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The past year and counting was marked by the biggest public health crisis in modern history, and it’s fair to say that healthiness and wellbeing have been at the top of our minds. But in times of anti-vaxxers, covid deniers, and fake news sweeping across the web like a parallel viral storm, we must get our health facts straight.
So when someone asked doctors and medical practitioners “What one medical fact do you wish everybody knew?” on r/AskReddit, the thread blew up and it now serves as a perfect source for things we should all know without exceptions.
From trusting our immune system to following antibiotic treatment, and exercising like it was the most prescribed pill in the world, these are some of the most eye-opening responses from people devoting their lives to treating others.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Vaccines are safe and save lives.
v 4 years ago
Ever heard of the unstoppable force/unmovable object problem? The unstoppable force and the unmovable object are stupidity.
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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
No thanks, I'd rather keep on spreading a disease and risk dying while gasping for air than being vaccinated with a microchip. And anyways vaccines cause autism, so that's another thing they don't tell you. /S
Iggy 4 years ago
The problem with mcrochips is they need a power source. You really don't want know where they put the battery! :-D
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Michelle M 4 years ago
Karens and Kyles: "We disagree with you. Have you read 'The dangers of vaccines' by my uncle who was in medical school for a year?'
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago (edited)
It looks like that the name of those who down-voted Louloubelle's comment is not Karen or Kyle; their middle names are insensitive, unsympathetic, unfair .....
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Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
Doesn't matter that there is billions of evidence to support this seeing as vaccines have saved billions of lives. There are still people that just don't/ won't listen. And this does not include scientific research or studies to support the fact that vaccines are generally safe and save lives.
thefaithfulspouse 4 years ago
The man who claims to be a doctor that started the anti vax paranoia was a liar and a fraud, and this is well documented.
Piglet 4 years ago
There's a documentary about it on Channel 4 at 9pm (UK).
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Tracy Sellars 4 years ago
It always amazes me how many anti-vaxes have no problems smoking and/or vaping (especially worse if just buying liquid/pods off the street).
Solidhog 4 years ago
The trouble is they are not 100% safe for 100% of people. There are always going to be a rare minority who have a bad reaction, or have a pschosymatic reaction. It is the stories of these few cases in the media that put a lot more prople off.
Sabienn 4 years ago
Nothing on this earth is 100% safe. Driving a car? You can get an accident, or it can break down. Riding a bike? Same story. Walking on the sidewalk? You can trip and fall, and break your neck if you're unlucky. Staying at home? Tons of accidents happen at home. The only thing that is 100% safe for 100% of all people, is not living. Becaus if you're not alive, nothing can happen to you. Besides that, only a minority of vaccinated people get serious side-effects, which can be easily treated. And it's true that some people can't get vaccines because of being allergic for an ingredient or because they're immoncomprumised. But that's why everyone else SHOULD get vaccinated. Being vaccinated doesn't only protect you, but also the people around you. If everyone who can get vaccinated, get's vaccinated, the virus chances of spreading to the most vulnerable people are much much much lower. And that's how they get protected too. tldr: Don't be selfish, get vaccinated.
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RELATED:
#2
I may be alone in this, but I want my patients to know that there is no possible way I can keep up with all the medical advances and new studies that are out there. And I also want them to know that there are thousands of conditions that I learned about in medical school that I've forgotten because I've never seen or recognized them in practice.
This is important, because my patients frequently apologize for looking up things on the internet. No, don't apologize. I want you to research your condition. I want you to look things up. I want you to know about new treatments, new research, and alternative medications. Because often I don't. I may not agree with the things you've read, and that's fine too. Ask me about thinks you've read and the picture you found that looks like your rash. I can't tell you how many times a patient has come to me with a suggestion about a possible explanation for symptoms because they read about it on the internet that turned out to be a correct or at least reasonable guess. Please educate yourselves about yourselves.
Some good websites are the CDC website and AAFP.org (the American Academy of Family Practice). And if your doctor is offended that you're trying to be educated, get a different doctor.
Source: I'm a doctor
Ozacoter 4 years ago
Finally! I love this doctor! Most GPs don't have training enough about many diseases and often ignore them or give even damaging advice. But they often are too arrogant to admit that they dont know. I was 10y with textbook endometriosis symptoms without a diagnosis because nobody bothered to listen to me or do any effort. A quick 5m research would have suggested that disease. But why bother trying to heal your patients?
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
I cannot believe, nor understand why MDs don't add that in as a possibility when investigating a woman's symptoms. It should be part of a protocol for investigation and diagnosis. You just want to go back to all those doctors and tell them off.
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Kay blue 4 years ago
I have a chronic condition and was lucky enough to have the same specialist for about 15 years, he always listened to me and accepted that most of the time I knew when I needed either emergency medication or be admitted to hospital. In contrast my GP (who has an attitude problem) told me I wasn't allowed to make suggestions because he was the doctor, I had ten hospital admissions which could have been avoided if he had given me the medication I said I needed. Thank goodness the old dinosaur retired two years ago.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
As someone wh o is not in practice, but has an MD, and is around this allllll the time, alas: 1. was he licensed to give them out? Not all docs have the licensing for all meds and 2. did you make sure he ended up in a museum exhibit? :-D
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witchling 4 years ago
Brilliant. The best doctor I ever had worked WITH me and treated me as an intelligent person capable of understanding my body. I may not always be right when I think something is wrong and I may not know the proper terminology, but if you teach me I will be better able to work WITH you, my doctor.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Same!I thought my GP was going to think I was insane when I told her I had suddenly experienced Musical Ear Syndrome and it was awful. I had looked it up online. She knew what it was because she had it as a child when she had tubes in her ears. I don't know any other Dr.s or real life people that know what it is until I tel them. Only internet people.
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M Johns 4 years ago
Thank you. Unfortunately I somehow contracted HOOKWORMS. I knew, without a shadow of doubt, thats what was happening to me. Apparently it is uncommon in humans, but I knew thats what was up. I could feel them poking out b/c apparently when not in an animal - they dont get enough nutrients and poke their disgusting heads out of the webbing in your hands and feet. I could see them literally. But my GP said I was nuts and recommended psychiatric care. I am all about taking care of your mental self, but that was hookworms in my bloodstream definitely the problem. Nobody believed me and it was so frustrating. Finally I went to the ER, pooped in a cup, filled with worms and finally someone listened. I literally had to $hit worms for someone to listen and prescribe RX. This OP doctor is amazing.
CultOfBambi 4 years ago
Oh my God! That's awful. Although the way you describe it I have to admit I laughed! I hope you're feeling better now.
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Anonymous 4 years ago
Thank you!! I had a severe and disabling condition that went undiagnosed for 1.5 years until I was able to figure it out on my own using the internet. Every time I brought up researching my symptoms, etc online the doctor's would get upset. They never figured it out though, I did.
Isabel Keating 4 years ago
I wish this doctor was my doctor. Humble and open minded. Two things you don't see enough in the medical community.
Charl Marx 4 years ago
As a sufferer of a rare inherited metabolic disorder, I actually really appreciate it when the GP is upfront with me and informs me they don't know much about it. The ones who let me share my experience let me explain how it affects me are the absolute best. I honestly don't expect them to know much about it at all, that's why I have a specialist endocrinologist and a team of dieticians supporting me.
#3
Mental illness can be as serious as a physical one. Get treated. You wouldn't let a broken leg go.
Elle Malkamäki 4 years ago
My life would be very different if mental health was a conversation 20 years ago
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Daria B 4 years ago (edited)
Technically, you're right. However, some people claim meditation helps them big time, and their discussions make sense too, and prayer is, indeed, a form of meditation, if you will. Or vice versa.
Load More Replies... Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
Not just that but mental illness can cause physical symptoms.
Daria B 4 years ago
True, and sometimes they can correlate, like, one causing the other.
Load More Replies... Daria B 4 years ago
You were downvoted, but I think you have a good point. This is not on a country level, but more on the individual one. If you're unlucky to work under a boss who doesn't understand these things, then, yes, it can make things worse. Awareness is happening, but change takes time and these are legit concerns.
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J. Normal 4 years ago
Unpopular opinion (I have been on meds for over 20 yrs) Meds are NOT the full answer. You have to work with them to get better, The meds just make it easier to do the work and keep at it. Counseling, meditating, self reflecting etc ALL work with the meds to improve your life.
Anonymousplease 4 years ago
If you are physically hurt, people will help you right away usually, but with mental illness, at least in my experience, people just judge you and don't really offer help.
DarkAngelNic 4 years ago
My best friend has been trying to get services but unfortunately the mental health care system in the united states is lacking and there are not enough providers for people who need help.
Solidhog 4 years ago
It is easier said than done for some people. What seems like a very small step for many people is a giant leap of faith for those suffering with mental illness. They can be afraid of the stigma that others hold towards mental illness, ashamed, in denial or the illness may be affecting their ability to think rationally. What we need is all to be aware of the signs and spot them in others if we can and get them the help they need. And this does always not mean medication.
#4
If your kid has a fever, and you give them Tylenol or Ibuprofen to bring it down, they are STILL. SICK. You're only treating symptoms temporarily, not curing anything.
For the love of everything holy, do not give them Tylenol and send them to school/daycare/sports/birthday parties/etc. to become patient zero and infect everyone else.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
Parents who send their kids to school knowing they are sick make me so angry. It is so selfish and could be life threatening to others. If your kids are sick, keep them home.
Seabeast 4 years ago
My mother did that. She was so determined that I was going to get a perfect attendance award at the end of the school year, she'd send me when I could barely walk to class. 😠
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Helen Haley 4 years ago
I agree, but realistically, stay home with who? Everyone has to work to make bills. Who's pay is taking the hit? Rent is paid how? People (in general, not all) know better than to do this, but most can't afford to.
Roxy Eastland 4 years ago
Could someone medical please explain something to me. It is a well known fact that the body raises its temperature as part of an immune response as pathogenic microorganisms die (and malfunction) at a lower temperature than our own body cells. Yet the moment a child's temperature is even slightly raised the instant recommendation is to lower it again. In the UK all parents get told by medical professionals to give them so Calpol. I am in my fifties and I still don't understand why. I certainly didn't do it with my own children (I never even took their temperature, I could tell when they were ill). What is the clinical benefit of suppressing an immune response?
Dynein 4 years ago (edited)
Well, the temperature can rise TOO high, in which case lowering it again does make sense. But for all other cases I agree with you! There is apparently a school of thought that fever is hard on the body and it might be better for the body to suppress it. The counterargument is, as you said... it's an automatic immune response, it's an old immune response, so it's likely beneficial. The prescribed treatment probably varies by country and doctor. I found this short article which says that there's evidence for both but the most recent, well controlled trials point to fever is being more beneficial than harmful, and that the many doctor's recommendation to suppress fever is more a knee-jerk response than something based on actual evidence. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4703655/
Load More Replies... Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
Same with adults, especially in the UK where we have sick pay. Man comes into work acting like a hero because he’s dragged himself in with flu. Thanks @hole, I’ve got a baby and grandma I’ll be taking that home to.
Radek Suski 4 years ago
I was taught fever is a sign your body is fighting the infection and it shouldn’t be actually treated as such
Samantha PandaNotBored 4 years ago
This goes for kids with nits also , for the love of everything holy 🙄
#5
I work in a burn unit.
Don't put accelerants on a camp/bonfire.
Don't go back into a burning house/vehicle/airplane
Don't put accelerants on bonfires. This includes aerosol cans of stuff. Those blow up.
Don't make meth unless you have an advanced degree in the field.
Don't put accelerants on bonfires. Even if it "Just won't light."
Don't let your pot handles hang over the edge of the stove where your kid can reach.
Don't put accelerants on bonfires, even if you've "been doing it for years."
Don't pick up containers of flaming grease and oil.
Don't put accelerants on bonfires. Diesel is an accelerant.
Don't keep electric cigarettes in your pocket.
If you wear oxygen, don't smoke with it on/in your lap.
Don't burn trash. You don't know what the f**k's in there. Probably accelerants.
Stop opening your radiator cap unless the car is cold.
Carburetor injuries are common. I don't know how it happens. Help me out car people.
DON'T. PUT. ACCELERANTS. ON. YOUR. GADDAM. FIRE
N G 4 years ago
I don't have the statistics to prove it, but I'd bet money that most of the burns injuries this person has seen have come from idiocy rather than accident. I won't say "returning to a burning house" is idiocy - if you have a trapped loved one, sheer desperation will override cold logic. But the accelerants thing? Yeah - idiot.
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Friday 4 years ago
Never cover a bon fire on a beach with sand as it can continue smouldering for up to 24 hours and could severely burn someone who inadvertently walks over that area. Always extinguish the fire with water.
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago
Yes! And cool your ashes for a long long time: we had an open fireplace years back, and kept several metal cans with lids for storing the old ashes. By the time the last can started to get filled, the first was finally cool and safe for disposal. Those wee embers could really hang in there
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Leigh C. 4 years ago
"Don't make meth unless you have an advanced degree in the field".... What???
Scagsy 4 years ago
Chemistry. Science. I thought that at first though, I admit.
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Samuel 4 years ago
"Don't let your pot handles hang over the edge of the stove where your kid can reach." yepp, that's how I got burned at age 1.
Lorraine R 4 years ago
I knew a 5-year-old whose chest and upper arms were covered with keloids from pulling a pan of boiling water on himself at age 3.
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Rae Reyn 4 years ago
If an engine won't start common practice is to spray a little break clean (highly flammable) in to the carburetor to kick start the engine. Sometimes this results in a small fire ball shooting out.
xXCloudy_PuffXx 4 years ago
So what I'm hearing from this.... put accelerants in my bonfires got it
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Try a propane tank valve slightly open. How ironic autocorrect changed that to pro pain tank!
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#6
if exercise were a pill, it'd be the most prescribed drug in existence
Julie C Rose 4 years ago
Just gotta manage the side effects like my actual meds. Especially since my actual meds cause fatigue. I’m having to start really small with exercise and increase it gradually.
Scagsy 4 years ago
When I was diagnosed with a mental health condition the doctor told me to exercise more. I was a professional athlete in peak condition and training six days a week. I'm not saying the advice is wrong, what I am saying is that it's easier for a doctor to tell you to go for a run than it is for them to properly investigate your problem. We are all different and 'fits all sizes' care is not care at all.
Anyone-for-tea? 4 years ago
So true. I was super fit when I got ill with a rare heart condition, but because I was so fit, it masked some of the symptoms. I got put on an exercise programme when actually it later transpired that the best advice for pericarditis is to keep your HR below 100bpm, and I really think it made it worse in the long run as I’m still ill with it.
