I try to live a healthy lifestyle with a good diet, exercise, no smoking, and a limited alcoholic intake of just the occasional glass of red wine.
Still, I sometimes feel like there's more I should be doing. People are living longer and longer — in fact, many people are living well into their 100s. I'm sure we're all looking to be around as long as possible, and an important way of doing that is by staying up-to-date on healthcare advancements and taking preventative measures.
This is why I so greatly enjoyed a recent conversation on Reddit, where healthcare professionals were asked, "What is the most surprising thing patients don't know about their own health?"
Many doctors, EMTs, and specialists responded to the query with fascinating answers. In fact, after reading their answers, I automatically scheduled a vision test. (You'll see why below.)
We should note that, given the anonymity of Reddit users, we cannot verify that everyone who responded to the question is in fact who they say they are, but if they're responding honestly, it's amazing advice.
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A professional who works in a neuroscience laboratory says, "One interesting thing I've noticed is that hardly any of the neurologists let their kids play hardcore contact sports (rugby, football, sometimes hockey). And the tiny minority that do are beyond intense about their kids wearing adequate protection."
One doctor says, "Some medications have an adjustment period…I know people who get prescribed anti-depressants, take them for 2 days and then stop because 'I wasn't feeling good and had some side effects!'…I think they just expect that the second they swallow the pill they're going to feel like a rainbow."
A pharmacist says, "I am always astounded that people don't know what medications they're on and why they're on them…I strongly encourage everyone taking their meds to keep a list of them at all times and to update it regularly. Encourage your parents and grandparents to do the same thing…It is amazing the amount of errors and delays in therapy that can occur simply because of poor history."
A professional in a longterm care facility says, "A lot of people don't realize how much their own motivation/confidence or family support contributes to their health. Some people come in, have great attitudes, family pushing them to get better, and they have a great recovery and go home…I can't tell you how many people I have seen that say they are 'giving up' and are gone within two weeks."
One doctor says that patients don't know "that things like heart disease and diabetes don't give you a little warning flare…It seems like so many people have a history of these diseases in their family, have bad diets, have bad routines, but feel that they will have plenty of time to change their behavior 'when they have to'."
One doctor says, "Concussion symptoms can last a long time and everyone is different on how they react to them. Also, just because you didn't black out or lose consciousness doesn't mean you aren't concussed, it just means you have 1 less symptom for us to check."
Another says, "Juice is NOT good for you. It's pretty much just sugar. I've seen tons of diabetics trying to be healthy by replacing all their soft drinks with juice." He also later clarified that, of course, fruit is good for you, but it's missing the fiber when it has been juiced.
An eye doctor says, "Just because you can see clearly does not mean you do not need an eye exam. Tired of seeing the 60 year old guy who comes in proud of the fact he's never been the an eye doctor just to find out he's half blind from glaucoma. It takes an hour, max — get your eyes checked."
An EMT says, "The bulk of our calls can be avoided if you just take your meds like you're supposed to."
Another professional says, "Even if you are thin/normal weight, you won't be healthy if you're living on fatty, sugary foods. Even if you're only taking in a certain number of calories per day, and not gaining weight, you're missing out on a lot of nutrit
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These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
