Purpose

The Era of the Self-Empowered Patient

I see more and more patients come into our urgent cares today only after attempting to treat their medical ailments themselves.  While some do well in treating their own minor symptoms and know when to stop self-treatment and see their doctors; there are always those few who failed to recognize when they should stop self-treatment with disastrous consequences.

Why is there an uptrend in self-treatment? The rising cost of healthcare along with economic hardships are a strong factor.  In addition, with the internet and now mobile networking, people are always just a click or swipe away from an overflow of tips and advice telling them what to do to treat themselves.  Comparing the cost of self-treatment and the cost of seeing a doctor, it’s no wonder the self-treatment route looks tempting.

While there will always be doctors who dislike patients who double-check their doctor’s advice against their “digital sources,” I think we should learn to embrace these self-empowered patients.  Now more than ever, we see patients who may know more about their illnesses then the doctor because they’ve just spent hours reading about their symptoms before coming in.  A lot of the times, they just wanted the doctor to confirm or dispel their own conclusions.

But when many patients start self-diagnosing and self-treating without the wisdom of experience, we may be heading into an era full of complications from minor illnesses.  Especially when their self-treatment advices come from forums, written by people who are not medical professionals, who use anecdotal cases as “evidence.”  I see these too often:

  • a mild skin infection that became necrotic
  • a cough that turned into a pneumonia
  • a splinter that became an abscess
  • an appendicitis that was inflamed for too long and ruptured

Hence I’m writing this guide.  Among all the different self-treatment stories you read about out there, I think there should always be room for the suggestions of a physician who sees an endless line of patients every shift in the urgent care.

There is no point in trying to stop the new wave of self-treatment we’re seeing, but let’s do what we can to prevent the complications that may result from self-treatment.  I am hoping that readers of this guide will benefit from:

  1. Saving some money by being able to self-treat minor symptoms
  2. Knowing which symptoms are safe enough to self-treat first and which ones should be left to their doctor
  3. Know the limitations of self-treating their symptoms
  4. Knowing which FDA approved products can be used to safely self-treat their symptoms
  5. Know the basic precautions of the FDA approved products to better choose one for themselves
  6. Knowing when to give-up on self-treatment and seek help from a medical professional before things get worse
  7. Know what their doctor can do for them that would go beyond what self-treatment can achieve

The road ahead is uncharted.  Please make this “Your” Guide by giving me suggestions on where you want me to take this guide.  I will add more topics or sections as requested, starting with the most popular demands first.

 

To Your Health!
Danh H. Nguyen, M.D