Load More Replies... Seabeast 4 years ago
I think a lot of people have this view of exercise as an unpleasant thing that can only be done in a gym. They don't think of pleasant things like going for a bike ride or dancing.
Anna Banana 4 years ago
I imagine at least a part of it comes from school. All we did in mine was play volleyball and run for grades. I used to think I hated sports. I was so surprised when I discovered running for pleasure years later, not to mention yoga, dancing, and all the other cool activities.
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 4 years ago
Unless you have chronic fatigue syndrome. Many doctors dont know enough about it and still prescribe exercise for cfs when it is really detrimental unless its done very carefully.
Anyone-for-tea? 4 years ago
I wish more people knew this! It’s like trying to continually turn a car over when the battery is dead, any little charge left just disappears.
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Shelley Jennings 4 years ago
Also, can we please buy sleep in a tube. Oh, and a instant hang over cure pill. 🤣
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago (edited)
..... and that's good example that there are better things to keep you in good shape and healthy than drugs: the WHOLE plant-based diet and (moderate) exercise, no side effects...... confirmed by experience of many. Don't get discouraged, just start gradually.
Isabel Care 4 years ago (edited)
If you can't walk, fidget, flex, boogie. Keep moving whatever does move so you don't get blood clots. A lot of my moving is done lying in bed with music on. That way I don't fall or have to find a seat when something gives way. If I didn't react badly to chlorine (and people) I would go to aqua exercise class to move with the water supporting the weight
Arctic Fox Lover 4 years ago
I did a number of essays this year because my teacher had us choose a topic to write about from a list. I say "Why people should/shouldn't exercise" on there and immediately chose it. I did lots and lots of research and found so many reliable websites that I wish I'd found sooner. Yes, I can assure you, exercise is the greatest thing ever, even for perfectly healthy people. Exercise for literally 30 minutes a day, even 30 minutes every other day. It's good for you.
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago (edited)
Healthy people should exercise......and eat the plant-based diet (both health sustaining) so they wouldn't get sick. Why wait to hit the bottom?
Load More Replies... #7
Vaccines are the greatest advancement in modern medicine. They save lives and prevent weeks of lost work each year (flu season). If people started seeing more pertussis (whooping cough) or epiglottitis (part of the throat swells up and can kill children) they'd get their shots, but vaccines have become victims of their own success. Get your shots to protect immunodeficient people that can't get their shots.
tl;dr If you don't get vaccinated and you don't vaccinate your kids then you are an a-hole.
Daria B 4 years ago
I remember some vaccines are indeed mandatory by law and administered to children systematically at school.
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Dan Buczynski 4 years ago
I like the idea of vaccine passports. You certainly have the right to not vaccinate. But then no concert venues. No school. No sports venues. No restaurants. And so on and so on.
Truth Monster 4 years ago
Hey anti-vaxxers: Aliens won't take you to see the edge of the earth in their pyramid spaceships if you don't get the vaccine. Also the CIA says the bird you insist is watching you is the wrong one.
Doc Thissen 4 years ago
As I love to say, there are two things that never get old. Dark humor and kids that aren't vaccinated.
Nikki 4 years ago
My sisters almost died after they got whopping cough at six weeks because no one would get vaccinated.
Ja R 4 years ago
befor the shot infants and young kids hacking day and night was a horror for parents. btw it reserfaced around 15 yrs ago around adults in medical field. it not as bad for adults but they can infect un vaxed or ill kids,
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Brandy Grote 4 years ago
We are having a measles AND whooping cough outbreak at a local college. Well, it might be over now that classes aren't in person....
Calypso poet 4 years ago
I am amazed at the amount of people who have never got a tDap. First dog bites made it necessary. My GP tracks my vaccines. My husband is older than me and has never had one. Same office, different GP. He has Asthma. I have a female GP and Nurse Practitioner. He has a 40ish blonde male. Coincidence?
Load More Replies... Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
This is perhaps stupid questions: how people become immunodeficient? What are the medical conditions which make them immunodeficient? Can those conditions be prevented?
#8
You should not stop an antibiotic treatment because you feel better already.
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
This is one of the things that have and continue to aid in producing superbugs. Dont save them for later so you have them on hand to take if you get sick again either.
s. vitkovitsky 4 years ago
Antibiotic overude is what produces superbigs.
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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
And the reasons are more frightening than you would think. https://www.livescience.com/59951-should-you-finish-antibiotics.html
Kari Panda 4 years ago
My mother does this, despite the fact that I explained to her that she only adds to more and more antibiotics becoming useless this way -.-
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
People still don't understand the reason for that: if you do not finish full dose of antibiotics the bad micro-bug is just weakened not killed, will survive and will develop resistance to antibiotics, which won't be effective next time you get sick. Not a good perspective.
Sheila McEnany Markowitz 4 years ago
Here's a way to think of it-antibiotics work by breaking the cell wall of bacteria. So- you begin a course of them and tap, tap, tap they go, eventually breaking through and disarming the bacteria. When you stop them too soon, you allow the bacteria to mutate in order to fend off the tapping, thus resulting in more potent bacteria, and now more able to resist the antibiotics. So, although you "feel better" after a couple days of use, please finish the pills so as to truly render the enemy disarmed.
Nubis Knight 4 years ago
Always inform all sorts of my students about this fact. And if you get digestal problems from the antibiotics go check in with your med instead of stopping to take it. There might be a better digestable antibiotic.
#9
Smoking will kill you.
"Nah... cancer won't get to me" you might say, and you'd be statistically right.
It'll be your heart.
In the simplest of terms, smoking makes your arteries rigid, so as they progressively get filled with fat, instead of increasing their diameter they'll just get stuffed until no more blood can get through and you'll be done.
If you're lucky you'll get some chest pains beforehand but that's not always the case.
"Joke's on you sucka! I got a heart attack and survived, death ain't got shit on me!"
Welcome to the world of chronic heart failure where from now on every day that goes by your heart will be less a pump and more a container, until you get out of breath from just speaking and eventually die. There's no going back.
Please stop smoking.
Ozacoter 4 years ago
Not only that. It makes others sick, which is the bad part. My mother always smoked around us, even whenshe was oregnant of me. I "banned" her from smoking in my bedroom when I was 16 and she got really pissed. Now i have ton of heth issues including lung problems and I do blame her for those.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
My father smoked, my mother didn't. When my mother fell ill she went to doctor. After examining her the doctor told my mother she should stop smoking. When my mother told the doctor she didn't smoke he just answered that her lungs told him a different story. It seems that inhaling what smokers exhale is even more disastrous than smoking.
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If I could I would live under water 4 years ago
I stopped smoking about 10 years ago, now I work in a vascular surgery department in a hospital and I couldn't agree more, stop smoking. It's safe to say, I'm cured of wanting to smoke. Nothing can make me smoke again. Sadly, a lot of the doctors here smoke...
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Congrats! Stopped smoking about 10 yrs ago too. I wasn't a heavy smoker and was off and on but was a bartender for many years so... But when I got Covid in December and had to go to the emergency room because I couldn't catch my breath I left somewhat relieved. Even though the admitting nurse admitted (ha ha) she didn't believe me when I said I wasn't a current smoker by my voice and cough until she saw my recent electronic records. They did chest X-rays first and my lungs were completely clear and healthy. I was still feeling awful from Covid but so happy to see my lungs healed from cigarettes!
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Mumchkin 4 years ago
I quit smoking over 8 years ago now and I've never looked back. All I needed was the right motivation. Every time I lit-up my dog would move away from me. I did it for him.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
Good for you! I hate when people smoke around their pets. Even if they did, I wouldn't. Well, back when we had friends and smoked! Lol!
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Samantha Power 4 years ago
Very good advice. My ex partner continues to smoke after having a stroke which very nearly killed him, really sad, I still care about him very much.
Crochet lady 4 years ago
My dad died at the age of 60. He spent the last year of his life on an oxygen tank & bedridden with 1 lung removed due to smoking. My Mom died at the age of 70 after a 6 month hospitalization, a leg amputation & a tracheostomy. She died slowly & painfully due to smoking. She got a blood infection, went to her brain, she didn't know who I was at the end. Don't smoke, it's devastating.
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago (edited)
Lungs? What about head & neck cancers? The surgery & treatment for those is terrifying. You have your lower teeth removed, your lower jaw removed & rebuilt (hopefully) . Tongue cancer. You may need your entire tongue removed. Talking? Not really & you will never eat food again. Liquid into a tube in your stomach. Forever! Have your voice box removed. After surgery it's terrifying. You breathe through a hole in your neck. FOREVER! We HAVE TO keep it open. There's no tube in. You can't really suction crap out. If it gets blocked they are in such deep s*** because they will have no way to get air in. They're so terrified they don't sleep much. You learn to talk again by doing long enough burps you get words out that way. So go ahead. Keep smoking. YES IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU!!! These people didn't think it would. Some of them died. If it's in your neck and gets to your carotid artery guess how you die? You hemorrhage out in minutes. You bleed to death. And you know you're going to be dead in about 5 minutes. Yep. Keep smoking.
Cupcake168 4 years ago
"But I know *a man who never smoked and died with lungcancer / a chain-smoker who dies 102-years old*" Everybody, anytime.
Allan Breum 4 years ago
As a smoker I can only say one thing here: True. But, you try kicking an addiction when your drug is sold in literally every store.
#10
Your immune system is one of the greatest assets you have and you never thank it. In your life, your body will autonomously eradicate between 6-10 cancers without your realising. It will fight your infections, repair micro traumas and police the entire population of billions of cells in your body without your asking.
All it requests in return is a little bit of health to preserve it. Stop smoking, lose weight. Maybe exercise a little. Don't drink so much. Your diet is so much more important that you realise.
Jerry Conaway 4 years ago
I can attest to this. A few years back I went on a health food and exercise kick. Not anything nutty like veganizing or working out three times a day. Just healthy servings of fruits, veggies, lean meats. Cut the soft drinks. Only occasional alcohol, absolutely NO smoking. Cycling 3-4 times a week. I had a streak of about five years with no colds or flu with no flu vaccination, and nothing else other than mild spring allergies. Once I started back into a more "normal" American diet and lifestyle, the seasonal flu started visiting me again.
Dhakshin G 4 years ago
Same! I have been living healthier for about a year, and I can seriously say that the worst I have had it is me being stupid by choking on water.....
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Mazer 4 years ago
Immune systems.... much like computers and cars, amazing when the work correctly, hell when they go haywire
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Just like with cars, you give them oil, all fluids, etc, the same with your body, you have to give it all it needs to run, and nothing which sabotage it.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Yep. Also, stress is he** on your immune system. Sleep, meditation, peaceful activity that brings joy ----- all good for your immune system as well. -----
Alex Bailey 4 years ago
True. Just wish I could do the sleep thing these days... 😫 Ho hum.
Load More Replies... Christina Uhlir 4 years ago (edited)
Absolutely!!! Your body - the organs, immune system, all other systems - is working so hard to keep you alive and well, so support its efforts!!! Give your body what it needs to run smoothly - that is vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals which only fruits, vegetables, legumes, WHOLE grains can provide!! Don't put into your body what sabotage its work: strong, hard to digest animal proteins, alcohol, drugs, nicotine..... you got the picture, don't you? Only you can keep yourself healthy, no doctor can do it for you - what doctors do is a damage control, a disease management as some call it.
Crochet lady 4 years ago
I thought about how amazing my body was every single day when I was pregnant, especially with my twins. I would think wow, I have two tiny humans in there!
#11
Australian paramedic intern here. we are not the police and we really honestly don't care about any of the shit, illegal or not, you have done or taken. we just need the full story to make sure that you can get the best targeted treatment. also, we don't mind getting called to old people falling and not being able to get up, especially if they have no family or no way to contact them. for me, that's a medical emergency, because if you stay there you will die and paramedic school taught me that that is bad for you.
Ian Koch 4 years ago
BREAKING NEWS: Dying is bad for your health. I hope this sheit joke made you at least just a little happier.
Troux 4 years ago
Fake news. Dying is a hoax and we need to be developing herd immunity to it. I got some Youtube stuff you need to watch.
Load More Replies... Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
Please call the ambulance! What they are interested in is immediate emergency care to help save your life, or give emergency care and get you to the hospital for someting else. Dont second guess chest pain. If an elderly person has fallen and are unable to get up call the paramedics. They will get evaluated for possible injury you may not be aware of. Cant say enough for the emergency buttons the elderly who live alone can get. Gets you help immediately. Also, if you have called 911 or your country's number, and for some reason you are unable to talk, hit the phone on something solid repeatedly. In many places this is a sign to the dispatcher. Help will be on the way.
Tracy Sellars 4 years ago
As a fellow Aussie just want to say thank you so much for all you do. You guys deserve far better working conditions for all that you do. Thank you for putting the patients needs above your own, sometimes in some pretty crappy scenarios, You rock and I hope with the new outbreak going on you aren't to affected by it Take care
Missy Moo Moo 4 years ago
Omg I remember when I was 20 and a mate came over and started talking funny. My gf and I were really weirded out but we were too scared to call an ambulance just in case he had taken drugs. We decided to give him a drink (just cordial) and he came good. He was diabetic!
The_tattered_hippie 4 years ago
Yes! Just tell me what you took so I can help you! I don’t care what you snorted, ingested or injected, just tell me so I can attempt to keep you alive. Agh!
GettheOtis 3 years ago
Pressure ulcers can develop in just 2 hrs. Add that to the comorbidities, and you could have a Kennedy/sepsis on your hands in the time it takes for a trapped person to receive help after a fall. It's no joke
Simon Murray 4 years ago
Death does stop all other aliments in one go, however the effect is temporary so if revived they all come back for some reason
Anna Łubiarz 4 years ago (edited)
In Poland paramedics reported my friend to social services, after answering a call for her kid having a severe croup attack in the middle of the night. Her crime? Two empty bottles of wine, standing on the kitchen counter, that she and her husband had with friends over dinner. So... great. Didn't make me NOT want to call an ambulance in emergencies, but created an additional stress of trying to think if there is anything that can get me in trouble before I do... Gotta love the right wing government.
Shelby Jackson 4 years ago
That last part...had a neighbor who's husband had lost a leg due to diabetes. He fell a lot and she couldn't help him up. She had the paramedics on speed dial and they were always so gracious to come over and pick him up.
#12
Viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics.
