“I am not a real doctor, but I do play one on the Internet,” as they saying goes. You along with millions of others who are in need of basic medical information, will usually turn to the Internet for advice.
If you’re sick, become injured with pain, or think you may have a serious medical issue, you can now easily research the problem on the Web.
But along with all of this information, there’s also an abundance of conflicting information. One site will tell you that eating certain foods will help you in losing weight, or drinking wine can prevent certain illnesses, or taking certain medication will give you either this, or that, side effect. So what to do, where to turn to.
There’s are just too many issues which are controversial or still under review. But there are a group of medical facts which has been proven over time to be accurate.
Medical Truths Agreed Upon By Most Doctors
Every Medical Test Comes With Potential Side Effects
Doctors will often be asked by their patients to do a certain test for their various symptoms, as will doctors rely on doing testing to back up their diagnosis. But know that these tests will tell you what kind of illness you don’t have.
It’s been verified that doctors just sitting down with a patient and speaking to them will usually more than likely reveal the ailment, rather than doing any tests. This because every test has potential side effects.
Doing CT scans, for instance, will emit radiation. There are studies which support that these scans can increase your “lifetime” risk of getting certain cancers.
Some MRIs involve administering contrast dye which can potentially cause kidney damage. A simple blood test can at times lead towards complications such as infection or bruising.
But it’s still recommended that you get testing done, but realize that doing these tests may not always be the answer, and you should be aware of the risks and dangers associated with doing them.
Antibiotics And The Common Cold
The common cold is caused by viruses, and what antibiotics do is they kill bacteria, which is a completely different strain of organism. Some patients however think that taking antibiotics will help them rid of colds quicker, which isn’t accurate.
What you should be doing instead is strengthening your immune system as much as possible, which prevents you from getting colds in the first place. Also during “cold” season, make sure that you get adequate sleep and maintain a healthy nutritious diet aided with supplements.
If you do happen to get a cold, it’s recommended that you drink plenty of fluids, get plenty of bed rest, and take over the counter cold or flu relievers and not antibiotics, which is the proper path to your recovery.
CT Scans Will Help Headaches
Although there can potentially be serious causes when you get headaches, the majority of them are stress and tension related, or stubborn migraines. These will usually go away with time, rest, and medication.
Drugstore counter pain medication such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen will usually help, as does getting rest and drinking plenty of fluids.
Getting a CT scan, however, only reveals what you don’t have. In most cases, doing a scan won’t lead towards a diagnosis, or help in ridding of the headache any faster.
Aspirin Agreed By Most
The common Aspirin tablet is one of the very few medications which over time has proven to definitively help you. While the latest and greatest prescription drugs will often be touted as the next great wonder “drug” to cure serious disease, aspirin is agreed upon as one medication that’s been effective to work.
Aspirin has shown to reduce the risk of getting heart attacks and stroke, along with some other serious diseases under clinical observation. Those who initially experience any type of chest pain are always advised to take aspirin, this because it’s the one common medication which is known to help.
Not everyone should be taking aspirin, however, as it can also potentially cause harm to some. Keep in mind that similar to doing medical tests, all medication also has their own potential side effects. So know that the latest expensive drug discovery isn’t always the best solution.
Changing Your Lifestyle The Key
There’s been countless studies which support that the single contributor and solution when it comes to decreasing the risk of serious disease is just changing your current lifestyle.
You can take all of the medication that you want which decreases your high blood pressure, lowers your “bad” cholesterol, or controls your diabetes, but the best solution is deciding to live a healthier lifestyle. So consider a healthy diet which are low in saturated fats, and get plenty of regular consistent exercise.
What’s also been identified as the biggest single risk to your health is smoking cigarettes. Within just a few weeks of giving up smoking, the risk of heart disease begins to significantly decrease.
While improving or changing your lifestyle requires a lot more effort and discipline, you’ll find that the investment is well worth your time, energy, and willpower. Do this rather than popping a pill for whatever medical issues that ails you.