[CpnCornetto]

(Original post by stroppyninja)
Being a really nerdy family, this dinnertime we got into a discussion about life expectancy and medical advances throughout history.
Average life expectancy was between about 20 and 30 years until very recently, so, going round the table we considered when each of us would have died without medical attention, because even the smallest, easily curable issues would have been fatal.

Going round the table, we worked out that out of the 6 of us, only my sister would be alive (20 year old).

I would have died from a hernia at the age of 1, dad from septicaemia as a teenager, mum likely from blood loss.

Just got me thinking how amazing it was that average life expectancy was so high back then, compared to my family.

Would you be dead yet without medical intervention?

In an accident Aged three
But on the other hand you could argue that the accident was also caused by advancedments in technology so it wouldn't have happened otherwise

[xoxAngel_Kxox]

Well I was born by c-section, so if healthcare was not available my Mother and I would both have died before I was even technically born. So, yes.

[WelshBluebird]

Yep.
I probably wouldn't have lasted a few days (born premature, struggled an awful lot with my breathing).

[Persephone9]

Unsure. I was a c-section baby, but only because my older brother also was and he was because of the danger to him, not so much my mum. But assuming I had been born, I had asthma as a child that has just recurred. It's not been hugely serious yet, but I'm glad for the inhalers just in case.

[DarkWhite]

(Original post by Rob da Mop)
Well we'd probably all have faced a lot more disease due to bad sanitation, lack of vaccinations and the like as well, so even those of us who haven't had our lives saved directly may have had it saved indirectly in some way.

This really. Without healthcare, I'd have probably contracted some form of superbug and died.

I haven't really had any serious illness or injuries. Once cracked my head open, but healthcare just helped it heel quicker.

[I<3LAMP]

Difficult to say-if I hadn't been vaccinated I would have probably keeled over.

Also I was born after a long labour, forceps delivery with a cord around my neck-but I imagine that occurred in the 'olden days' anyway with kids surviving. My Mum would have died though from blood loss.

Apart from a few bouts of tonsilitis and the sniffles a year I'm quite healthy-surprisingly!

[kopite493]

yep i have diabetes without my insulin id be screwed

[Aout]

Yes- I was born with the umbilical cord around my neck, and they had to sort that out. And that rash I had when we first got a hamster would've killed me, because it spread to my stomache, and made me throw up constantly. My egg allergy when I was little would probably have caused serious problems too.

That said, medicine nearly killed me, because some vaccines are grown on egg proteins.

[LouboutinLove]

Yes - I had appendicitis when I was 9 and had it removed about about an hour before it was due to burst.

[don'tyouremember?]

yes. i had cancer when i was 15 and relapse just before i was 17. all clear now though.

[nexttime]

A large part of the increased life expectancy has been due to better food and hygiene, rather than 'healthcare' per se. I mean, before regulation food providers would regularly add sawdust to food to increase apparent bulk, all kinds of **** was dumped in drinking water... the list goes on.

[Picture-Perfect]

Possibly.
I may not have survived birth, there were a lot of complications although I'm not sure what exactly.

[broken_rose]

Almost certainly I think.
I think if I was a cat with 9 lives, id still be dead!

[Origami Bullets]

Yep, I'd be dead / disabled too. Scoliosis and an unset broken knee would have left me disabled, my mum not having an emergency c-section would have killed us both, and I probably would have succumbed to the odd inection that I've had too, all this assuming that I hadn't got measles / mumps / rubella / polio / smallpox / anything else you vaccinate for.

Really, it's amazing how many people actually got to the age of 20/30 at all!

[tinktinktinkerbell]

nope, i wouldnt be

[Vohamanah]

Open heart surgery at the age of five. Cheers, docs =)

[McHumpy92]

I'd be massively screwed tbh...not dead though.

[KingGoonIan]

I'd be dead

[kerily]

I would! I was dropped on my head when I was 11 weeks old (by accident, I hasten to add) and spent quite a while in hospital as a result.

[emcero]

I'd definitely be dead, two months premature, asthma and I had scarlet fever when I was two...