anadolu via Getty Images

New CBS Contributor Slammed After Trying To Downplay His Emails Sucking Up To Epstein In Latest Drop Of Files

CBS News, under the leadership of editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, just received another metaphorical black eye.

It came with the latest release of files by the Department of Justice from their 2019 investigation and indictment of human trafficker and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On Friday, the DOJ released 3 million new pages of documents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tomás-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté performs his Minions-inspired routine, complete with a yellow shirt and blue overalls.
Courtesy of Sporteurope.TV

Figure Skater Shares Hopeful Update After His Popular 'Minions' Routine Was Banned Just Days Before Olympics

Minions… on ice? That was the plan for Olympic figure skater Tomás-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté, who hoped to bring a dose of animated absurdity to the 2026 Winter Olympics with a Minions-inspired routine set to music from the 2015 film. Instead, just days before the Games, the crowd-pleasing program was abruptly pulled.

The Catalan skater had used the music throughout the season without issue after purchasing the required permissions under International Skating Union (ISU) regulations. Thanks to its playful originality, the routine had become one of the most anticipated men’s short programs heading into Milan-Cortina.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelly Clarkson
Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images

Kelly Clarkson Shares Heartfelt Post To Explain Why She's Ending Her Talk Show After Seven Seasons

We all go through different seasons in life, and sometimes to honor the next season, we have to make changes and sacrifices.

For Kelly Clarkson, months after ex-husband Brandon Blackstock passed away due to a heart attack, it became clear that she needed to focus less on entertainment and give the next chapter of her life to her children, who she shared with Blackstock.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nicki Minaj
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Nicki Minaj Dragged After Writing Cryptic Posts About Artists In 'Satanic Cult' That Sacrifices Babies

During Sunday's Grammy Awards telecast, newly minted, Trump gold card-carrying MAGA minion Nicki Minaj made herself a target of ridicule with a series of unhinged posts on X.

Her posts culminated with a homophobic attack against Trevor Noah which included a meme of herself in a pink ballcap that read "Nicki was right about everything."

Keep ReadingShow less