Here is an excerpt from an interview with a retired medical and wellness doctor…..
Question: Over your career what are some of the common and important mistakes you’ve seen people make? Regarding health and wellbeing?
Answer: There certainly are a few errors folks make. Things we see repeatedly. I’ll get to a few of those in a moment. But first it’s probably worth saying that the single biggest error is in not prioritising health and wellness. At all, or adequately. Making choices (or not) that harm us, ultimately. But this is a broader issue and something I’ve chatted about elsewhere. I think what you’re looking for here is more practical advice, so let’s get to that…
Mis-using consultations. This is complex and tricky and the fault will often lie with the doctor, at least in part. But too many patients are passive order-takers in front of their doctor. To make matters worse, the rush always creates too-little-time for a full conversation anyway. No. No. No. There is never an excuse for this. Never. Not for you and not for the doctor. Be empowered. Ask questions. Understand choices. Do not leave until you understand what is happening. Get involved. It is your health.
A little knowledge. It has long been said that “……a little knowledge is a dangerous thing…..” and “…..knowing what you do not know is the greatest knowledge of all……”. And these have ever been true, I am sure. But in today’s world where the Internet has made almost all human knowledge available to everyone at any time, this has been exacerbated. Big time! So many folks are now armed with “info-bytes” and “quotes” and “knowledge” gleaned from the classic 3-minute google-session. With this we consider ourselves informed! The results do not need describing because I am sure we have all seen this again and again. The point is that, besides being a worrying social trend, this can be very dangerous in the area of healthcare. Please do go online to learn. But please try to be discerning and please try to be thorough.
Medication abuse. Some do not complete courses of antibiotics. Some continue painkillers more and longer than they should. Some use sleeping pills incorrectly. Some do not realise that two medications may contain the same ingredient – for example, many flu remedies include multiple ingredients – creating a double-dose-accident. Some forget and skip doses. Some share medications with others ill-advisedly. The list goes on. Please take medication seriously and please use medication in an intelligent responsible heathy manner.
The basics FIRST. Quite often I’ll see a person with heart disease and pre-diabetes and high blood pressure, say. And the big concern they have is around a detail of medication dosage or the optimal target for cholesterol or which exercise-watch-device is best and what heart-rate-range should be targeted…..and so on…… But the real primary issues are so much more basic when you see a highly-stressed middle aged businessman in front of you who appears very red of face and very rotund of build. What this chap seemingly needs to do is something more basic: lose some weight, review life balance, get active in any way at all, etc. It’s not that the high-end details cannot be considered. It’s just that we can lose perspective and focus rather easily. And I have often seen how this tends to create failure. Because the basic, and often primary, issues are actually ignored (some might suggest that this was the goal, in part, but that’s deeper psychology….). Basics first. Please.
Delay in emergencies. Healthcare emergencies like strokes and heart attacks, severe injuries, breathing problems, extreme fevers, etc. can be alarming. Of course, Panic can ensue. This is understandable. But it may help to recognise the key focus: time. Modern healthcare can offer a lot in emergency care. Prompt care can improve outcomes and save lives. It all comes down to getting to an advanced modern hospital as quickly as possible. THIS is critical. If people remain calm and focus on this SINGLE priority, time, they will often make better choices and they may save lives. Have emergency numbers in your phone. Know the best and nearest hospitals. Have any admin-items (e.g. insurance or medical-scheme membership card) to hand. Think carefully about using ambulance vs private personal transport. Ambulance can offer in-transport care and that’s good. But sometimes the delay involved is not worth it. This is not an exact science but I can say that I think, in many parts of the world, people wait for ambulances too long. Sometimes it is best to use whatever transport is actually available to you. In any event, just focus on getting to a good hospital and doing so quickly.
These are all mistakes worth considering, learning from, and avoiding.
Written by Dr Colin Burns
