Limited medical care in an autonomous colony

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Limited Medical Care is inevitable due to the limited industrial performance of a Martian autonomous colony. Compared with Earth the colonists on Mars will have to face certain constraints. The constraints are even harder than in a semi-autonomous colony. High sophisticated accessories for surgery and a great variety of drugs are impossible to produce in-situ and will, therefore, not be available in medium-term.

Diagnostics

Hi-tech machinery (e.g. MRT) can only be produced with a large industry behind. The following diagnostics are simple enough to be produced with reasonable effort:

  • optical microscope
  • x-ray

Surgery

Some simple surgery (e.g. appendix resection) can be done with lo-tech surgical instruments, such as scalpel and suturation.

Needed pharmaceuticals

This paragraph shall list needed drugs that can be produced on Mars with a reasonable effort.

  • Disinfectants: (to be completed)
  • Pain relievers: (to be completed)
  • Antibiotics: (to be completed)

Precautions

The food composition may be designed to prevent dental caries.

The first settlers will be selected to be strong and fit. Even genetical screenings might be helpful to ensure best health, having a lasting effect on subsequent generations. This is a delicate issue, because this could be understood as a step in breeding of a new human race. However, the selection will not be continued for subsequent generations, so it is not deliberate breeding at all. With every generation the effect decreases. After all this is only a help for the start-up of the colony. Other long term solutions are needed anyway.

Open issues

  • What drugs are mandatory needed?
  • What drugs can be produced on Mars with a reasonable effort?
  • What social implications derive from the limited medical care?
  • What genetical defects can be detected by today's screenings?

See also