The greatest danger in life
is not to take risks.
William Arthur Ward
American writer and author
of important quotes about
education and leadership (1921-1994)
The term danger derives from the Latin danger and designates a situation, condition, or threat that may cause harm. To the noun danger (in English, hazard), originally associated with the idea of facing something uncertain or threatening, corresponds to the adjective dangerous (in English, hazardous), which describes something that involves danger or may cause harm. The term risk (in English, risk) comes from ancient Italian risk. It was initially used in the maritime context and represents the probability of the hazard causing damage.
In other words, something very dangerous can pose practically no risk to people. Take, for example, traveling by plane. On the contrary, a situation with little danger can constitute a high risk. This is the case of replacing a light bulb for an elderly and frail person who has to balance on a ladder. In this situation, the risk increases with age, the height of the stairs and the condition of the floor.
In health, there is frequent confusion between danger and risk, especially among those who do not understand the issues and ignore their own ignorance. All medications or interventions have associated dangers, and for anyone to whom a medication is prescribed or an intervention is performed, the risk is never zero.
It is up to health authorities, regulatory entities and health professionals to monitor the danger and risk in each situation and assess the occurrence of complications. It is known that these analyzes are dynamic. The danger may vary according to the time and circumstances and the probability of occurrence depends on individual characteristics. The obligation is always the same: evaluate benefits and risks, minimize danger, and identify who is most at risk and who benefits most from treatment. The alternative is also known: doing nothing and, sometimes, criticizing those who knew and decided to act.
Take the example of the widely used and very safe paracetamol. The most common adverse effects are rare at the usual dosage and include gastrointestinal complaints and allergic reactions. The most serious adverse effect is liver damage. In the United States, acetaminophen is the leading cause of acute liver failure and is associated with thousands of hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths every year.
If we only valued the danger, no one would take paracetamol. No entity, institution or health professional will alert you to this situation, because they know that, under normal conditions of use, the risks may exist, but they are minimal.
In conclusion, life is full of dangers and the biggest risk is not living. In this case, living in pain for following the advice of someone who doesn’t know how to distinguish between danger and risk.
Leave a Reply