Patient Behavior – 9 Patient Errors To Avoid

Patient behavior – The time that you spend inside your doctor’s cabin is very important. You have to make the most out of your valuable time and conversation with your doctor. A few basic care and preparation is recommended before you visit a doctor. Also, there are a few patient errors to avoid.

Patient errors to avoid –
1. Consulting two doctors for the same complaints at the same time.
If you visited your first doctor and are not convinced with the prescription or treatment line, then completely stop the medication / treatment and only then go for a new doctor. Never mix the medications of both. They may interact with each other and may lead to severe complications.

2. Not revealing the list of medicines / supplements to the doctor
Your doctor needs to know the full list of your medicines and supplements for a better judgement. In a few conditions, certain medications and supplements are best avoided.

3. Not following the suggested timings of prescribed medicines.
Proper timing helps to maintain optimum concentration of the medicines in the blood and on the target site. It is essential for the medicine to bring about maximum therapeutic effect.

Medicines prescribed to cure gastritis are usually advised before food, while medicines like NSAIDs that may cause stomach irritation are usually advised after food. So, the advice of before food or after food also needs due attention.

4. Taking many medicines of different medicine systems all together
In a world with so many options of treatment, it is quite common that you may be taking medicines of different systems like Ayurveda, Allopathy, Homeopathy etc. In that case, it is better to ask the doctor for timing of each medicines.

As a rule of thumb, it is better to give a gap of half an hour between Ayurvedic and Allopathic medicines. And Allopathic medicines are better taken before Ayurvedic medicines.

5. Not drinking sufficient water after tablets
When you take a tablet / capsule, make sure to drink sufficient quantity of water (at least half a glass) so that the tablet sinks into your stomach. If you drink less water, the tablet / capsule may disintegrate in the throat causing severe irritation. Take care.

6. Not following diet restrictions.
Diet can help to enhance the effect of medicines and thus reduce the need of medicines.  Example – Fibre rich diet helps in constipation and to lose weight.
Few diets can worsen the disease condition -Eg: Sodium rich diet may worsen hypertension.
Doctor’s diet advice is very crucial in the success of treatment.

7. Not following lifestyle advises.
Good lifestyle changes helps to reduce the need of medicines to a great extent.
Eg: Exercise helps in better glucose uptake and utilization by the body tissues, which helps in diabetes.

8. Not thinking positively about the treatment.
Medicines will not have any beneficial effect on your health unless you have a positive orientation towards the treatment and a firm hope and resolve to get rid of the disease.
Belief in doctor is also very important for the success of treatment.

9. Not checking the label
It is very important to read the package insert / label guidelines of the medicines. The doctor might have missed some information that you require to know.