Doctors Are More Harmful Than Germs

Doctors Are More Harmful Than Germs is an alternative medicine book proposing that modern evidence-based medicine, and surgery in particular, is counterproductive to the body’s own powers of natural healing.

Disregarding decades of improved medical techniques and early detection of disease, as well as an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of diseases, Dr. Bigelsen and Ms. Haller describe a hypothesis in which the body is naturally able to heal itself and, without interventions from modern medical techniques, which “trap inflammation” inside the body, is essentially equipped to do so.

How does the human body accomplish this? Resident, symbiotic germs and bacteria (“single bacteria stored in our cells and body fluids throughout our lives”) push the body’s immune system in the direction it needs to go. Interference from modern medicine impedes this process and disrupts the natural balance and flow present in the body. Obstructed energy flows caused by trapped inflammation result in serious, life-threatening diseases later in life (“Would you wear reading glasses if you knew that the laser surgery would later contribute to your diabetes diagnosis?”).

However, Dr. Bigelsen and Ms. Haller fail to demonstrate causality of energy flow and disease based on clinical evidence. Individual cases and anecdotal reports are not enough to support this view.

Dr. Bigelsen and Ms. Haller have together written a book that is sneering of modern medicine, and assumes that all doctors have a “paternalistic” attitude: that is, that the physician knows better than the patient, and the patient need not be informed of what is occurring or what s/he needs. (It should be noted that in
1992 Dr. Bigelsen was indicted by a Federal grand jury of several counts of fraud against Medicare and was stripped of all his medical licenses—a fact to which he alludes in a cavalier manner in the introduction to one of his other books.)

The unfortunate result of assuming this view, however, is that it derides the medical benefits that enable prolonged survival, improved quality of life, and general well-being that have been long fought for by dedicated researchers, clinicians, and health care practitioners whose goal is the improved well-being of patients.

With recent advances in many types of medical technologies and treatments, it may be seen as irresponsible to improperly inform one’s patients about all of the medical options—whether modern medicine, traditional, or alternative therapies.

It must always be emphasized that health-related publications such as articles, websites, and books are not a substitute for your physician’s professional advice, which is based on decades of medical research, a solid and still improving understanding of disease processes, and a focus on informed patient care and improving quality of life. Patients must carefully evaluate all of the available evidence, particularly the clinical evidence, when considering potential courses of treatment.