This is Lysenkoism and will cause us to lose medicine. Or at least set it back decades as ideology trumps medicine.
Honestly, there's not much to lose IMO. Sure, there are some really cool, cutting edge things which are not doable without massive medical infrastructures (cancer treatments, non-invasive surgery robots, stuff like that), but the biggest things that modern medicine have found out - or rediscovered in a number of cases - are mostly going to survive a collapse unless it is truly massive.
If we can get rid of most heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and substance abuse that will solve a huge proportion of western medical issues and if a massive collapse hits it will forcibly get rid of those (one way or another) pretty quickly.
And a lot of the knowledge we've gained (hygiene, nutrition, antibiotics, how the body works, etc.) all that should survive. Sure, you won't be able to just pop down to the drug store to pick up a prescription when SHTF but just having a few extra tubes of topical antibiotic in a first aid kit will help a ton and hopefully last a bit - at least for immediate family - until things stabilize.
Anaesthetic and access to basic medical supplies will be the biggest loss for 80% of non lethal things I'd say.
Just having something dry, sterile and wrapped for a wound is pretty helpful and not easily replaced, especially if infection is a larger threat too.
For anything major accident related, losing Xrays and MRI's will be a problem too. We're already losing them you're just probably not aware. Most reports are very subjective based on the person writing the report.
For unprepared people, especially in cities, yes. (And MRIs may well be hard to get back). But, doing a little study and/or preparation now, sterile bandages, painkillers and limited anesthetics are quite doable. I'd say it's probably better (and certainly easier) to stock up now (it's not like bandages or gauze goes bad) but if you want to make a sterile bandage take a section of cloth, wash it, and then either have it under a hot iron for a few minutes or wrap it in foil and put it in an oven at lower heat for a bit.
Painkillers and anesthetics are a bit harder (especially general anesthetics), but asprin and nitrous oxide were developed in the mid-1800s (not to mention a wide range of less effective but still better than nothing alternatives depending on your local area), and medical xrays in the late 1800s. Is it possible that things get bad enough that we regress 100+ years? Maybe in certain areas but I don't see it happening universally and it's not hard to stock up now so that even if things do go horribly you and yours are set for a couple years. At my local grocery store, I can pick up gauze at 50 cents a yard, a box of bandaids for $8, and (depending on your preferred dosage and brand) painkillers at <$10 per hundred.
If those things are available, remember they rely on a complex system to get to your local store, will the quality remain the same? what use is buying a non sterile bandage?
Someone will likely steal your supplies too if they get into that short supply.
Honestly, there's not much to lose IMO. Sure, there are some really cool, cutting edge things which are not doable without massive medical infrastructures (cancer treatments, non-invasive surgery robots, stuff like that), but the biggest things that modern medicine have found out - or rediscovered in a number of cases - are mostly going to survive a collapse unless it is truly massive.
If we can get rid of most heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity and substance abuse that will solve a huge proportion of western medical issues and if a massive collapse hits it will forcibly get rid of those (one way or another) pretty quickly.
And a lot of the knowledge we've gained (hygiene, nutrition, antibiotics, how the body works, etc.) all that should survive. Sure, you won't be able to just pop down to the drug store to pick up a prescription when SHTF but just having a few extra tubes of topical antibiotic in a first aid kit will help a ton and hopefully last a bit - at least for immediate family - until things stabilize.
Anaesthetic and access to basic medical supplies will be the biggest loss for 80% of non lethal things I'd say.
Just having something dry, sterile and wrapped for a wound is pretty helpful and not easily replaced, especially if infection is a larger threat too.
For anything major accident related, losing Xrays and MRI's will be a problem too. We're already losing them you're just probably not aware. Most reports are very subjective based on the person writing the report.
For unprepared people, especially in cities, yes. (And MRIs may well be hard to get back). But, doing a little study and/or preparation now, sterile bandages, painkillers and limited anesthetics are quite doable. I'd say it's probably better (and certainly easier) to stock up now (it's not like bandages or gauze goes bad) but if you want to make a sterile bandage take a section of cloth, wash it, and then either have it under a hot iron for a few minutes or wrap it in foil and put it in an oven at lower heat for a bit.
Painkillers and anesthetics are a bit harder (especially general anesthetics), but asprin and nitrous oxide were developed in the mid-1800s (not to mention a wide range of less effective but still better than nothing alternatives depending on your local area), and medical xrays in the late 1800s. Is it possible that things get bad enough that we regress 100+ years? Maybe in certain areas but I don't see it happening universally and it's not hard to stock up now so that even if things do go horribly you and yours are set for a couple years. At my local grocery store, I can pick up gauze at 50 cents a yard, a box of bandaids for $8, and (depending on your preferred dosage and brand) painkillers at <$10 per hundred.
If those things are available, remember they rely on a complex system to get to your local store, will the quality remain the same? what use is buying a non sterile bandage?
Someone will likely steal your supplies too if they get into that short supply.