In the last fifty or sixty years the United States government has had a measure of success in eliminating or reducing the incidence of certain targeted diseases. In several instances the fight against diseases was conducted in cooperation with the governments of other countries, sometimes with assistance from the United Nations. Among diseases targeted over the years are infantile paralysis (polio), smallpox, tuberculosis, malaria and aids. But now there appears to be a groundswell of public clamoring for targeting yet another disease in the U. S.
This latest disease has sneaked up on us, only recently entering the general public consciousness. But, as with some other epiphanies, awareness seems to be all that is needed to generate political demand. The latest disease to be put up for government management and control is RDS, which many of us have never heard of. We should, however, resist our first tendency to dismiss it as a trivial problem. It turns out that to a growing number of individuals and organizations RDS must be the most important factor in their existence.
Part of the reason RDS has only lately begun to enter the public discourse is that so little is known of it. There have been few, if any, rigorous scientific studies of the disease. Yet it is much more widespread than we might have believed. There is no known cure at present, and there is a wide variation in the therapies used to control it. Even an unlikely folk remedy is reportedly used: including a common bird (corvus brachyrhynchos) in the patient’s diet. But the usual therapy is a short period of isolation, plenty of bed rest, and professional counseling.
Experts believe RDS has both genetic and environmental factors. There is not much agreement on how contagious it is, but a lot of anecdotal evidence suggests that it can spread quickly through groups of people. The disease has only one principal symptom; but a number of related factors or sub-symptoms have been recorded, including outbursts of rage. In most cases the disease is episodic; some observers believe stress can trigger an episode. One of the more annoying aspects of RDS is the common inability of those afflicted to articulate this main symptom; undoubtedly that has led to many instances of misdiagnosis. In cases where the disease has spread quickly, infecting most of the individuals in a group, it has left friends, families and health professionals mystified.
By all accounts, RDS is extremely painful to most of those infected. Yet this has not been widely reported. One possible reason is that the primary purpose, focus or mission of an afflicted group overshadows the misery of individuals in the group. Usually it is only after completion of the groups’ purposes that mention of the RDS symptoms begin to leak out.
The recorded history of RDS is relatively short, but some researchers have recognized its main symptom in a number of historical accounts, some dating back hundreds of years. Like a few other diseases, it was named after a victim rather than the person who first identified it. This victim suffered from the disease for many years; his doctor subsequently named it the Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome, or RDS. Fortunately for all of us, Mr. Dangerfield described his painful symptom in some detail before he died.
The anecdotal evidence of the stress relationship to RDS episodes is abundent in this wind-down period following the national elections. A few observers expressed an opinion that there is a correlation between the degree of partisanship of an individual and his or her likelihood of an RDS episode. These observers have pointed out that it did not appear to make any difference whether the campaign was for an elective office or for a ballot initiative.
There is substantial disagreement as to whether the government can actually help in the fight against RDS. The more pessimistic side points out that the government does almost nothing well, and that it might aggravate the problem. The more emotional side responds that it is worth the risk of getting the government involved because of the obvious degree of suffering. Furthermore, the emotionalists point out that we all can see it first hand.
With all of today’s reporting channels—professional, amateur, network, cable, internet—we all have the opportunity to see the suffering of a number of RDS victims. Although the disease usually runs true to form, with most of those afflicted unable to specifically tell us what hurts or where, there are numerous exceptions. If you have ever seen a tape of Mr. Dangerfield describing his symptom and his pain, you will immediately recognize those sufferers when you see them in the media. On several occasions while watching some poor victim comiserating, I could clearly visualize Rodney Dangerfield passionately saying “I get no respect”!
Tags: contagious, disease, misdiagnosis, RDS, symptoms
