In society, there are a number of medical professionals who we can turn to if there is an issue impacting our health. If it’s an issue with our bodies, we can speak to a doctor, minds - a psychologist and if we have a problem with our teeth or mouth, we can head to the dentists. There are many more too from an optician for issues with eyesight to an audiologist if we’re having problems with our hearing.
Their key role is to ensure that we are in the best level of health we can be. And, if we’re not, they should offer ways to rectify this situation. But, how does this role work, how often are these professionals wrong and when should you go and see a medical professional about your health? These are some of the questions we are going to explore in this post.
Let’s start by looking at some of the key signs you need to see a medical professional.
Booking A Visit To The Doctors Or Dentists
You might think that if you are experiencing any level of pain or suffering, you should go see a doctor. Or, if you are having an issue with pain in your mouth you may contact a dentist for an appointment. But should you do this?
It depends on how severe the pain or issue is. If the pain is only a five on a scale up to ten, it’s probably best to wait for at least a few days. There are a few reasons why you may want to wait, and we’ll discuss that a little further down. If the pain does get worse, then you may want to book an appointment earlier to see a medical professional.
You might also want to see a medical professional if the issue is either chronic, constant or recurring. These signs suggest that there is a serious problem underneath the surface that needs to be dealt with. For instance, a constant can be quite dangerous. A severe headache shouldn’t last for more than a few hours. If you have had a constant headache for over a day that isn’t caused by obvious factors such as staring at a computer screen, it could be a warning sign for something serious.
Another reason to go to the doctors is if you have a medical condition or symptom that you don’t understand or recognize the cause of. An example of this would be petechiae. If you don’t know, petechiae are little red spots that can appear anywhere on your body. They are often as tiny as pinpricks and completely painless although on rare occasions they can be itchy and may develop completely spontaneously. As such, it can be quite scary for anyone who doesn’t know what it is.
The good news is that this condition is actually incredibly common and is typically associated with over-tension of the muscles. For instance, straining during bowel movements may result in these spots appearing. When appearing as a rash, they can suggest an issue with your immune system however this is rare. Thus, whether or not you see a pro will be determined by the extent of your symptoms and your knowledge of them.
For instance, if you have symptoms of the flu that’s probably exactly what it is. As such, there is probably no point in going to see a doctor because you are already aware of your condition. This brings us neatly to the next point.
Why Shouldn’t You Always See A Medical Professional
There are a few reasons why you shouldn’t always seek out a medical professional if there is an issue with your health. First, there’s probably very little they can do, particularly if you know what the condition is. For instance, let’s say you do have the flu. You might think that a doctor will be able to give you medicine to help you deal with the issue. That’s unlikely though, and instead, they will probably just recommend you take meds that you can buy over the counter. As such, it can feel like a waste of time.
Indeed these days medical professionals like doctors are reluctant to give patients any serious forms of medicine unless absolutely necessary. The reason for this is to avoid increasing the resistance of bugs like the flu to antibiotics which has already started to happen.
You might think that the dentist is different, but don’t be too sure. If it’s a serious problem causing extreme pain they might give you an injection. They might also recommend you take the same over the counter drugs you use for any other pain in your body. Though this does make sense as drugs like this will indeed, reduce the symptoms of toothache, providing some comfort.
Aside from this, the is the issue of wait times and pressure on the healthcare system. We need to make sure that collectively we aren’t adding to the potential massive queues and wait times in the hospital and even dental offices. This will lead to people who actually need treatment and are desperate for medical care waiting a lot longer for any type of attention at all. As such, the general rule for medical issues is two weeks. If the condition is the same and isn’t getting progressively worse, you should wait for two weeks before you decide to act upon it. Otherwise, you are most likely taking an unnecessary trip to the doctors.
As for oral pain or an issue with your teeth, you can wait a few days for the issue to subside on its own, perhaps while taking painkillers. You will usually find this does work and therefore you should not need an additional trip to the dentist. On the other hand, this doesn’t include checkups and regular visits that should be in your schedule regardless of how you feel.
The Purpose And Point Behind Regular Checkups
You might wonder why we should bother attending regular checkups at places like the dentist if there is no sign that anything is wrong. Well, first of all, you may not recognize there is an issue, but a trained professional certainly good and get on top of it before it grows out of control. An example of this would be a plaque buildup on the teeth. You may not notice it too much, but a dentist will know that it could lead to gum disease which can, of course, be quite serious.
As well as this, dentists are not just looking for issues with the teeth but also issues such as oral cancer. While the signs are there, you may not notice them at all because they are so slight and often completely painless. As such, for the best chance at treatment, you must make sure that you are attending regular checkups with the dentist.
How about the doctors? You should get a checkup with your Primary care Doctor if you notice a change to your body that you can not explain, and that doesn’t go away within two weeks. Some people worry about waiting for two weeks, but it will very rarely make any difference to the prognosis. If you wait two weeks a cyst that you thought was cancerous will have disappeared and allowed you to avoid a trip to see a medical professional. It's also important to see your primary doctor, as they'll have the best handle on your previous health and any conditions you've had in the past, since they'll have been the professional dealing with your records prior to your latest appointment.
Some people do get a medical check up on a regular basis, but this is typically worth the effort. Generally speaking, the results will show up very slight discrepancies in your overall health, and that will make you think there’s something wrong when really is just minor issues with your body.
Can We Trust Medical Pros?
You may be wondering whether you can even trust the recommendations, diagnosis, and treatments of a medical professional. We have all seen one doctor who has prescribed one treatment. After a few weeks, when the condition hasn’t disappeared, we’ve been to see another who has dismissed the actions of the first doctor and prescribed their own treatment path. Who was right? One, both or neither? It’s difficult for the patient to know and we have all heard stories of people who were told they were fine only to die days later.
Unfortunately, there is very little we can do about this. Doctors will make mistakes, that’s just human error, and we have to hope the chance of this happening remains slim. Some people are turning to online sources of knowledge for help with medical issues. However, this quickly becomes a case of self-diagnosis, and you have to be careful here. You could diagnose yourself as fine when really you do need medical attention. Or, you could be fine but convince yourself you’re dying. As such, it’s best to stay away from online diagnosis completely.
Instead, we do have to trust a medical professional with their advice and opinions. Even as we do limit how often we have to see them and instead only head in for regularly scheduled checkups.
I hope this helps you understand the role doctors, dentists and other medical professionals have in our lives and how to use their services the right way.
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