RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Pain relief a human right, leading professor says

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Pain relief a human right, leading professor says

GENEVA (AFP) - Treatment to alleviate pain is a human right, whether people are suffering from cancer, AIDS (news - web sites) or any other distressing condition, a leading medical authority said, marking the first-ever Global Day Against Pain.

"Pain relief should be a human right, whether people are suffering from cancer, HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS or any other painful condition," said Professor Sir Michael Bond, President of the International Association on the Study of Pain (IASP)

"Today's Global Day Against Pain marks an immense growth in the interest in this area and today's World Health Organisation (WHO) co-sponsorship of our campaign shows that now is the time to take pain seriously," a WHO statement quoted him as saying.

Monday has been declared the first Global Day Against Pain. It was organised by IASP and the European Federation of the IASP Chapters (EFIC), with WHO co-sponsorship.

Dr Catherine Le Gales-Camus, WHO Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, said:

"The majority of those suffering unrelieved pain are in low and middle income countries where there is an increasing burden of chronic conditions such as cancer and AIDS.

"Limited health resources should not be allowed to deny sick people and their families the dignity of access to pain relief and palliative care, which are integral to the right to enjoy good health".

Professor Harald Breivik, President of EFIC, said chronic pain was one of the most underestimated health care problems in the world today, "causing major consequences for the quality of life of the sufferer and a major burden on the health care system in the Western world.

"We believe chronic pain is a disease in its own right."

The occasion was being marked here by a conference of WHO and pain treatment specialists. It coincides with new recommendations by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on pain relief.

IASP and EFIC say one person in five suffers from moderate to serious chronic pain, and one in three are unable or only with difficulty able to lead an independent life.

One in four say pain disrupts or destroys relations with family and friends.

Morphine taken orally has shown itself to be especially cost-efficient for treatment of moderate to severe pain for sufferers from cancer or HIV/AID, the WHO said in its statement.

However such painkillers are not available everywhere, especially in developing countries because of ignorance of their medical uses and because of costs and regulatory restrictions.

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Darknight613 said:
Why not?

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whomod said:
what would Jesus do?

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the G-man said:
College Professors: living proof every single day of the "those who can't, teach" axiom.

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Darknight613 said:

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the G-man said:
College Professors: living proof every single day of the "those who can't, teach" axiom.

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With all due respect, I'm getting a little tired of your apparent contempt for college professors. My mom happens to be a college professor, and I see every day how much work she puts into it. She teaches because she enjoys teaching and believes it to be an important occupation.

And how exactly does that axiom apply here?

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wannabuyamonkey said:

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Darknight613 said:

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the G-man said:
College Professors: living proof every single day of the "those who can't, teach" axiom.

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With all due respect, I'm getting a little tired of your apparent contempt for college professors. My mom happens to be a college professor, and I see every day how much work she puts into it. She teaches because she enjoys teaching and believes it to be an important occupation.

And how exactly does that axiom apply here?

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The claws have come out! This calls for extreme intervention *runs into a phone booth*

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This is hardly "claws coming out." G-Man said something that I found personally offending, and I let him know how I felt about it. That's it.

It's not like I've never done something like that before.

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Dancing Naner said:
*emerges inconspicuously from a phone booth*

Hey folks lookit me dance!

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Best. Alt ID. Ever!

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Dancing Naner said:

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wannabuyamonkey said:
It's not a human right to deny the harsh realities of life. Pain sucks, granted. I would love not to suffer from pain on a daily basis, but it's not my "right". It's a human right not to have pain and suffering inflicted on them by others, but to say it's thier "right" not to suffer the effects of disease is like saying they have the right not to suffer the efects of a hurricane or the sun. I acctually live in chronic pain, but it's no one elses responsibility to relieve that for me.

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Wednesday said:

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wannabuyamonkey said:
It's not a human right to deny the harsh realities of life. Pain sucks, granted. I would love not to suffer from pain on a daily basis, but it's not my "right". It's a human right not to have pain and suffering inflicted on them by others, but to say it's thier "right" not to suffer the effects of disease is like saying they have the right not to suffer the efects of a hurricane or the sun. I acctually live in chronic pain, but it's no one elses responsibility to relieve that for me.

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This argument makes a whole lotta sense.

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Thanks! .....hey guys what happened here when I was gone? It smells like bananas.

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Darknight613 said:
With all due respect, I'm getting a little tired of your apparent contempt for college professors. My mom happens to be a college professor

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the G-man said:

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Darknight613 said:
With all due respect, I'm getting a little tired of your apparent contempt for college professors. My mom happens to be a college professor

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And my mother was a postal worker. It doesn't mean I had a tantrum and wrote a nasty letter to Jerry Seinfeld every time they had an episode with Newman.

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