Šimon Špaček 4 years ago
I sometimes wonder if is there some placebo antibiotic, which doctors presbribe to those morons demanding antibiotics for their viral infections. You know, instead of arguing with them, just give them a prescribtion for a week of "nothingasol", which works best when used four times a day with a cup of tea with honey and lemon.
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Good idea, Simon. The thing is, that placebo pills (sugar pills) will not bring in profits. Some people believe that the health systems want us to be needy of their services.
Load More Replies... Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
Unfortunately some will actually prescribe them because the patient flips out and won't take no for an answer. So here, take an antibiotic so you'll shut up and quit bugging me.
Alex Bailey 4 years ago
We have a TV programme in the UK called GPs Behind Closed Doors and on it once I saw a wife call up her husband, during a consultation, and he berated the GP until they prescribed antibiotics for the virus their small child had.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
THIS! That said, antibiotics may be prescirbed to help prevent/suppress a BACTERIAL infection developing SECONDARY to the VIRAL infection.
Isabel Care 4 years ago
My GP said I'm the first person seemingly happy to be told I don't need antibiotics. Had recurring tonsillitis and thought I had a flare up again. The white fuzzy patches went to smooth red dots before I got to the appointment. No tonsillitis, so no drugs that make me feel so ill I can't function
Patricia Kasprowski 4 years ago
Absolutely true. You may bully your doctor into prescribing them, but it is a huge mistake. Good way to develop a resistance so when you really need them for a bacterial infection they don't work.
Lytha 4 years ago
In France, a government advertisement says "antibiotics are not automatic", especially for this kind of case! (It doesn't matter, people WANT their meds.)
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
People are dumb; every medication has side-effects; it is a poison you take in small amounts.
Load More Replies... Calypso poet 4 years ago
Someone tell my mom and husband this every time they think I should call the Dr. for an antibiotic even though they know I am not supposed to take them by drs orders!
#13
Just because you're not suffering from a mental health disorder, it doesn't mean it's not a real thing.
KombatBunni 4 years ago
And being denied work because you tell your employer you have it, or can't do university work because you have an anxiety disorder and being ignored or told "don't worry we'll do all we can to make sure you pass!" doesn't bloodywell help.
Nicola Dimigen 4 years ago
My sister has anxiety, starting with anxiety attacks, and then escalating to panick attacks, and my parents just told her it was because she had a certain personality type. Her friends helped her, and she is coping with it better now, but my parents just didn't understand. Shes also claustrophobic, and her school required her to take part in an escape room, and she had a full on panick attack there, so the teachers pulled her out, but that was after she'd told them she was claustrophobic, and they didn't listen so.....
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Gin Marie 4 years ago
I never believed in PTSD. Then I fought in Iraq. It was like God was punishing me for being so arrogant.
Anonymousplease 4 years ago
And not everyone's anxiety is the same. My mom always says oh everyone gets anxious about the stove or leaving a door unlocked. People assume that everyone has the same things, but my anxiety is much different and worse than hers. People always say that they understand but nobody truly does.
Jazzy Mc. Jaz 4 years ago
I'm told that my life is fine from people within my house but when I go somewhere else they tell me that it is not good for me and how can I live that way. It hurts because there's nothing anyone can do I'm only 15 and theirs no way out. And when I say I wanna die they think I should go to a school counselor (that wont help with anything) and that its all in my head because I have what I need and that what I want I can't have because I self-sabotage before I get it if that makes sense?
V33333P 4 years ago
As someone who's been that 15 year old kid ... Go to the school counselor. Trust me, go. My college counselor quite literally saved my life. They don't get nearly enough credit. It might feel like it's not helping immediately, but trust me, the first step is the hardest and most important. They have connections you don't, they can help in ways you've maybe not thought of. Go to them. Your feelings are valid and your fears are valid and you deserve to be believed and respected. You can do this.
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Ram Lastname 4 years ago
Just because pharma companies don’t say they’re suffering from Acute Greed Syndrome, it doesn’t mean it’s not a real thing.
Nubis Knight 4 years ago
Always tell people to compare mental illnesses with "mental cancer" - you don't make jokes about cancer patients, do you?
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
But people will not make that comparison; if a person with serious mental problem commits suicide it is comparable to terminal cancer.
Load More Replies... Isabel Care 4 years ago
Friend's ex didn't believe in depression...til he suffered from it himself. He actually apologised to me. Good lad
Mickie Shea 4 years ago
Cause you think your not means you porobably have multiple mental health issues.
#14
Vaccines don't cause autism, nor do they contain elemental aluminum or mercury.
Eslamala 4 years ago (edited)
There's more mercury in a can of what people call tuna, or the actual fish, than you will find in any vaccine.
s. vitkovitsky 4 years ago
What people call tuna? Is it not really tuna and people are being hoodwinked?
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Šimon Špaček 4 years ago
Vaccines don't cause autism, but a lot of top researchers is on autism spectrum, so autism causes vaccines.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
Sadly there are many people who don't understand the differences between elemental aluminium or mercury with the ones used in vaccines. They also don't understand how they work, how little there is in vaccines etc.
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago (edited)
Vaccines also contain other preservatives which do not belong in the human body, however, when it comes to infectious diseases and viruses one has to weight pros not just cons. For that reason I do not think it's a good idea to get any shots Big Pharma develops; big corporations do not look after your health, only their profits, therefore they have pills and shots for any imaginable and unimaginable conditions and ills. In any case, building up your immune system is always the good idea.
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Mark Howell 4 years ago
I am autistic. I was born with it, not because my mother smoked or drank in pregnancy; they did in the 60's, or that she had any vaccines in her life before. I have autism because my internal brain wiring is a little fritzed, so I work diffeerently to neurotypical people. This is a little ironic as I'm an electronics engineer. One advantage we autistic people enjoy is we are 70% less likely to develop neurological diseases like Altzheimer's or Dementia.
WildHoneyPie 4 years ago
Hmm, I like the way you phrased that. Your brain is a little fritzed. Very good explanation.
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Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago
And none of the anti-vaxxers ever take into consideration the fact that the notion that vaccines do or are any of those things came from deeply flawed, totally biased, utterly non-reproduceable, and purposely falsified research by a doctor with an agenda, who has since been very publicly discredited and had his medical license revoked, thereby barring from ever—-legally—-practicing medicine again. The same people who would be all in an uproar if the lab that created Botox had eschewed scientific method, and conducted their experiments the same way before making the filler available to the general public, blithely give discredited ex-Dr Andrew Wakefield a pass for f*****g up their perceptions about disease-eradicating and life-saving vaccines. BTW, anti-vaxxers, that information is just as easily Googled as your blogs—-the difference being that the info on Wakefield is actually verifiable. Because it’s not fantasy; it actually happened.
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
.....it's also coming from those who claim they got sick just being around vaccinated people. Can it get any worse? Yes it can.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
AMEN. You get more crap from drinking tap water and eating fish. (I quit eating fish as a child, and don't regret it.)
Mickie Shea 4 years ago
Idiot parents cause many cases of Autism and other dangerous diseases.
Moneythink 4 years ago
I was looking into this recently, and learned that thimerosal (which contains mercury) was removed from child vaccinations in the U.S. in 2001. I also read that it is still used in a few vaccines. So, a blanket statement that vaccines don't contain mercury is not really accurate. Unfortunately, far too many people are locked into binary thinking, and will react with "Mercury is in vaccines!".
#15
Former EMS here. Don't get angry when that quiet person gets taken out of the ER waiting room before you. You have a headache and are raging and I can't help you, but that person who just got taken back is quiet for a reason. You're not dying. Death is quiet. I can't tell you how many times I took someone to the ER yelling and kicking and screaming and when we roll up and they get looked at it's often minor. I've seen people who I had a feeling would not make it. They don't rave like idiots, they lay still and quiet and it's almost eerie.
Deborah B 4 years ago
My mom had a similar parenting policy, from observing myself and siblings every broken bone/cut requiring stitches/concussion/illness needing hospital treatment, this is true. The kid who is howling has a stubbed toe. The kid who is in tears and quietly saying "ow ow ow get mum" just put his leg through a plate-glass window and needs 58 stitches. The kid who falls on the stairs and screams their head off has rug burn. The sibling he took down with him who is pale and says "I'll be fine, I just need an icepack, take the others to the swiming pool and I'll stay home." That one has a broken leg.
Alex Bailey 4 years ago
I agree that this works the majority of the time but when my sister slammed my hand in the door (splitting it all the way down the centre) I screamed. I got told off for it as well 🙄 "Don't scream like that, we'll think you're hurt'. Um...
Load More Replies... Seabeast 4 years ago
I read a similar thing on drowning, written by a lifeguard instructor. It was titled "Drowning doesn't look like drowning". https://www.watersafetymagazine.com/drowning-doesnt-look-like-drowning/#:~:text=Drowning%20does%20not%20look%20like,instinctive%20drowning%20response%20like%20this%3A&text=Drowning%20people%20cannot%20wave%20for,down%20on%20the%20water%27s%20surface.
AJJ 4 years ago
Absolutely. I'm a former lifeguard and will never, ever forget the first time I realized someone was drowning and I had to dive in. No noise, almost no splashing. 21 years later and I still get goosebumps thinking about it.
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Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
That's not 100% true. I was screaming in pain after my fallopian tube ruptured. I was bleeding internally and needed emergency surgery and a blood transfusion. And I DID almost die.
Heather Lynn 4 years ago
I was going to say the same thing, my husband had part of his finger nearly cut off and was bleeding a lot. Went to the ER and made him sit and wait for over 5 hours. He also has autism so his emotions are a lot more vocal and dramatic and because of COVID I couldn't go in with him to explain to the front nurses. Instead, they were laughing and making fun of him and getting upset that he was bleeding all over the floor. My mom was raging so bad she actually mama beared and went into the ER to yell at them and almost got kicked out, but at least they finally took his injury seriously. He almost lost part of the finger to infection.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
EMTs I've known always say, "We prefer a talking patient, that means they'll make it". If they go quiet? RED ALERT! Also learned this in medical school, myself. Quiet sufferers are the ones in trouble. If they can yell and cuss? They can wait a minute more while we see if the quiet person curled up on a chair is even still breathing!
#16
Pee after sex. Any sex, just do it. All kinds of bacteria get pushed up your ureatha. UTIs suck.
Sue User 4 years ago
Do you mean that as you get older you really should, or you surely will ? 😆
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
This comes with a proviso: Drink a glass of water before sex. Helps urination after. Helpful tip from my mom, a nurse. Also, in older patients, UTIs can lead to much worse than just discomfort and fever.
DarkAngelNic 4 years ago
Truth. Older people and people with mental disabilities, a UTI can cause confusion and aggression.
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Sharlene McNeill 4 years ago
Cranberry Pills! As a serial sufferer of UTI's I found that taking a 650mg cranberry pill every night stopped them outright and I didn't need to take antibiotics. I got given this advice by a very wizened lady and it was unexpected; I didn't think it would help and most docs will tell you it doesn't but voila - I had UTi's in my 20's that weren't even related to sex and this solved the issue for me. But yes, still do pee after sex, it's important for sure.
Calypso poet 4 years ago
This is so weird because a couple of my boyfriends were cuddlers so I rarely peed after sex. Maybe the vodka and cranberry? My first UTI was in my 40s antibiotics after surgery and immobile.
DDmaybeandor 4 years ago
Huh, always have because I've wanted to. I had no idea it was a health thing.
#17
The pregnancy test you get in the ER is no different from the one at the store and equally accurate.
Mary 4 years ago
This is so inaccurate... They both do measure β-HCG but the machines in a hospital are far more sensitive and accurate than a store bought test. Besides that pregnancy at early stage can only be detected by blood test, not urine. Hospitals where I live do blood tests for pregnancy. A store bought test just tells you if it can find β-HCG, but can it tell you the exact amount of it in your body? No ... So stop writing inaccurate stuff!
abby smink 4 years ago
So please, for the love of God, stop wasting time and resources by going to the ER just for a pregnancy test.
ChickyChicky 4 years ago
Also, Dollar store tests work just as well as the $12 tests at the drug store. The Dollar store tests are the same ones clinics and hospitals use.
Leigh C. 4 years ago
Then why do they get you to do a pregnancy test at the clinic when you've taken one at home? Maybe people should just go to the clinic. In Canada it wouldn't cost anything up front.
Monday 4 years ago
Usually because they aren't ready to trust that you really did take it. I could say "yeah I took a test at home and it was negative" but I could be lying. I could also bring in the test, but there's no guarantee that it's mine. Hell I could steal my colleagues test, take it to the clinic and say it's mine. This post is specifically aimed at the people who think they are pregnant and want to find out. Instead of grabbing a test from the store they go to the ER and tie up the time of a doc or nurse for a test.
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Catherine Spencer-Mills 4 years ago
Sigh - all of my pregnancy tests were negative - store bought or doctor's office urinalysis. And I have 3 sons to prove it.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
And they will give you one until age 56 unless you've had a hysterectomy!
#18
Nurse here. If you're an alcoholic that's admitted to the hospital, don't lie about how much you drink. There are drugs we can give you to take the edge off of withdrawals. It's safer for you and safer for us. We're not judging you, we have safety in mind.
Trillian 4 years ago
Except tha's not how addiction works. Show me an alcoholic that is ready to call themselves an alcoholic. They think it's "not that bad" which is a huge part of the problem.
Andy Acceber 4 years ago
The form doesn’t ask if you're an alcoholic. It asks how many alcoholic drinks you've had today and this week. Those are numbers you can be honest about regardless of if you're having addiction issues.
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Sue User 4 years ago
However , the reverse can happen. My father was in the hospital for a few days and started losing it. He was an alcoholic, so they thought it was withdrawal. It got worse, they were hours from committing him when they discovered he had a raging UTI. This may be why they hide it. It is like being overweight, they don't take your medical issues seriously and pin everything on the drinking.
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago (edited)
Please tell us! You don't need to call yourself an alcoholic. Just be honest about how much you drink in a day/week. No judgement. We HAVE TO KNOW! Why? There are a lot of bad things that can happen with withdrawal. We can give you medication to help prevent it and keep you calm while its happening. If you drink an entire bottle of liquor a day please say do. you can get confused, disoriented, combative. You don't mean to be, but its the withdrawal. You don't know what your doing. But if you reach this point, you are a danger to a lot of people. I takes less alcohol consumption to have withdrawl than you think. Your withdrawal may simply be mild to moderate anxiety and feeling "antsy" We've got medications to help with that there is no good reason for that to happen to you. We want to help. PS: you may as well tell us. We're going to find out. 9/10 you're family's going to tell us anyway.
