Kultur 8

I found the articles on German illness really interesting. Last semester when I took Anthropology 101 we discussed how illness is a culturally constructed concept. That wasn't very clear to me until I read these articles. I had heard about the German 'Draftophobia' before but didn't know Germans attributed serious illnesses like clogged arteries. Also in regards to the article on German mystery illnesses, I have to believe that to a large extent there is a disconnect between what Americans and Germans mean by 'circulatory collapse' for instance. I can't imagine there's anything special about the German physiology that keeps it from being fatal.

I think a lot of the fear of antibiotics is well-founded; I know a lot of studies have shown that these breed bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.