HIPPOCRATES

 In 460 B.C., it is said that a boy named Hippocrates was born on the island of Kos, located near Asia Minor. His father was a priest at the Aesculapion. Hippocrates was meant to be the greatest physician of ancient Greece. He traveled all over Greece and became so renowned that even Plato regarded him as the great doctor.

Hippocrates was a spiritual person, but he thought that just sleeping in a temple or praying to the gods wouldn't heal you. He believed that illness isn't caused by the gods or fixed by them; instead, he argued that every illness has a physical reason. If we can identify that reason, we can treat the illness.

In a bold declaration, he dismissed the magic spells, the superstitious offerings, and the attempts to appease the angry forces that troubled humanity.

Hippocrates once said, 'Knowing something is one thing; there are actually two parts to it: knowing and thinking you know. Knowing is what science is all about, while thinking you know without real knowledge is just ignorance.'

From a young age, Hippocrates aimed to understand through personal observation and empirical evidence rather than relying on superstitions. He grounded the practice of medicine in human experience rather than divine intervention, dispelling fears of divine retribution and distinguishing between ailments and malevolent forces. While some considered his views radical, he attracted a group of followers, leaving a significant impact on the field.

Hippocrates looked at diseases in a very natural way. He didn't believe that gods could cause or heal illnesses. For him, everything had natural reasons. While these reasons were universal, they could be seen as a sign of something 'divine', like light, air, and heat.

However, their power couldn't be changed through rituals or prayers. So, a doctor needed to understand natural causes, which he could only learn from experience and logical thinking. Hippocrates believed that disease was a natural part of life. It could be monitored and treated with natural methods. That's why he paid close attention to his patients, tracked their symptoms daily, kept detailed records, and made treatment plans based on that.

He wrote about his findings in his well-known books, Airs, Waters and Places, where he highlighted how important the environment is for the health of a community. He closely examined various aspects of nature, such as climate, water availability, living conditions, clothing, and eating and drinking habits, and how these factors contributed to sickness and disease.

In his four books called On Regimen in Acute Diseases, he explained that being healthy relies on having the right mix of food and exercise. He offered this advice.

You should do a lot of different exercises; start with running on the track and slowly increase the distance. For wrestling, begin with light moves after warming up and then gradually make it more intense. Take brisk walks after your workouts, and enjoy short walks in the sun after lunch. In the early morning, start with calm walks and gradually make them more intense before cooling down.

Hippocrates emphasized two main ways to stay healthy and avoid getting sick: maintaining a healthy environment and adopting good personal habits. He made a significant contribution by highlighting the value of preventive medicine, which is different from just treating illnesses. He reminded us of the old saying, 'Prevention is better than cure,' a truth that many doctors today seem to overlook.

Hippocrates also talked about how important it is to treat sick people by relying on Nature to help them heal. He clearly understood how water, whether hot or cold, could be used to treat fevers, wounds, bleeding, and many other health issues, both medical and surgical. He provided a lot of advice on how to use water, and surprisingly, what he suggested still holds true even after two thousand years. For example,

He suggested that cold baths should be quick and that you should rub your skin before and after; he clearly knew about how our bodies react because he noted that after a cold bath, you warm up fast, but a hot bath does the opposite.

Hippocrates recognized the benefits of a neutral bath for helping people sleep. His treatment methods for tuberculosis were ahead of his time. He recommended that a young patient with tuberculosis move away from the city, relax in the sun, eat healthy foods, and drink plenty of milk until he regained his strength.

Hippocrates used specific study methods known as the 'Tripod of Empirics.' This approach emphasized three main sources of knowledge: personal observations, insights gained from others, and drawing parallels from similar diseases when encountering new ones. The idea of empiricism remained somewhat popular in the following centuries, lasting until the 1800s.

Hippocrates once said, 'Nature is the healer of disease.' He believed that nature has its own ways of healing, and the role of a doctor is to assist nature rather than interfere too much. Hippocrates had a deep respect for nature and understood it well. Although he is often called the Father of Medicine, he should really be recognized as the Father of Naturopathy. For him, getting sick and getting better were part of the same process, and he saw illness as a sign that healing was happening. Unfortunately, not many people in modern medicine understand this important idea about disease and healing.

Hippocrates believed in the healing power of nature, saying that nature can heal itself. He taught that doctors should trust in nature's ability to heal, known as the vis medicatrix naturae. The responsibilities of a doctor are discussed in various writings, but the core idea is captured in the well-known Hippocratic Oath, which serves as a guiding principle for all medical professionals.