Cupcake168 4 years ago (edited)
Me, coaching physicians, have been told by a doctor "If you’re ever asked how much you’re drinking, know: we always knew it’s double the amount you tell us." Now I don’t know what to do. 😅
KatJ 4 years ago
We have a family member like this, they won't tell the truth about their drinking and every time they are too ill to drink (frequently at the moment) withdrawal kicks in and the Doctor thinks death is imminent. As soon as the alcohol is back in their system (the second they get back home) they are magically healthy again, it is so frustrating.
Melody 4 years ago
I just wish there were these kind of people everywhere. I'm sure there are so many great doctors, nurses and EMS workers on this world and my heart goes to them. But that's not always the case, unfortunately... Several years ago, I was constantly on 12 - 16 hour shifts. One day that I had off, I went for a drink with my friend. I had exactly one beer, my head started spinning and I collapsed. I was half-concious sometimes and the words they were saying about me in the ambulance and when the nurses were around me in the hospital, the words still haunt me. "Another stupid drunk, what would her parents say, they must be so disappointed. This is disgusting. " One of the mildest ones. A few years later, I was in pain, I couldn't even get out od bed, I couldn't sleep, I was unable to walk on my own - my boyfriend called EMS. When they were questioning me, they looked into my records, saw that previous record and immediately started with the "Oh, so you have a drinking problem. Stop lying. How much did you have today? " Thank you for that anxiety attack on top of that. The funny thing? Except a few special occasions, I don't drink alcohol - at all. I saw for myself what it can do to people while growing up...
neonn_pieee 4 years ago
That's not always the case. When I was in my addiction I had met some doctors/nurses that treated me like I was scum of the earth and I wasn't a revolving door type of visitor, I went like once a year if something was bothering me. Yet they treated me like garbage and had their noses up. That's not to say that I haven't met some nice ones, because I have but because of those doctors/nurses that treated me like dog s**t, I would never go to the doctors for anything, I always tried to treat everything myself.
Jaybird3939 4 years ago
A Dr told me that they take what the patient admits to drinking and double it (at least).
#19
Doctors are there to help you, stop lying to them. They have to protect your privacy, so if you're doing drugs - tell them, they have to keep it secret, and it could kill you if you don't.
Eslamala 4 years ago
Some people are just morons. The doctor doesn't give a shït about your lifestyle, and even so, you as a fkcn adult shouldn't care about what other people think of you. If you do drugs, they'll most likely interfere with your treatment, and you know what? Dying is not the worst that could happen to you. Becoming a vegetable and a burden to your family is way worse. (One of the many reasons I'm pro euthanasia, btw)
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
On behalf of most graduates of medical school: We're pro-euthanasia. We almost all sign a Do Not Resuscitate. And, yes, we do give a s**t about your lifestyle. The whole "do no harm, save lives" thing is real for many doctors. Please don't decide we're all s**t. I'm not in practice, but I am in medicine to SAVE LIVES. So are 85% of doctors I know. We didn't go through all that hell just for our egos. We don't have breakdowns b/c we love watching people die. And attitudes like yours @Eslamala DO kill people. If you're doing cocaine, heroin, etc., that's medically vital info; ditto pot use. It's called "a whole picture". Peace out.
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 4 years ago
Unless you are depressed. Try to never tell your doctor about it unless you are asking for antidepressants or you are taking them (because of possible interactions) . After saying that you are depressed most doctors start ignoring any of your symptoms as depression or anxiety. Specially if you are a woman.
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
Former** friend of mine smoked. She also got married to a smoker, whom she had dated for years. When she got pregnant, I would drive her to her ob-gyn appointments. Every time, she’d tell me not to say anything about her smoking to the doctor. Thing is, she didn’t realize that a non-smoker can smell a smoker a mile away, and the doctor more than likely already knew. Plus, both of her babies were underweight—-5 lbs and 5.5 lbs at full term birth, to be exact. Her reason for the whole charade? She didn’t want the doctor to give her “the lecture” about smoking while pregnant. FFS?! (**She became a former friend not long after the birth of her second child because she dissed my then fiancé, whom I met online and who was going to immigrate from the UK to marry me. She said, amongst other things, she’d give my marriage six months. I then decided to cross her off my list of wedding guests. BTW, my British husband and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. My former friend is now on her third husband, I believe. Maybe even fourth by now.)
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
THIS. Please please please, do not lie! If you do, it can lead to death. My sis lied to her docs ----- shopped around ----- etc. ---- and it led to her death. She was in charge of her life, but if ONE doc had known the truth? She'd be alive.
Vetus Vespertilio 4 years ago
My sincerest sympathies on the loss of your sister.
Load More Replies... J. Normal 4 years ago
Good advice... but incorrect. SOME doctors will treat you differently if your "lifestyle" does not agree with theirs. I have been YANKED off prescribed opioids (anxiety), because the new dr. does not believe in them and since I smoke pot - I am a druggie (withdrawl is frickin hell).
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
Unfortunately this can often be what happens. My best friend had to have surgery and they didn't want to give her pain meds. Clarification for them. She was hooked on meth because she liked the upper racing feeling. She was not into downers that put you in lala land. She now gets her pain treated. No addiction to painkillers. Where I have worked, we wanted you to tell us, please tell us. We would not judge you. You are our patient and you deserve the best of care. First line in Hippocratic Oath. FIRST DO NO HARM. To refuse patient treatment because of that, well, you just broke that oath. You need to exit immediately from the profession. And yes, i have encountered the if you have mental health issues what is going on is from that. I tell them to their faces " People with X (name your condition) get sick too you know, just like everyone else. I have the right to have my issue investigated in the same way you would with them. So, let's start again".
Klas Klättermus 4 years ago
In Sweden, they will refuse you treatment if you admit to having ever taken drugs
Lilith the Demon Panda 4 years ago
that's sick, wouldn't expect that from such civilized country
Load More Replies... Jazzy Mc. Jaz 4 years ago
It's hard to tell your doctor anything when you can be hurt you for what you say.
#20
It's significantly more effective to prevent cancer than it is to treat it, but the world isn't interested because most people just want a pill to fix their problems.
Don't smoke. Wear sunscreen. Don't drink excessively. Get a bit of exercise and eat some goddamn vegetables. Do those and bam!, huge drop in cancer risk, but nobody wants to hear it.
Robert T 4 years ago
I don't smoke, I hardly drink and I used to do a reasonable amount of excercise and it didn't help one iota! Whilst the point is that your lifestyle can significantly increase your risk of some types of cancer, there are others that you can do nothing about. A kinder more effective treatment is still needed, as chemo is brutal.
Seabeast 4 years ago
Well, "decreased risk" doesn't mean "no risk at all".
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Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
True only in part. Genetics will get you, as will epigenetic alterations, and my hubby was booze-free, smoke-free, vegetarian, exercising daily, etc. ----- and still had lymphoma. Sometimes, DNA is just not on your side. Also, we have to realize that exposures we didn't control (environments as children, etc.) can play a role.
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
It's true, the environmental pollution has negative, damaging impact on human health and health of our planet - who is responsible for that? Every single human being on this planet - the consumers, more precisely, irresponsible, cruel consumers. Human overpopulation (mostly in third-world countries) and overconsumption (mostly in first world countries) are killing our planet, our health and our sense of moral obligations. By the way: being a vegetarian does not necessarily translates to a healthy diet; if a vegetarian eats dairy and tons of eggs, he/she substitutes one bad food for another.
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Mohammad Ammar 4 years ago
Our crap air quality may also be to blame but there's nothing we can do about that :(
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Oh no, Mohammad, there's plenty every single human can do about it; first of all you have to be a responsible and compassionate consumer: the road to better, healthy you and healthy planet starts on your plate!!!! Secondly, join the fight against greedy corporations and corrupt politicians - support a reputable, non-for-profit animal protection and environmental organization(s)!!!!
Load More Replies... Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Thank you, this is so precious, life saving, healthy -life prolonging, planet saving for your own children/grandchildren, and sparing billions upon the billions of innocent, sentient beings unconscionable pain and suffering which.......of course "people" do not give a damn about. These three things are interconnected and cannot exist on their own.
elfin 4 years ago
Also don't get older 'cause that's one of the biggest causes of cancer. Of course, not getting older has its own problems.
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
elfin, age itself has nothing to do with development of (chronic) diseases, the decades of abusing your body does (drugs - street or prescribed, alcohol, smoking, consumption of animal hard to digest proteins - meat, dairy, eggs, lack of life-supporting plant foods); your body is trying hard to survive but when the aging picks up the speed it is not capable to do so any longer. You are what you put into your body and what you don't. You are what you eat.
Load More Replies... Mickie Shea 4 years ago
. . . in a wee corner of the room, Timmy's small voice squeaked out, "I want to hear it".
Alexander Biersack 4 years ago
Not sure veggies are really good for you. Perhaps better eat some meat, fish, eggs and cheese to get some good proteins. Most people's diets are severely lacking in proteins.
Guido Pisano 4 years ago (edited)
what can I do to loose weight? diet and exercise other options?
Alexander Biersack 4 years ago
The important thing is to go slow. It probably took you decades to get fat and unfit. Just start really slow, 5 to 10 minutes on three days a week, some light exercise so light you will actually do it for the rest of your life. You will get stronger over time. Don't starve yourself. Just eat a little bit less. Look at the scale and try to eat less on days when your weight went up. Don't try to lose weight fast. A pound a week is enough. And if you want to have less craving for food, cut out all carbs. No sweets, no noodles, no bread, no rice, no toast, no potatoes, no potato chips, no fries... Eat as much greasy fatty meat as you like. And intermittent fasting works too.
Load More Replies... #21
If you're impaled by something don't pull it out.
Mazer 4 years ago
Hollywood movies are so damaging, actors are forever yanking out a knife or arrow, the poster is 100% spot on. The item and the inflammation around it may be keeping you from bleeding out, Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter pulled a stingray barb out of his chest, causing massive blood loss in an instant.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Removing the item could cause a full arterial avulsion. Please, don't do it. Also, it can leave fragments behind. Let the surgeon do it. Please. I've done triage/first aid on peple who just "pulled it out".
OhForSmegSake 4 years ago
That's what actually killed Steve Irwin. Yes, he was impaled in the chest by a stingray barb but he may have lived if he hadn't pulled it out.
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Shelley Jennings 4 years ago
Saw this on 1000 ways to die. She took glass out from under her arm and bled to death. Pretty scary. Glad I saw that. Learned!
Nikki Angulo 4 years ago
I always hate when they do this in movies or on tv, and they are just fine (except medical shows that actually show what would happen)
#22
Not a doctor but something a doctor told me when the incident occurred. Girls if you get excruciating cramps at the time of your period and it feels much worse then it actually is, go to a doctor. When I was 13 I had already been confirmed to having a ovarian cyst, and it made it very painful for me during my periods to the point where I had passed out from the pain of it once. However at one point it felt much worse then it typically did and I blew it off as being because of my period. It turned out my appendix was bursting. The doctor told me a lot of woman blow off period cramps because doctors tend to do the same. Don't, it almost meant life or death for me.
Kirsten Kerkhof 4 years ago
I had a volvulus (where your large intestine twists and closes). It is excruciating, but it's also in the lower abdomen. So, being a woman, it was OBVIOUSLY period cramps. It took five (!) years before I finally managed to get a scan - and then I was told I shouldn't have waited so long. I had no reply to that, well, not any that would help ...
Emery Walters 3 years ago
I was seventy before a doctor finally found out about the volvulus issues I had had since birth.
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 4 years ago
It is pointless to go to the ER or the GP when you have bad menstrual cramps. They never listen and they often accuse you of being hysterical, exagerating or seeking drugs. If you have bad menstruations please search for a specialist in PCOS or endometriosis. You might not have those issues but they are more likely to take you seriously.
Iggy 4 years ago (edited)
And, even if you don't have those particular issues, it will rule them out as potential causes, which can take forever going through a GP.
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Louloubelle 4 years ago
I had endometriosis until I had a hysterectomy at 49. I calculated that I spent about 3 years curled into a fetal position each month. I planned my life around my period. I knew for the first two days every time, the best I could hope for was to go to work. But it was simply me showing up. No real work got done I felt so awful. And yet, doctors dismiss it. Don't be brushed off if your cramps are this bad.
Michelle M 4 years ago
I have never experienced Period cramps and I'm almost Twenty years old. I count my blessings and feel empathetic everytime I see my sisters and friends going through these pains. They think I'm abnormal for having never experienced it. And there's this myth in my country (I'm Nigerian), that those that don't experience menstrual pains will have difficult childbirth. Lol...Of course I don't believe that.
Lilith the Demon Panda 4 years ago
yes, that's the problem - doctors do the same... I once rushed to the ER with a pain in my UPPER abdomen, suspected gallbladder because my mom had a bad gallbladder attack at my age and these problems are hereditary... there was this like 60+ year old macho doctor, first thing he asked me when was my last period and after I said over three weeks ago he completely stopped listening, he made up his mind that I am some hysterical bitch who can't handle her period cramps... I actually never have too painful period and of course I can tell the difference menstrual pains from digestive system... I was too perplexed at the time to say anything but I was so pissed when I realized what just happened, I wished to meet him again, prepared, I would ask him how much of a dirty piece of s**t doctor he is if he doesn't know where uterus is located
V33333P 4 years ago
He's of the "wandering womb" school of medicine, clearly. Jfc
Load More Replies... PandaMonium 4 years ago
I suffered with endometriosis for years - fainted multiple times, many nights curled up on the bathroom floor. Doctors dismissed it completely (even after I fainted at work and they called the paramedics)- until I couldn't have kids because my severe endometriosis was blocking the path of the eggs. Docs at a fertility clinic finally looked inside, scraped out the endo (which was in just one spot of many the size of a golf ball) and I was able to have 2 kids. I now use an IUD which blocks my period completely - it has been a godsend and a life changer. Why didn't anyone tell me sooner that there were solutions? I hope the medical profession's view on endometriosis is changing.At any rate, if you are suffering from cramps, don't let them dismiss your pain.
V33333P 4 years ago
So happy to hear you could have kids safely! I'm someone who never wanted any, so once I had my diagnosis I went for a hysterectomy. More doctors need to be empathetic I think, even knowledgeable ones lack empathy sometimes to just listen to what their patient is saying
Load More Replies... Pille P 4 years ago
I always have awfully painful cramps. For me the one time extra horrible cramps turned out to be a burst tubal pregnancy. It almost killed me. A month earlier, when it would've been easy to treat, it had been checked for but was too small to see on the ultrasound. I had my doubts, but it took 3 weeks to get that 1st appointment at all due to corona measures. Had they done a follow up it might not have gone as bad.
