Sanitation Saves
“Mom, are you sure this waters sanitary? It looks questionable to me.” Not only was this said by the elephant in the movie Tarzan but I it was also one of the ancient Romans great concerns. The Romans were one of the first society’s to really worry about sanitation. To allow for better sanitation they built the first sewer systems. They even drained swamps to decrees the number of people getting malaria.
As a nursing major I get to see how these first sanitation
steps have contributed to our health today. Today we have surgical rooms void
of almost all bacteria. These first steps to health had their trials and
errors. As Katelynn mentioned Romans would eat while lying on their sides to supposedly
help their bowel. Of course this is not the case and as another student
mentioned it even upsets a person’s bowels. But Despite some fallacies the
Romans were really on to something. We have them to thank for some of the
things we know today.
They were also very concerned with exercise and healthy
living. Some would spend money on exercise and training rather than on a
doctor. Thus we see the first steps to preventative care. They also tried to
bring these concepts of exercise and clean water to the poor uneducated
citizens. This is because often time the poor were roman soldiers and the roman
society was very concerned about keeping their soldiers healthy. We can truly learn
a lot from the Romans both about exercise and Health care preventatives.
I had no idea that water sanitation began with the Romans. Without the development of this principle we would be in a much worse position. Part of the sad thing is that there are still parts of the world that struggle with potable water.
ReplyDeleteCool! I think the introduction of preventative and medicinal care is a true marker of a developed society: Once societies settle in and abandon their "hunter-gatherer" roles, specialized fields emerge. It truly shows advancement when "What will I eat this week" takes on a new meaning.
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