Doctor, Doctor, there’s a snake in your medicine

Don’t worry that’s just for healing

I clearly remember being discomforted by the medical symbol of a snake climbing a pole. It was a feeling shared with my colleagues at medical school. Questions were asked on more than one occasion. We were told it represented the stick used to wind out a parasitic guinea worm from the skin—a comforting lie. Why the need for such comforting lies?

I have b…