V33333P 4 years ago
Until the age of 25, I thought everyone vomited, fainted, cried, and couldn't move during their periods. Why? Coz every doctor told me so. It wasn't until one backpedaled and asked more questions that we realized I had severe endometriosis and adenomyosis. Doctors need to do better in believing people in pain
#23
If you get in an accident as a biker, don't take your helmet off your head under any circumstances. You can unhook the strap if you really need to to not suffocate, but that's it. (Stop reading here if you're a faint of heart): Many times, your head will break like an egg and the helmet is basically the only thing preventing your skull from being skewered by your cranium shards or spilling out.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Isn't it amazing that there are still states in the US where it's up to the driver to decide if they will wear a helmet? Isn't it fabulous that in some states people can even wear a Nazi-helmet on their bikes as protective headgear and get away with it. But isn't it just marvelous that in some states someone who is 21 years or older may ride without a helmet only if he or she can show proof that he or she is covered by a medical insurance policy? Like what good is a medical insurance policy when your skull is cracked like an egg and brains are splattered all over the concrete?
Joe Alcocer 4 years ago
Plus who wants to lay their bare head on the asphalt? The helmet has nice cushioning in it :)
Don't Look 4 years ago
That's actually pretty funny. They failed to mention that last part in the EMT course (NY state, 2002). All they said was that the only person allowed to remove the helmet is someone inside the hospital.
Isabel Care 4 years ago
And make sure you are on the organ donor register. Used to have donor cards in each pocket of my leathers and handbag (just in case someone "got" me).
#24
Nurse & Midwife here.
I wish people understood that if they are receiving treatment for a condition, they still have that condition.
Case in point: If you're taking medication for something you aren't suddenly free of that disease.
Your blood pressure meds are maintaining a normal blood pressure BECAUSE you have the condition of high blood pressure. Your insulin is maintaining your blood sugars BECAUSE you have diabetes.
Sounds simple but amazing how much people tell us they have no conditions but are on 1000 medications that tell a different story
Miss Frankfurter 4 years ago
"Have you had any surgeries before?" "No." Later on in the admission process, "When I had my gallbladder out". Um thats surgery. Also. If you've been able to stop your blood pressure medicine because its under control, it doesn't mean you don't have it anymore. You do. You just don't need a pill to control it right now.
Load More Replies... Brandy Grote 4 years ago
I've had a DOCTOR tell us our father in law, on meds from being in the hospital with dementia, didn't need meds because his symptoms were minimal. Ummm, dude, BECAUSE he was on those meds!
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
It's normal for people to deny the obvious. They do it in all walks of life. "Did you put olive oil in your car engine? " "No, I did not" "How come your car smells like some pizzeria?" or "Did you really cover up all the ventilation holes from your computer?" "I most certainly did not" "Lady, the entire case is covered in duct tape."
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
I *never* understand that. I will always have epilepsy. Hence, my meds to *control the symptoms* so I can live a normal life. NOT curing it. Just controlling it. CONTROL, not cure. I have so many relatives even who think that once I take meds long enough, my epilepsy will go away. LOL. As if. No. Not how it works.
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
Or stop taking their meds, watching their diet, and exercising once they’re feeling better. Conditions like diabetes, hyper/hypothyroidism, and high blood pressure don’t just magically disappear. You’re feeling better because the combination of correct diet + lifestyle changes + the meds = balancing out what was out of whack and making you feel awful.
J. Normal 4 years ago
But also be evaluated for the necessary of those meds frequently. I was put on high blood pressure meds and high cholesterol meds. I worked on my lifestyle, and the doctors wanted to keep me on the meds. I had a problem with my insurance - so I stopped taking those meds (non life threatening) went to the dr within 6 months, they were happy with my numbers and told me to keep on the meds... I said I had stopped taking them ... and I was told to keep my numbers right I need to take these pills. Keep up with the medical evaluations - and SCREEN your doctors.
Kat 4 years ago
And most people can't really understand that adjusting your diet might actually mean you have to take less medication or can stop taking them eventually. Most heart diseases and diabete are lifestyle diseases.
J. Normal 4 years ago
Unfortunately, that does not stop many doctors from prescribing meds anyways.
Load More Replies... #25
Volunteer SAR-ship crewmember here; when you suspect whoever is lying down is not breathing by themselves, begin CPR immiditially AND DO NOT STOP until medical professional arrives, even if this means that you have to go on for several hours. We do not perform CPR to have the patient miraculously wake up and make out with us, we do this to sustain the most vital bodily function - the circulation of oxygen to the brain - until we can get that person to a hospital.
Samuel 4 years ago
In Europe we had the Stayin' Alive campaign to teach that. Apply pressure to the rythim of the song. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLgYRTDQ7uM
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alwaysMispelled 4 years ago
By themselves*. Hopefully someone else will come along and be able to help.
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Alethia Nyx 4 years ago
CPR is nothing like in movies or on TV, it is hard and fast, and the person doesn't suddenly wake up and/or cough water out of their lungs. You generally don't breathe for the person, you just do compressions, at a rate of approximately 2 compressions per second. You call for an ambulance and the person on the line will talk you through it, they will count the right speed for you. Also compressions are hard, like if a rib cracks its not unusual.
Mazer 4 years ago
No performing CPR on a bed or couch the surface is too soft to allow effective compressions, take the time to slide the person onto the floor. Don’t freak out, you will most likely break a rib or sternum *30% of CPR patients will suffer a cracked rib or broken sternum....(better to have broken bones than be dead).
Lisa Fleming 3 years ago
ER/Trauma nurse and Parks and Water reserve Sheriff deputy, trained in water rescue and recovery here: as we say, "Nobody is dead until they are WARM and dead". Keep that CPR going.
#26
In a situation where first aid is required it is better to do something than to be scared and not do anything. You might save someones life.
Deborah B 4 years ago
Except pulling out the impaling object or removing someones helmet. Don't be that guy.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
The only safe rules are: try to keep them conscious, get their name/info so you have it if they do lose consciousness, and apply direct pressure to bleeds. Do not attempt resuscitation if they're not in arrest. Do not put their legs up and head down unless you know they're shocky and have no cranial trauma that could be exacerbated by increased pressure. Etc.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
I would actually be more dangerous helping someone in an emergency situation. I literally can't think rationally in those situations and am likely to make stupid, possibly deadly mistakes. I literally panic.
Donkey boi 4 years ago
In a situation where first aid is required, if anyone says 'I'm a doctor...' consider getting them away. Very, very, very few doctors are trained for first aid. They are mainly secondary & tertiary aid providers. Trained first aiders are good, Nurses are better, paramedics are best.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
Restore the breathing. Stop the bleeding. Treat for shock. Protect the wound. In that order!
#27
RPh here. Do not keep your medicine in your "medicine cabinet" in your bathroom. The steam from a shower and the temperature fluctuations will degrade your medication. Keep them in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight.
Also look through your OTC items in your house and clean out the expired drugs and restock your basics ( ibuprofen, acetaminophen, pepto, eyedrops, etc).
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
I keep my medicines in a special closet on a constant temperature. I hate it when my wine is too cold or too warm.
Jazzy Mc. Jaz 4 years ago (edited)
My step mother feeds us expired medications because "Its still fine" in her opinion
alwaysMispelled 4 years ago
Depends how long they've been expired. Often times medications just slowly become less effective, and the sell by date refers to how long the manufacturer is guaranteeing the effectiveness.
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Onion rings like to make your breath smelly 4 years ago
my family stores the medicine/vitamins/etc in a cabinet in the kitchen
Paul Aasajärv 4 years ago
The tablets do not expire in the blister pack. You should be especially careful with tablet jars - aging starts when you open the lid for the first time!
Allan Breum 4 years ago
Keep your meds in the fridge. Preferably outside of the reach of small children
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
Above the bathroom sink or under the bathroom sink what's the difference? It's bathroom.
Load More Replies... #28
Alcohol withdrawal is deadly. Many of my patients don't know this. It's a gamble - I've seen fifth of vodka/day drinkers not withdrawal, and 2-3 beers/day withdrawal. It onsets quickly, and it's deadly. Anyone who drinks almost daily and is deciding to quit cold turkey needs to understand this, and notify family at the bare minimum.
Norma 4 years ago
Meantime, nearly every TV show/movie, someone quits cold turkey and couple days later like they've never had a drop!
John C 4 years ago
Yeah - and while The Last Samurai tried really hard to handle it accurately, it still pales in comparison to real life.
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Theresa McCreary 4 years ago
I was a serious alcohol addict for 10 years. One day, I could not hold any liquid or food down and I decided to quit. 30 days later, I developed neuropathy and could not walk. I had to re-build my body, muscles, nerves, etc. (still am). I have lived through so much pain, I cannot begin to tell you. I had trouble sleeping for about 1 1/2 yrs. because of the pain, so add sleep deprivation to the ailment list. My neurologist has found 2 medications that help me the most and I continue to make improvements. Been sober 8 years now.
V33333P 4 years ago
I'm proud of you :) that takes more strength than many know
Load More Replies... Otter 4 years ago
Serious comment here: This is true, alcohol withdrawal is random. I used to drink a bottle of wine and a couple of rums every night, and when I quit cold turkey I had no symptoms. After I quit I became a nurse, and yes. Some alcoholic patient have no symptoms when a hospital stay requires them to sober up, and some have horrific withdrawals. Alcohol is legal, but that doesn't mean it's harmless.
Allan Breum 4 years ago
That is a good way to put it: "Just because it is legal, it doesn't mean it is harmless."
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Markus Holstein 4 years ago
Sadly, it's also one of the hardest drugs the get away from. I don't remember the precise numbers, but only heroin withdrawal had even lower long term success rates. You actually have better odds successfully quitting meth or cocaine than alcohol
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
Withdrawal from any substance is difficult, and sometimes it’s also dangerous. The substance itself chemically changes the hormonal balance in your brain. Withdrawal is that chemical change tricking your brain into thinking you must have that substance now or you will die, and then signaling your body to display the symptoms that are actually the opposite of the effect of the substance. Heroin addicts become hyper as someone who took speed, and speed addicts slow down like someone who shot up heroin. That’s why you never give sedatives to someone withdrawing from from a stimulant like meth, because the opposite of a stimulant is a depressive. You don’t want to administer yet more depressives to someone who is already exhibiting depressive symptoms during withdrawal from stimulant addiction. It could potentially kill the patient—-as if they overdosed on sleeping pills.
DarkAngelNic 4 years ago
Yup. I saw this on an episode of Dr.G. The guy was found dead in a parking lot and the autopsy turned up he had a deadly seizure from alcohol withdrawal.
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Axolotl King 4 years ago
My dad had an alcoholic friend and one day we decided to go do stuff together but my dad wouldn't let him drink in front of me and my sis and he had a seizure because of it
Axolotl King 4 years ago
But I ended up getting peach rings for staying calm and out of the way soooooo
Load More Replies... Emma Byrne 4 years ago
This need to be higher. I know it's easy to look down on alcoholics but without that alcohol they could die. Yes they can slowly cut down and stop but cold turkey for alcohol can be a death sentence.
#29
Not a doctor and this is a minor thing, but: If you don't have celiac disease, gluten is not bad for you. More important: Vaccines do not cause autism. They save lives.
Eslamala 4 years ago
The whole "gluten free" diet when people don't have celiac disease is idiotic. Even more so because those who do it, do so because some influencer told them to 🤦🏼♀️
Kosh1k 4 years ago (edited)
Maybe people should just eat whatever the f*ck they want and for any reason they want insofar it isn't directly harmful to their health? Obviously don't lie and say you have celiac/allergies/anything else if you don't eat gluten or any other foods out of personal choice or because you're on a diet, and also don't shove your choices down other people's throats, but otherwise? You do you.
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Wee Fanny 4 years ago
I have to disagree, I had a lot of stomach problems and tested negative for coeliac. After 2 years I got referred to a gastro specialist and he put me on a gluten free diet and it was unbelievable the difference. I may not suffer as badly as a coeliac but I can be hit pretty bad if I eat gluten. Gluten intolerance is a thing and I developed it in my late 30s so this is quite bad information
Ozacoter 4 years ago
Op should have specified but they clearly ment for people who dont have gluten problems of any kind (which is most). Obviously having a gkuten intolerance is a reason to avoid gluten.
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Milli Marilli 4 years ago
There is still a good amount of people who have problems digesting gluten without having celiac disease; people with IBS, for example. There have been studies indicating that patients with autoimmune diseases do better on a gluten-free diet.
Lauren Reder 4 years ago
Gluten sensitivity almost caused my daughter to have to drop out of college. It caused fatigue and all body pain. No doctors could figure it out. Within 2 mo of gluten free she was back to herself and has been so for 2-years. It was a miracle I never would have believed would work. My daughter doubted it would work too, so this just wasn't a placebo.
Keley Babs 4 years ago
General surgeon here. There is a difference between celiac disease (gluten allergy) and gluten INTOLERANCE. Think of it as people who have minor seasonal allergies vs people who suffer TERRIBLY. It's a spectrum. If someone cuts gluten from their diet and starts to feel better, just leave them alone and let them avoid the gluten.
Jodie Wiggins 4 years ago
There are a lot more types of wheat sensitivity than just celiac!!!!
Stacy Parker 4 years ago
I have family members with celiac. The gluten-free trend is actually helpful for them, as it is much easier for them to know what is safe to eat and what isn't. They just make sure to specify at a restaurant that they want gluten-free for a medical condition, not diet, so the restaurant uses gluten-free tools as well as food.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
I just know I feel better when I avoid bread, HFCS, and artificial sweeteners. Drs won't test for celiac....
Milli Marilli 4 years ago
You might want to look into the low FODMAP diet. The food groups you are mentioning are all high FODMAP foods. There might be a few more you are not digesting well and are not aware about.
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Lulu Lemons 4 years ago
You can be gluten intolerant. Its something that is like a less dangerous version of celiac and I'm gluten intolerant. I've been diagnosed by a doc so it is a thing
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
I don't know who came up with that gluten craze; the same with soy.
