5 Things About Which You Can’t Lie to the Doctor

In conversations with our mother or doctor, we can embellish some things about our lifestyle. The doctor always asks a bunch of questions, and most of them are unpleasant. In response, sometimes we lie and only make things worse for ourselves. In some cases, patients do not aim to lie to the doctor about their condition and lifestyle. But some may “embellish” their story or “accidentally forget” about certain unattractive details so as not to lose face.

5 Lies That Can Hurt Your Health
1. Yes, I drink all the pills as you prescribed
Taking medications is boring. Sometimes it is even difficult, because you have to take them strictly by the hour, or because they are nasty. And it is awkward to admit. This is not just a lie, but disinformation, which may have serious consequences.

The doctor needs to know if you took the prescribed medication correctly. If you say that you take all prescribed medications correctly, the doctor must conclude that the drug had no effect. So, you need to either change the treatment or increase the dosage. Larger doses or stronger drugs have serious side effects. You went to recover, but not to earn a couple of new diseases.

2. I did not eat or drink before the operation
The patient is brought into the operating room, the anesthesiologist asks when he last ate or drank. And he receives the answer: "I have not eaten anything all day." It seems to be an innocent lie, but it will turn into big problems because jokes with anesthesia are bad.

Before a planned operation, patients are warned that the stomach must be empty - this is a necessary measure of preoperative preparation. When the patient is under anesthesia, his lower esophageal sphincter relaxes. Therefore, the contents of the stomach can rise up into the mouth, trachea, and even into the lungs. Gastric juice is acidic. If semi-digested food enters the lungs, it can trigger an inflammatory process, even pneumonia.

3. I hardly drink
No one wants to confess their love for alcohol. But the doctor must know about it. Because attempts to hide this fact delay the diagnosis and treatment. Canadian experts have released a guide that tells you how much alcohol you can drink: no more than 2-3 portions per day. However, many people can not drink at all, as it can harm their health.

If you complain of high blood pressure or abdominal pain, but at the same time hide your close relationships with alcohol, you force the doctor to go the wrong way. In addition, alcohol affects the action of certain drugs. Do not lie to the doctor that you do not drink. And do not be afraid of conviction (some doctors may drink even more than patients).

4. Yes, everything is clear
From 40% to 80% of the information received from the doctor, we forget immediately as soon as we leave the office. The rest is misunderstood. Separately write down questions and recommendations that you would like to ask at the next reception. Because here the health directly depends on our memory.

If the doctor said something incomprehensible, ask again. If the doctor uses a term you don’t understand, ask him to explain in simple words. If the doctor wrote something like a scribble of a three-year-old child on the prescription list, ask to write in block letters. And there is nothing to be ashamed of. You may not know everything, but you need to understand what is happening to you.

5. It doesn't hurt here
There are two reasons why patients hide their symptoms:

They hope that the doctor will not find anything terrible.
They are proud that they can overcome severe pain.

This is complete psychology, but do not do that. Little children hide, they close their eyes and think that since they see no one, then no one sees them.

For example, you have a stent in the aorta that prevents the vessel from narrowing. And you are not talking about unpleasant symptoms, in order not to be on the operating table again. But the faster you perform this operation, the fewer the complications. Or you do not have the money to pay for expensive treatment, so you do not want the doctor to detect the disease. But the more neglected the case, the more expensive the treatment.

Some people diminish their symptoms and do not talk about the throat, lower back, or pelvic pain. Especially if you came to the reception not about this pain, but because of other symptoms. Also, many diseases cause irradiating pain (this is pain that spreads long distances from the source of the disease). And the sooner you tell the doctor about the unrelated pains, the sooner the doctor will diagnose and prescribe treatment.