Being a doctor comes with many challenges.
Long hours, challenging surgeries, icky symptoms or injuries.
The most frustrating challenge that all doctors find themselves dealing with, however, might be stubborn patients.
Patients who think they know better than their doctors, despite the fact that they haven't completed medical school or residency.
Or patients who simply don't seem to grasp what their doctors are telling them and constantly return with the same problem.
Often putting themselves in dangerous, possibly fatal, situations, and leading their doctors to wish that all their patients were just ever so slightly more informed.
Redditor assassinmice was curious to learn the one thing doctors wished their patients knew about their bodies and how they work before coming to see them, leading them to ask:
"Doctors of Reddit, what is something that you wish everyone knew about their body?"
Stick To The Dosage!
"This one is more about medication."
"Antibiotics only work against bacteria, they are not some kind of wonder potion that cures anything, and they should not always be given."
"Please please stick to your prescription the doctor gives you."
"Even if you already feel better, don't just stop unless the doctor says you can stop."
"A lot of medication needs to be taken according to the prescription in order for it to be effective, because you build up the doses to an effective level."
"Stopping or not sticking to it really decreases effectivity."- jonneyboy112
Be Honest.
"Tell us what drugs and alcohol you’re on."
"We aren’t gonna tell the cops."
"We aren’t gonna lecture you."
"But it might change the anesthesia I give you."
"Some stuff I give you might kill you."
"If you drink a 30 pack a day, tell me."- CopyX
When To Be Alarmed If There's Blood
"Ejaculating blood happens to most people at least once in their lives and in 99% of cases it resolves without taking any action within a week."
"It doesn't even warrant a doctor visit."
"Peeing blood, for both sexes, is a serious medical emergency and you should immediately go to the ER."
"People think it's the other way around."- StardustDoc
A Diet May Not BE Helping You
"How to eat healthy."
"Just because you're skinny doesn't mean you're healthy."
"Especially the teenagers who I take care of."
"Sometimes I will ask them what's a healthy food your doctor wants you to eat?"
"Rarely do I get a right answer."
"I feel like the internet has so many fad diets, and family members rarely cook, so families don't know basic nutrition facts."- Thornloki256
No Two Bodies Are The Same
"That there is a wide range of 'normal'."
"Don't be embarrassed by your body."
"Having said that, if you are concerned about anything, ask your doctor."
"We have generally heard it all before, and trust me, we have, nearly always, seen it all before."
"Maybe you have something that has been bothering you for ages, but you were too scared or embarrassed to ask about it."
"Just ask! It might be 'nothing' and you have been stressing about it for no reason."
"And if not, then you are at least one step closer to getting it fixed."
"No one can help if they don't know."
"There are no stupid questions, so ask away."
"I'm always amazed when I have been asked about something that has been bothering a patient for years and years, but they were too embarrassed / scared to bring it up."
"Most of the time, it is nothing / a completely normal body function / feature."
"Other times, it is something that should have been discussed right away."
"YOU know your body best."
"So speak up! Don't wait for the doctor to 'ask the right question'."- frangipani_c
life tripping GIFGiphyAll In Moderation
"Some people seem to think that if you act healthy for a bit, it'll make up for being a wreck."
"There are so many things wrong with this."
"Just one example, antioxidants are like gas for your car."
"You can store up a certain amount of vitamins, but your tank can only hold so much."
"If you binge and overfill your tank, it doesn't do anything, you excrete it out as waste, and you can't expect to go the next several months without gas just because you tried to overload it before."
"You're going to still need to get gas."
"Same goes for your fruits and veggies."
"Had someone tell me he went vegetarian for a few weeks, which meant he was done for the year."
"He was dead serious."
"Had a patient at risk for heart failure try to insist that if she stayed away from salt entirely for x days/weeks, she should be able to have her fill of McDonald's fries and ramen."
"Had a smoker argue that if he stopped for some time, he should be able to smoke freely for a while."
"With some digging, 'stopping' turned out to mean a couple less cigarettes a day."- bhappyyyy
Angry New Amsterdam GIF by Global TVGiphyIt is very surprising indeed, when patients either ignore or dismiss advice given to them by their doctors.
Particularly as they felt the need to go and see their doctor in the first place.