#30
If you want to keep hands/fingers/upper limbs intact: Do not punch a wall/car door/guy in the face/brick, etc. You will end up with a "boxer's fracture," or a break of your fifth metacarpal bone. Most of the time everyone will know you were drunk when it happened and it's not comfortable or fun. Do not reach into the chute of a running snow-blower, even if it's stopped because something is stuck in there. Do not attempt to fix your chain-driven garage door opener by putting your fingers in the track and asking your wife to "hit the button." Do not reach into an auger at work trying to retrieve your safety glove that just fell in there. Do not hold onto something at work that winches rope. If you have a wound on your hand/fingers/arm, and it is oozing something that looks green, yellow, white, or pink, go to the doctor and have it looked at. You may save yourself from an amputation. Source: I'm an RN at an orthopedic surgery center. All of these things have happened NUMEROUS times. And yes, archaic as it seems, sometimes people have to get fingers or even hands amputated (in this day and age!) because they ignored an infection.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
When your boss says you'll be fired if you go for medical treatment.... you delay. Then things get worse. It's nto stupid. It's wanting to make sure you can afford the doctor visit.
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Hannah Edwards 4 years ago
My friend almost lost his hand due to an infection that began after he used nail clippers and cut a fingernail too short. Clean those things like clippers and nail scissors people!
Z Alexi 4 years ago
I spray cuticle set w/91% alcohol after EACH use; spray tips of eye drops & nasal saline spray after EACH use; spray pens/highlighters; spray zippered containers of pens/curlers semi-annually; spray pen stand on desk & keybds [PC/phone] wkly, spray toilet seat wkly...With masks during Covid Year, we now realize how often we touch our face subconsciously. I spray anything my skin touches [like oranges, skin has pores]...haven't had a cold this century. Not hypochondriac, just [mostly] bacteria free. It's easy~~we spray our plants daily so pour alcohol into small plant sprayer...magic.
Load More Replies... jk nbt 4 years ago
don't hitch a ride on the forks of a fork truck... if you hold on to the chains, and the driver lifts the forks, you will crush both your hands... do not hitch rides on fork trucks... drivers, do no move if some idiot insists on a free ride and gets on
Z Alexi 4 years ago
Thanx for advice~~hope you never saw a handless colleague [or death], ouch. There's no such thing as a free lunch...or ride. You end up paying, somehow/sometime.
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Lisa Fleming 3 years ago
ER RN: Don't put that in your r****m, especially the Pace Picante glass jar. Don't put your penis in that rigid object. And yes, we do have to call the fire department for s**t like that.
Isabel Care 4 years ago
If the red inflamed bit of a wound is spreading away from the site....see a doctor.
Jaybird3939 4 years ago
Not to be prejudiced, but I bet the most percentage of amputations are men. It's men isn't it? I bet it's men.
#31
Prostrate is to throw yourself onto the ground. Prostate is the gland that can make it hard to pee. (or give you cancer).
Roxy Eastland 4 years ago
And only men have one. I'm not kidding, I once spoke to a man of thirty who was astonished to learn that his girlfriend didn't have a prostate.
Doggo 4 years ago
We do have the skene gland though! They produce pretty similar, if not the same, hormones.
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Spittnimage 4 years ago
Prostrate is lying stretched out with your face downward. It doesn't mean "throwing yourself on the ground."
Mickie Shea 4 years ago
Alive through both. Not an easy take. Check your prostate, ask a fried too or better yet have your doctor put on the finger condom.
Randy Klefbeck 4 years ago
Not to be a wiseacre but the prostate does not give men cancer. It can become cancerous, which can spread if not treated.
Carole Hamilton 4 years ago
drives me nuts when they say the wrong thing, but not everyone knows everything. Women sent a note to school excusing her son because he had very close veins.
#32
Doctor here. Don't stop your medications by yourself. Just don't, no matter how good you feel. Patients stop antibiotics and relapse. So many resistant TB cases here. Stop taking insulin and come with DKA. Stop taking anti-hypertensives and get a stroke. Don't stop any drug unless cleared prior with your doctor. Most of the diseases can only be managed, they can't really be cured. If you have diabetes, get sugar levels tested at least once a month. Don't ignore it. Don't mix alcohol and anti-depressants. Also, no matter how bad it is, we have seen worse. Don't be ashamed. Pull out doesn't mean she won't get pregnant. Precum has sperm too. Last, if you see anyone vomiting and loss conscious, turn them to their side. Less chances of it entering lungs.
Helen Haley 4 years ago
A lot of the medications mentioned are stopped because of no money. Rail against it if you like, your patients are still broke with broken (if any) insurance.
Jo Johannsen 4 years ago
If money is the issue, discuss it with your doctor. It can't hurt and he/she might have a solution.
Load More Replies... Gogubaci 4 years ago
as a type 1 diabetic with 30 years experience, checking sugar levels once a month means nothing and it's a s**t advice. the perversity of diabetes manifests itself in 5-10-20 years time of poorly managed blood sugar levels. that means degenerative macular retinopathy, aka you go blind, hypertrension, diabetic foot, neuropathy and all sorts of fun stuff. this is caused by high levels of blood sugar over long periods of time. blood sugar should be tested at least 3 times a day, there are sensors now that can instantly read it and also show trends. there is no way you can keep a good level of blood sugar and prevent all the nasty s**t this thing causes by checking blood sugar levels only once a month.
Cori 4 years ago
Psychiatric drugs are especially important to note here. People who feel better and quit taking their psych meds can end up in some really awful situations. That 'crazy' homeless person muttering to themselves on the corner easily could have been a 'normal' person with a home and a job who just stopped taking their meds. This is why a support system should always be a vital part of any mental health treatment plan.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
This, ten thousand times. People die b/c they think they can manage their own meds. No. Please. Just... don't die over wanting to be okay and thinking if they don't take the meds, that makes it better. No, it won't.
Pamela Blue 3 years ago
I'm afraid that common sense is about as common as a 3 dollar bill, these days.
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#33
Keep an eye on your weight. Rapid unintentional weight loss is often a sign something serious is up.
Andy Acceber 4 years ago
My doctor actually told me this one. My mom was a bit of a hypochondriac. I was constantly in and out of doctors' offices as a child. Now, I have a hard time determining what's worth making an appointment for. I told my doctor I wanted to go in less. She said to come in for 1) any substantial head injuries, 2) moles that change shape, or 3) losing weight when you weren't trying to.
Seabeast 4 years ago
Sudden weight gain as well - it can be a sign of thyroid problems or Pituitary tumors.
Vetus Vespertilio 4 years ago
Also an impending heart attack. My husband gained 7 pounds two days before a massive attack.
Load More Replies... Jazzy Mc. Jaz 4 years ago
My step-mother weighs about 10 pounds less than me shes 31 and I'm the average weight for a 15 yr old and she starves herself and tells people she lost the weight by chasing around a 2 yr old. She tells me its stress from me. I think she is anorexic because shes always concerned about how much she weighs and what she eats and intentionally starves herself for attention and she blames others with it
Andy Acceber 4 years ago
Yup, that sounds like anorexia to me. Though it's most frequently talked about in teenagers, there's no age limit on when that can affect someone. I hope she's able to have a healthy relationship with food one day. It's not because of you, and it's not your fault.
Load More Replies... Mike Crow 4 years ago
I have that right now. Since the beginning of the year I have lost a lot of weight without exercise but I am also under a lot of stress as well.
Annabelle 4 years ago
You should consult a MD. Other warning symptoms: waking up soaking wet every night without explanation (might be innocent during menopause), fever or continuing discomfort.
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Bettie-Jean Neal 4 years ago
I ignored sudden weight loss and almost died. Kidney failure. Now I'm on dialysis.
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago
Any rapid unintentional weight change—-loss or gain—-should be checked out.
Pantea 4 years ago
I gained 35 kilos within 6 months without any change in my diet (I eat much less than average person). Asked about 10 physicians and did many, many tests. Nobody could find out why. Then I lost 20 kilos in a year without any change in my life style and told my doctors. They shrugged. It came back, they didn't know why. So there's that.
Pamela Blue 3 years ago
I know that, but I think I'd wait until I was at a decent number on the scale before I complained about it. LOL!
Onion rings like to make your breath smelly 4 years ago
a few months ago, my weight rose up from 70 to 90 in probably a month. since im still a "child", i might be growing or i've eaten too many Cheetos o_0
Jaybird3939 4 years ago
Gaining weight rapidly is also bad. I ended up being diagnosed with CHF, ended up in the hospital with diuretics and lost over 20 pounds of excess water in just a couple of days.
#34
The 10% of your brain thing is a myth. So is most left/right-brained stuff you hear. Stop asking me about it.
Shelp 4 years ago
If it was true, getting shot in the head would be harmless in 90% of the cases
Maria Schneider 4 years ago
About ten percent of my brain are actually working. The rest is constantly trying to convince these ten percent that it's time for a piece of chocolate.
s. vitkovitsky 4 years ago
Speech is guided by one side of the brain (Broca's area). Handedness is controlled by opposite side of brain. Left vs right frontal cortex= approach vs withdrawal activities and activation..
Sue User 4 years ago
I know, we all seen the brain scans with the " this is a normal brain scan, see the highlight portions" and it is way more than 10%
Dynein 4 years ago
The most important thing is that the highlights are just HIGHLIGHTS - it's the regions that have INCREASED activity, they are not the only ones active. There regions are still active, just less so.
Load More Replies... Lisa Fleming 3 years ago
Also, the new age "Mind/body connection". Seriously, you think the brain isn't part of your body? I don't think there is anything more connected than a brain.
Mickie Shea 4 years ago
Yep, the brain all works together in mysterious and non-mysterious ways.
Hilary Mol 4 years ago
So you're directing a patient to NOT ask their doctor about a medically-related question they have resulting in them receiving accurate information?
Z Alexi 4 years ago
Hilary Mol is paranoid. "Medically related"?...for 1D10Ts. We're talking myths here...For decades Don Imus ["Imus in the Morning"] on 3-hr daily radio prg told listeners that vaccines DEFINITELY cause autism [he was licking his NBC boss whose grandson is autistic & he needed to blame sometg]~~ignoring heaps of studies (some int'l) that proved Imus WRONG for years&years. Some bunk is labeled "Ole wives' tales" [that we learned in middle-school science & health class] that physicians have become sick of [Sure, exhibit yr stoopidity (sic)]. Esp in Digital Era, you can look it up in a snap; in 20th century, we had to trek to library to research our aches, dizziness, bleeding, vomits. Today's patients are ultra lucky [our entire genome was sequenced in 1995, READ]~~do some legwork...guys will waste time on online porn but insist on gobbling up an MD's time w/lore. If I were an M.D., I'd charge dumbasses more for moronic ?s. News is on 24hrs, 365... watch it if u won't read, ferchrissakes.
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Z Alexi 4 years ago
"Rightofopinion" wants only his heard. Of course it's a "he"...a control freak. Who insists in having the last word even if he knows nothing. The word is 'hell,' buffoon.
Load More Replies... #35
STAY AT HOME WITH NOROVIRUS.
Call and ask for advice don't come in and infect a bunch of possibly already ill people
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
My best boss sent people home who looked like they were not feeling well. He also told people to stay home when they didn't feel well. He fired a guy on the spot who came in coughing and sneezing. As he always explained: "I'm not doing this because I'm a nice guy, I'm doing this to prevent my business going bust because all of you caught something infectious and can't work. It's cheaper for me that you stay home and I still pay you, than you come in and make 50% of your co-workers sick. "
#36
Clinical Psychologist here... if you need mental health treatment, try your local college campuses. Oftentimes there are training clinics, supervised by some of the best clinicians around. Most will provide a generous sliding fee scale. Treatment works, especially for sleep problems, depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc.
Also- do NOT ignore mental health problems in your children or adolescents- including when you are concerned about substance use. Early intervention works best and if you wait until they are 18, they may not get treatment for another decade because they refuse to go in (until they mature in their late 20's). So if your child or adolescent is showing signs of a mood or anxiety disorder, cutting, struggling with ADHD, and is using drugs regularly (weekly or more) and you are concerned- consider an intake assessment with a licensed psychologist.
Kirsten Kerkhof 4 years ago
And don't be ashamed if your child has problems, get help! I work with adolescents and young adults (almost exclusively male), and the kids whose parents have accepted and sought treatment for whatever they had, were the ones who did best, exactly because they got help early on and learnt to manage. You can't cure autism spectrum, but you can help them to work with it. Denial never worked for anyone.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago (edited)
1000% this. I don't understand why people would wait to assess their kids with possible mental health issues. It is heartbreaking seeing your child struggle, trust me, I know.
Mazer 4 years ago
After listening to a radio show on mental health, I called in and challenged my local radio station DJs to try and get an appointment with any mental health counselor after 5pm M-F, within 30 days for less than $200. an hour or to find a practitioner who takes insurance....they failed. We need more access, more affordable access, more weekend and or after 9-5 hour access.
xXCloudy_PuffXx 4 years ago
I wanna go see someone cuz I feel like there's a 98% chance there's something wrong with my brain. But as a minor I can't go do that by myself which effing sucks.
Anonymousplease 4 years ago
The Way that some parents react to learning that their child has mental health issues is one of the reasons that kids won't tell their parents. My parents don't know anything because I am to scared that my parents and siblings will treat me differently. I don't want special care or to be judged by them, j want to be able to tell them and them to say okay, how can we help, not make a big deal.
Dynein 4 years ago
Also, if you suspect mental health issues in your child, don't let it go because they seem to cope fine. Provided the parents do their job, childhood is EASY - less responsibilities than in adulthood, more opportunities for trial runs, more available support. It's the BEST time to get on top of issues, it only gets more difficult as time passes! Especially since secondary problems can accumulate if an issue is untreated - yes, even if that issue seems minor. That stuff builds up and bad coping strategies become more and more ingrained. Signed, someone who was always suspected to have ADD but got fine through school and ok through uni, who reached the end of the rope once they started their PhD and is now learning basic life skills on top of their PhD and all the regular adult responsibilities. Fun! /s
#37
Doctor here:
Most important rule: Know your own history and drugs. Our EMRs are too inefficient to depend on, especially if you've been to many different institutions.
Eslamala 4 years ago
Always know if you're allergic to any medication, which ones you're taking, and for the love of jeeesaaas, don't fkcn lie to your doctor! If you do drugs, drink excesivelly, over eat or anything that's not quite good for you, tell them! They don't care about your lifestyle, but their job is to cure you / save your life, and lying will only harm you, not them.
Call Me Mars 4 years ago
Exactly! And if you take ANY medication, always make sure to have a picture of the box on your phone. You may not remember the name when you need it most!
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Cupcake168 4 years ago
I (heart disease) have my medication written down on a piece of paper in my wallet.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
There are medical i.d. apps for your phone where you can list all meds and medical conditions and even blood type. Drs can open it without unlocking your phone, and it can save you!
Roxy Eastland 4 years ago
In the UK you can take your prescriptions to a pharmacist and talk through with them what you're taking. They know way more than doctors about what's what and can give really valuable advice.
#38
Don't lie to us. It never works out.
And if your pee is a different colour, don't ignore it, seek help.
Lilith the Demon Panda 4 years ago
yep, numerous times I panicked, then remembered I had a beetroot for lunch
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#39
Know the signs of a heart attack and stroke and don't "tough it out". These are time sensitive and potentially deadly events.
Paramedic here: super frustrating when I get a patient who didn't call early enough and because of that they can't get life-saving treatment or the damage is already done
Friday 4 years ago
Signs of an stroke: Face Check their face. Has their mouth drooped? Arms Can they lift both arms? Speech Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you? Time Is critical. Call emergency services ASAP
Joanne Hudson 4 years ago
New one to add: stick out tongue. Does it go out straight, or hang left or right.
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Stephanie Blount 4 years ago (edited)
Also to add the signs of heart attack can be totally different in women than men. But thanks to decades of medical research only being done on men this is only just being fully understood. Many doctors do not even know this. Signs to look out for are dizziness and searing pain in your shoulder(s) and upper back. there may be no chest pain whatsoever. It will feel like you've pulled something. I've heard of women being found dead with heat packs on their shoulders because they thought they'd pulled a muscle but were actually having a heart attack.
Z Alexi 4 years ago
"...decades of medical research only being done on men..."? Huh? You mean 'centuries.' Women weren't in U.S. clinical trials 'til mid-1990s...my kid was in med school & we were both stunned. Women have different bodies & should be tested for ALL new drugs/treatments. What women-hating guys are guilty of since Eliz Blackwell had to fight to get into med school & become 1st female M.D. in U.S. in 1849 [Civil War began in 1861 so she patched up lotsa soldiers].
Load More Replies... Ozacoter 4 years ago
Signs of a heart attack in women are often mistaken as a panic attack. Sadly most doctors dismiss womens pain.
Z Alexi 4 years ago
That's why most women go to ONLY women MDs & DDSs...it's worked for 40 yrs...women are in EVERY specialty. And they're not as curt & haughty.
Load More Replies... Isabel Care 4 years ago
Women's stroke symptoms can be unlike men's. They just studied men and not women for years and now find women have "atypical strokes" (coz they aren't blokes)
Cosmetica Solist 4 years ago
Seriously! My dad had two strokes, and came out unharmed from both only because he called 911 the second he felt something was off. For one, it was just him not being able to grasp his toothbrush tight enough. For the other, it was his vision getting periodically blurry in the course of 20 min.
#40
Resident here: There is no singular "cure for cancer". There is not a "big pharma" conspiracy that hinges on keeping said cure a secret.
Raki Suzuki-burke 3 years ago
If "big pharma" had a cure for cancer, they would benefit far more from making it available and to everyone so people with cancer would buy it and be cured.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
The simple fact that there's a vaccine for Covid-19, one year after it started spreading, contradicts your failing logic which is that people rather not produce a profitable life saving medicine because of reasons.
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#41
Well, endocrinologist here and I have to let off steam. Last month I lost a 24 year old patient to diabetes. Seriously, people. Visceral fat is f**king serious. Sometimes I see people mocking their "potbelly" as if it's not a big deal, but it is. You have no idea how many silent illnesses you may be developing in your body by not monitoring your weight.
Michelle M 4 years ago
Unfortunately, advising people about their weight is tagged as 'Fat Shaming'. Body positivity is great but not when it makes you susceptible to diseases, illnesses and what nots
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
The thing is strangers feel it's okay to comment on someone's weight when 1. It's none of their business 2. You have no idea what the cause is and 3. You don't know what that person has/is going through. Just leave it for the Dr, the individual and maybe their family.
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Hilary Mol 4 years ago
Just once I would love to see someone acknowledge that sometimes a person's weight has absolutely nothing to do with what they eat/drink because it's actually caused by a syndrome or a medication ( Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome; meds: many steroids cause huge weight gain, for example). I've had PCOS since I was 10. I don't sit around eating boxes of Twinkies, I drink plenty of water, I love fruit & veggies and make sure I get my daily requirement of both, I avoid red meat, make sure to consume fiber to keep 'regular', and rarely consume carbs. Despite all of that, I'm still overweight because of PCOS. Just, you know, keep that in mind before you judge someone's weight as "they eat too much" or "they're lazy". It would be nice if medical professionals could remember that from time to time as well.
Andy Acceber 4 years ago
If a stranger had a weird mole on their face, would you tell them to get it looked at? If a stranger has a rash peeking out of their sleeve, would you leap into a conversation about all the different things it could be? If you said no to these, you shouldn't be advising them about their weight either. That's up to them and their doctor. (If you're close enough to this person that you would talk about moles and rashes, you can talk to them about weight from a perspective of care. Harping on someone relentlessly about their size though doesn’t help anyone.)
Demi Zwaan 4 years ago
But if said person seeks attention on social media and proudly poses with their weird mole or strange rash, I would tell them to see a doctor and not treat it like something normal and good. Would you not?
Load More Replies... MAnahP 4 years ago
I am obese and I changed PCP (Primary Care Physician) and I am so thankful she prescribed me appointments with a nutritionists every two weeks for a minimum of six months. It's only been three weeks and I have seen a difference in so many ways, exercise, weight loss, energy, sleep.
Ambar 4 years ago
there is a big difference between fat-shaming and advising someone to lose weight. being overweight is horrible for your health and can lead to health issues!!! so, if you are overweight please lose weight for the sake of your health!
Stephanie Blount 4 years ago
but ask my friend who's recently been told they must to loose weight before transition surgery and they'll tell you the doctors are just "gatekeeping". I'm thinking no that makes sense you're clinically obese and surgery is much safer if you're not overweight. But apparently BMI is "rubbish." I'll admit it does have issues but you don't need scales and a tape measure to realise that dudes seriously overweight.
Load More Replies... Mazer 4 years ago
Unfortunately “eating right” these days can cost a fortune, especially in parts of America, you want people to eat a healthier diet, increase access to healthier foods. Case in point, I live in California, an orange grown organically in my state can cost me over $2., an orange. That same orange will cost me nearly half as much in Canada even considering the exchange rate and strength of the dollar
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
TLDR: We're not shaming you for being obese. We'r etrying to save your life. A little overweight is one thing... but clinical obesity is another.
KombatBunni 4 years ago
My mother is the worst at managing her diabetes, and she's already had two minor strokes, plus heart disease because SHE WON'T LOOK AFTER HERSELF >_< I told her so many times to do her blood checks, and change her diet..but noooo she's fine! Should ask her what kind of casket she wants if she keeps going the way she is..
Ozacoter 4 years ago
I hope that people aproach you and point out all your defects "in case that you didnt know"
Load More Replies... Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
You have no idea why someone may be overweight. It isn't always due to being greedy or lazy.
Load More Replies... #42
TAKE YOUR GODDAMN BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE! Please... I'm so tired of seeing young adults come in with kidney failure because they didn't want to take their meds. Most of it is cheap as dirt. You can get $4 generics at Wal-Mart.
Honu 4 years ago
On a related note, undiagnosed high blood pressure can lead to kidney damage. I know it's easy to forget about regular checkups especially when you feel pretty good.
Gata Nick 4 years ago
Concerning blood pressure, it is one of the easiest things to regularly check at home as long as you understand the basics of it. Everyone should know their normal blood pressure readings. For some it is 130/90 and for others is 90/60. Any big deviations for a prolonged time should be mentioned to and assessed by a doctor.
Load More Replies... #43
ER doc here: medical fact...Emergency means potential loss of life, limb, or eyesight. It does NOT mean inconvenience, irritation, or chronic condition. Your sore throat evaluation in the ED is gonna cost you $1000; go to an urgent care.
sylvanticx 4 years ago
i've been to the ER when i shoudln't have, but that was bc it was the 4th of July and i'd dislocated my elbow and urgent care was closed.
Lilith the Demon Panda 4 years ago
what's the difference between ER and urgent care? I don't think we have this in my country...
Load More Replies... Eslamala 4 years ago
In my country there's a color code system for what constitutes an emergency and what's something minor, and where you should go in order to get it treated. They did it because the morons kept collapsing the ER with crap like a sore throat or a migraine while complaining about the long waiting. Well, being morons, they still do that, only now the E.R people kindly tell them to fück off and learn to fckn read.
#44
Doctor here. Keep things out of your ears. Seriously.
Kiss Army 4 years ago
Yup, I wear a hearing aid and my ear canals were swollen because of my allergies, when I took my hearing aid out, the rubber tip on the end stayed and I had to make a trip to the ER to have it removed. Now, I don't wear my hearing aid on bad allergy days to prevent another mishap.
John C 4 years ago
So how am I supposed to clean them? Continuing to use q-tips until I get a reply. (The reason q-tips are advised against is people don't think and wind up shoving wax deeper. If you concentrate on cleaning the sides of your ear canal and don't blindly cram the cotton swab straight in, you'll fare much better.)
#45
If you're sexually active, go for STI testing once or twice a year. HIV can take up to six months to show and it's possible to have an STI with no symptoms
Andrea Purzycki 4 years ago
This is annoying. I tried to do the right thing and do this when I was in college and each time the doctors & nurses would ask ME what specific STIs I wanted to be tested for and would be extremely rude when I didn't have an answer. Look, I've always heard you should get tested if you are active and possibly at risk. No one ever told me what specific STIs I'm supposed to ask to get tested for, shouldn't the doctors and nurses know what the major ones are or which ones are commonly being spread in the geographic area?
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago (edited)
I don't know if it's the same as where I live, but there are actual STD clinics and they test for majority, if not all STD's.
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The Differently Wired Girl 4 years ago
*many Americans won't admit that they have sex out of their own free will, not all
Load More Replies... #46
If you're prescribed a pill for a chronic condition, you'll probably be on that pill for the rest of your life. That's not a bad thing, it's keeping you healthy. I've seen too many people stop taking their blood pressure or seizure medications because "I was feeling better so I thought I didn't need them any more". No, you were feeling better because you were taking them. Don't stop taking any long term medication without consulting your doctor first.
#47
Not a medical fact, as much as it's just something I wish all patients would do: I'd love it if patients could bring a sheet of paper with all the meds they're on, past medical history, past surgical history, allergies, and family doctor contact info. It's a small thing, but can be so helpful.
Wee Fanny 4 years ago
In scotland our medical information is on a centralised system that all doctors have access too.
Ozacoter 4 years ago
Same in Belgium. But most doctors dont bother reading it :( A few months ago I asked my GP her opinion about getting sterilised now or in a few months. I had surgery so now i cant have a kid but if i get pregnant its very dangerous so i need sterilisation. Her answer was "it depends on if you want kids or not". F**k you. She has been my GP for a year and I went many times there after my surgery and we talked about the side effects and all. But why would she check my file before giving advice?
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Lauren Reder 4 years ago
Yeah and when I do I have to write it on forms, answer the questions again when I go in the room with the "helper" and then the doctor asks the same questions again.
Troux 4 years ago
ALWAYS. What is the point of the form? I've been prescribed medicine that I'm allergic to, all because my doctor doesn't read the sheet I showed up 15 minutes early to fill out.
Load More Replies... J. Normal 4 years ago (edited)
I should only have to give the name of my previous Doctor to a new primary Doctor. Every other doctor I am sent to should have that info sent for me. This is easy technology people! edit - stop putting your "profits" into fancy chairs and new carpet - and update from windows ME or vista.
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
YES THIS! OMG! I love this! My mom-the-nurse taught me to do this fro childhood, and it saves docs a TON of time, also their staffs. When you do NOT have a centralized system, this is VITAL.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
Every phone has a note app, and you can get medical apps to list these things. Because even if you're unconscious, your phone can help!
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
And how, pray tell, are doctors supposed to access that file on your phone when you're unconscious? Not everyone uses the fingerprint-scanner, nor does anyone even have that.
Load More Replies... #48
Avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice if you are taking some kind of medication! About 50% of pharmaceuticals on the market are metabolized at least in part by CYP3A4, which is inhibited by compounds found in grapefruit.
Lorraine R 4 years ago
I was thinking, That must be why God made grapefruit taste so bad, because it's not good for people on meds.
Load More Replies... Brandy Grote 4 years ago
Don't take antidepressants and HTTP5 or St Johns Wart together. Serotonin syndrome is scary.
#49
Smoking not only causes cancer, but also ateriosclerosis, COPD and multiple other problems you're much more likely to encounter when smoking.
Honu 4 years ago
Not only die young, but have a much poorer quality of life in the years leading up to their death.
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Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
For those who do not smoke, like me, be aware that living in a traffic-heavy area (city/suburb) is pretty much like sucking on cigs, in terms of your poor lungs. Do NOT jog alongside busy roads, p;eople. You may as well smoke a pack a day and get it over with.
Manu 4 years ago
Smoking is the most stupid habit. If you smoke weed t least you get to see nice colors and feel chill. But with regular cigarettes all you get is that disgusting stink, plus all the other diseases. And it isn't any cool or hip or sexy at all. If you smoke, you're plain stupid, period
Friday 4 years ago
It’s also very expensive in Australia. a packet of 20 cigarettes costs $23.86 a packet of 25 cigarettes costs $29.48 a packet of 30 cigarettes costs $38.11 a packet of 35 cigarettes costs $41.95 a packet of 40 cigarettes costs $49.63 a packet of 50 cigarettes costs $53.95
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago (edited)
Actually that's not true. It is actually dearer than that. I think the numbers you have are outdated. The average price of a pack of 30s is $46 for example.
Load More Replies... #50
Not a doctor, but one year off of the mark. As a training psychologist on an interdisciplinary team, I wish patients knew that community resources often work on income-based, sliding fee scales to meet the client, financially. Let's be real: mental health coverage is trash right now, but there is an abundance of professionals who acknowledge this and advocate in-house. It is always worth asking around!
Cori 4 years ago
And how sh*tty is it that a disease that can literally make it feel impossible to even get out of bed in the morning is so difficult to treat affordably? If you can't even bathe yourself effectively (been there, depression sucks) how the hell can you be expected to call 20 different clinics just for the possibility of finding one you might be able to afford?
#51
ER nurse here. Got a few of these, but this is my biggest pet peeve. You can't "cure" your diabetes by ignoring it. And stop eating five extra pieces of cake and just injecting more insulin. That's not how this works. Also, it doesn't matter if you only drink diet pop. Diet pop is still terrible for you, especially if you're diabetic. Drink some f**king water. Jesus.
Jo Johannsen 4 years ago
Have read that drinking diet sodas fools the brain into thinking fuel is on the way, and when it fails to materialize, it's seen as urgent and the liver is ordered to release sugar, raising your blood sugar with all its bad effects. I have mostly given up soda, but when I do have some, it's with a meal to try to avoid that false panic. Mostly, water.
Otter 4 years ago
I don't smoke, I don't use drugs, I don't drink (any more), I don't eat meat, and I DO exercise. So having a couple of Diet Cokes a day is my worst habit, and I'm not giving it up!! I HAVE A CRAVING!!!!
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
Well, if you live healthy, you can just drink the non-diet coke. Of course you might prefer Diet because of the taste (I can't imagine, but some probably do like it), don't worry. But if you are a healthy person and have cravings, just do it with real sugar and stop pretending diet is somehow better for you. It's not.
Load More Replies... Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
I've exchanged most of my sugary drinks for water. I drink one orange-juice (a glass, not the whole liter!) per day and don't put sugar into tea nor coffee anymore, either. IF I want a coke or similar, I buy one or two and drink them without remorse and I hate the taste of diet-whatever (it makes my teeth feel weird) and I'd rather just drink the sugar as it comes. It's a treat - not a way to get my daily liquid-intake
Kiss Army 4 years ago
My MIL used insulin to "control" her diabetes. She always ate whatever she wanted to and just adjusted her doses. She ended up having to have her leg amputated below the knee and then shortly after died on the operating table after she was found unresponsive and it was discovered that she had 5 different blockages in the arteries in her heart.
#52
Physical Therapist here: Take time to build up your strength and endurance. You didn't get weak overnight and you won't get strong overnight either. Also with the exception of pregnant women, bed rest doesn't make you stronger or healthier. Quite the opposite. For every day you lay in bed and rest you have to work for three days to recover from the muscle wasting.
Roxy Eastland 4 years ago
Bed rest is rarely a good idea during pregnancy either. It seems to be recommended in the US much more than elsewhere?
Heather Lynn 4 years ago
To my knowledge, they only advise in the US if high risk, my doctor has told me to work until labor lol
Load More Replies... sylvanticx 4 years ago
bed rest for what? this is somewhat vague. if i've got a 104 degree fever and i'm delirious, you can't expect me to work out.
Isabel Care 4 years ago
For chronically ill people, bed exercise is a great way to keep from falling over or hurting too much. I cannot do sit ups due to a lower back injury, but I can engage the muscles as if I am about to do them, then hold for 5 seconds and repeat. Leg and arm lifts in different positions, eventually with a little extra weight around my ankle or wrist.
Raven DeathShade 4 years ago
I knew a dude who was studying to become a physical therapist. I miss him. Far as I know, he'll be graduating from college next year. Man, that guy was the greatest. Seriously, he's the best.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
Even if you are bed bound, you can do some core strengthening exercises that are an immense help!
#53
Keep an up-to-date list of all the medication you take, including doses, and bring it with you whenever you are seeking healthcare. If you say that you take two white pills and an orange one, that's so vague as to be useless. Being involved in your own care by making sure to have specific and accurate information is very helpful.
Foxxy (The Original) 4 years ago
This includes any vitamins or other types of supplements and herbal medication. Just because it is "natural" does not mean it's safe or won't interfere with other medications.
#54
NP here. Not every illness is cured by antibiotics. Antibiotics can have nasty side effects, so don't get mad if we tell you that they are not required for your current illness.
Ria C. 4 years ago
I always tell the doctor if it won't help I don't want it. I know that sounds weird but I'm not here to get some RX just because I'm sick, I would like a diagnosis. If I need it then ok but if OTC will work I'd prefer that.
Spittnimage 4 years ago
Why would a doctor give you something that won't treat your sickness?
Load More Replies... #55
If there was the slightest bit of benefit from that alternative health treatment, mainstream health would be all over it. No-one passes up a profit or the chance to empty out this mega-overcrowded hospital for some kind of philosophical hangup. (Which overcrowded hospital? Every single one in the world bar the private US ones that permanently have beds. Everyone else is struggling, so that's 99% of the world's hospitals).
Spittnimage 4 years ago
The US isn't the only country with private hospitals. UK has them too. King Edward VII Hospital is one.
CP 4 years ago
Where do you think a lot of modern medicine comes from? Many of the medicines we use today came from plants.
Load More Replies... #56
Drug allergies and side effects are not the same thing. It makes you look like a crazy person when you have 20 allergies and 19 of the reactions are nausea.
Sue User 4 years ago (edited)
I have drug sensitivities. So dextromathorphan in small doses is okay, but larger does and my body becomes a meth factory and I will not sleep. But the medical community is binary, either you are alergic, or not.
Brandy Grote 4 years ago
Yes, big difference between Tramadol making me forget my name but still be in pain, and Propofol which suppresses my BREATHING for several DAYS after surgery!
Load More Replies... alwaysMispelled 4 years ago
This is misleading. Sometimes medications get listed as an allergy to avoid someone being given that medication which causes side effects like nausea. Really there should be two sections: allergies (don't-give-me-this-med-or-I'll-die) and and "don't-give-me-this-med-or-I'll-feel-even-worse-and-puke-and-s**t-all-over-you"
Mazer 4 years ago
There are people who are highly allergic to binders and food coloring in medications. To say a misinterpretation of medical terminology makes “ you look like a crazy person” is not helpful. It’s shaming someone for something you assume is a non issue, hope you are not in the medical profession, if you are, you might want to attend sensitivity classes!!
#57
You don't need some kind of prescription every time you go to the doctor. You don't need antibiotics every time you have a sore throat or cold or cough and you don't need narcotics every time you have pain somewhere. The "I need to get something or I've wasted my time coming here" mentality is one of the main reasons antibiotic resistance and opiate addiction have surged in the last 20 years.
Sue User 4 years ago
However, I'd I come to the er puking my guts out because I am in pain, please give me something for it. Don't just stop prescribing medication because it is being abused.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
Agreed. Don't send me home with the advice to 'take some ibuprofen'. I came to see a doctor for a good reason. I wish they would take us seriously when we're suffering/in pain.
Load More Replies... Marlowe Fitzpatrik 4 years ago
Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections. Not if you have a virus. Which means your doc should be damn sure your sore throat is due to bacteria before he prescribes you AB!
#58
Bleeding from the rectum should be taken seriously. Can be fatal if left unattended. Seek medical help ASAP.
Becky Samuel 4 years ago
Having IBS seems to be a doctor's 'get out of jail free' card for any and all abdominal symptoms, including rectal bleeding. Abdominal pain, bloating, bleeding, diarrhoea, constipation, weight loss, lost appetite, - it's all dismissed as "just your IBS playing up".
Mazer 4 years ago
Women’s symptoms especially being minimized or outright denied. SOOOO ABUSIVE
Load More Replies... #59
Not necessarily a medical fact, but, please carry an up to date list of medications in your wallet, or take a picture of your various pill bottles at home and keep it on your phone. Despite what everyone thinks, everything about you isn't "in the system."
#60
Influenza is a respiratory illness. Please stop saying you have the flu when you have vomiting/diarrhea. You don't have the flu.
Stacey Montebello 4 years ago
I had H1N1 (swine flu) in college with about 3rd of the student body and vomited the whole time. I'd cough so much without being able to inhale Id throw up or gag in the sink. It was pretty bad.
Roxy Eastland 4 years ago
Why do Americans do this? I've been so confused by storylines in sitcoms where people are both vomiting and stuck on the loo *and* coughing and sneezing. There is absolutely no infection in the UK that does both.
Chancey 4 years ago
Influenza can also cause vomiting and diarrhea but it is not a common side effect of the flu.
Load More Replies... #61
This.... And people- don't come to the ER asking for a 'pregnancy blood test' to confirm your three positive urine pregnancy tests
What do you think ?
PandaMonium 4 years ago
OK so my main take away from this is don't put accelerants on bonfires.
Tracy Wallick 4 years ago
Sick to death of hearing advice to exercise and lose weight, I have depression which makes daily living sometimes impossible, let alone exercising. Someone tell me how to get the ball rolling on exercising when I'm suffering from depression! ("Just do it" isn't advice, if it was that simple I'd have done it by now)
Keley Babs 4 years ago
General/trauma surgeon here: if you ride a motorcycle, it doesn't matter how "safe" you are on the road. If a reckless car hits you at highway speeds, your body will still fly off the motorcycle and break multiple limbs or your neck or die.
Kristin Ingersoll 4 years ago
And if the reckless driver is you, the motorcyclist, weaving in and out of cars at highway speeds, your body will pay a heavier price, but the driver that hits you will never be the same. Just drive safely people!
Load More Replies...
Barbara Baldwin 4 years ago
I pity the dr, provider, nurse ass. who has to see me in future..I'm prepared for your shenanigans this time..
ScarlettofHydraIsland 4 years ago (edited)
I went to the doctor’s freshman year of high school with severe ankle pain that had persisted for several weeks (yeah, I’m stubborn and have a stupidly high pain tolerance; also I didn’t want to stop running cross country). They basically told me “it’s a sprain, and you’re being a hysterical female athlete (no, not using those words, but that’s what they meant). Fast forward two weeks and an MRI later, I found out I had two bad stress fractures. I no longer go to that facility or that doctor (the same one incidentally who said my mom’s immune disease was menopause for four years).
Imolemba Soyah 4 years ago
My alcoholism led me to a very bad liver & a medically induced coma for about months. After coming home from the hospital, the consulting doctor recommended 6-7 different medicines which me drowsy all day long. Checking upon the medications on a website; I found out except for one the rest were for depression & not for my liver!!
Allan Breum 4 years ago
That is a fairly common practice, to subscribe some anti-depressants for someone if your circumstances. It is supposed to help with the withcrawal symptoms, mostly the mental ones... The irony is of course that anti-depressants tend to be a bit rough on the liver...
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
(2) "Hi, doc. I told the nurse my symptoms, but they're like this. What do you think?" Doctor (mumbojumbo) reply. Then, "I got freaked out/worried, and looked it up on (website). Should I worry about (list that disease/disorder) or (list other that you're pretty sure it's *not*)?" Doctor (ego properly soothed) reply. Then you can persist with, "All the same, is it possible to rule it out so I can sleep at night?" And doctor will pat you on head, patronize you, then go do what you want in about 70% of cases. .... My old med school profs were easy to manipulate once my mom (a career nurse) taught me the coded language of Doctor Directing! :-) If no success, then ask to see a specialist, politely, while looking worried. And be NICE TO NURSES. Their first impression of you is usually a doctor's first impression of you!
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Quick note, as a person who got the MD, but did not go into practice: 90% of patients will have a very common issue, and yet, of those common issues, everyday GPs have to know about 1,000 off top of their heads. We are not walking databases; we are not all going to have heard of every disease in every one of its manifestations; we are going to be conservative in treatment so we don't get sued or kicked out of practice etc.; we are going to get very cranky if you barge in and TELL US what you have, and not TELL US your symptoms first! Please, talk to doctors as thus: (see 2)
PandaMonium 4 years ago
OK so my main take away from this is don't put accelerants on bonfires.
Tracy Wallick 4 years ago
Sick to death of hearing advice to exercise and lose weight, I have depression which makes daily living sometimes impossible, let alone exercising. Someone tell me how to get the ball rolling on exercising when I'm suffering from depression! ("Just do it" isn't advice, if it was that simple I'd have done it by now)
Keley Babs 4 years ago
General/trauma surgeon here: if you ride a motorcycle, it doesn't matter how "safe" you are on the road. If a reckless car hits you at highway speeds, your body will still fly off the motorcycle and break multiple limbs or your neck or die.
Kristin Ingersoll 4 years ago
And if the reckless driver is you, the motorcyclist, weaving in and out of cars at highway speeds, your body will pay a heavier price, but the driver that hits you will never be the same. Just drive safely people!
Load More Replies... Barbara Baldwin 4 years ago
I pity the dr, provider, nurse ass. who has to see me in future..I'm prepared for your shenanigans this time..
ScarlettofHydraIsland 4 years ago (edited)
I went to the doctor’s freshman year of high school with severe ankle pain that had persisted for several weeks (yeah, I’m stubborn and have a stupidly high pain tolerance; also I didn’t want to stop running cross country). They basically told me “it’s a sprain, and you’re being a hysterical female athlete (no, not using those words, but that’s what they meant). Fast forward two weeks and an MRI later, I found out I had two bad stress fractures. I no longer go to that facility or that doctor (the same one incidentally who said my mom’s immune disease was menopause for four years).
Imolemba Soyah 4 years ago
My alcoholism led me to a very bad liver & a medically induced coma for about months. After coming home from the hospital, the consulting doctor recommended 6-7 different medicines which me drowsy all day long. Checking upon the medications on a website; I found out except for one the rest were for depression & not for my liver!!
Allan Breum 4 years ago
That is a fairly common practice, to subscribe some anti-depressants for someone if your circumstances. It is supposed to help with the withcrawal symptoms, mostly the mental ones... The irony is of course that anti-depressants tend to be a bit rough on the liver...
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
(2) "Hi, doc. I told the nurse my symptoms, but they're like this. What do you think?" Doctor (mumbojumbo) reply. Then, "I got freaked out/worried, and looked it up on (website). Should I worry about (list that disease/disorder) or (list other that you're pretty sure it's *not*)?" Doctor (ego properly soothed) reply. Then you can persist with, "All the same, is it possible to rule it out so I can sleep at night?" And doctor will pat you on head, patronize you, then go do what you want in about 70% of cases. .... My old med school profs were easy to manipulate once my mom (a career nurse) taught me the coded language of Doctor Directing! :-) If no success, then ask to see a specialist, politely, while looking worried. And be NICE TO NURSES. Their first impression of you is usually a doctor's first impression of you!
Leo Domitrix 4 years ago
Quick note, as a person who got the MD, but did not go into practice: 90% of patients will have a very common issue, and yet, of those common issues, everyday GPs have to know about 1,000 off top of their heads. We are not walking databases; we are not all going to have heard of every disease in every one of its manifestations; we are going to be conservative in treatment so we don't get sued or kicked out of practice etc.; we are going to get very cranky if you barge in and TELL US what you have, and not TELL US your symptoms first! Please, talk to doctors as thus: (see 2)
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