Shortly after our friends’ son celebrated his first birthday, he was diagnosed with a hernia, and his parents were informed that he would need surgery to correct it. They were devastated. They saw the specialist and scheduled the surgery immediately. Although hernia surgery is not really that serious and is quite common in infant boys, they were not happy nonetheless.
After the surgery, their son developed an infection at the site of the surgical incision. They took him to see the surgeon who opened and drained the incision, and sent a sample off for testing which was later confirmed. An antibiotic was prescribed, and they were told how to take care of the wound.
They took Billy home, took care of the wound as prescribed, and started him on the antibiotic. That’s when the real fun began; fever, runny nose, hives, difficulty breathing and so on. Their son had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. They have since come to find out that he is allergic to many antibiotics.
The surgeon was called, the antibiotic was discontinued, and after seeing the surgeon again the next day they were told it would be OK not to use the antibiotic, as it was felt that by draining the wound the infection would subside. It did. The incision has since healed and all is well.
The lesson here for our friends, was that they need to be very careful with medications when it comes to their son. He has allergic reactions to many of them and since most, they have been told, can be ineffective when it comes to a certain hospital acquired bacterial infection; it makes very little sense to use them. Some of these medications also seem to take so much out of the system through side effects that the question becomes; “where is the benefit”?
They have had subsequent bouts with minor skin infections and treated them very successfully with topical antibiotic creams and such, and by making sure that, their son’s environment was exceptionally clean. Doctors and the medical community at large may disagree, but it just makes no sense at all to make the little guy sick in an effort to make him well, especially for a topical situation.
Some medications can be potentially dangerous and should not be universally thrown at a symptom, especially if the test results are not in.
In one instance their son was given a shot of antibiotic in advance of the test results “to cover” in case the diagnosis was true. The shot gave him “kabuki eyes”, no disrespect intended, which lasted for three days. In addition, the doctor prescribed four hundred milliliters of an extremely strong antibiotic, which turned out to be unnecessary as the test results showed the infection to be treatable by less extreme means.
His parents decided that was quite enough and changed doctors. They were informed by the new group who had a more holistic approach, that sometimes these prescriptions are given, as the culture is that patients feel that unless “something” is done then “nothing” is being done.
For our friends and their son these kinds of medications prove to be too dangerous to experiment with in this way, and they try to seek alternative means to resolve the situation.
In no way does this book advocate ignoring sound medical advice, or taking medication when needed. However, be careful and stay involved in the process. Get all of the answers up front, so you can look before you leap.
My personal experience tells me that there appears to be inconsistencies in how some medications are prescribed. I had a root canal once and the specialist prescribed penicillin for a week in advance of the procedure. I had another unrelated minor procedure, outpatient surgery, and no prescriptions were given.
In some instances, the “favorite” antihistamine is recommended. It calms certain reactions. Once I heard it said, “Just give the child some of “that antihistamine” and have a relaxing afternoon”. This particular antihistamine makes you drowsy. I have even heard instances where it has been used to make kids sleepy for airplane flights. That is sick! Drug Abuse!
Thinking for yourself is essential in these kinds of instances. I personally do not wish to put any foreign substance into my body, or my own child’s unless there is absolutely no alternative.
If you are not sure about prescriptions, and their uses and effects, and this may sound cliché, “ask your pharmacist”. There have been more than one or two instances where I have personally witnessed the pharmacist call the doctor for clarification, and “Presto”, different prescription.
Another area worth discussion or questions are the elective procedures and remedies seen and heard advertised nearly everywhere. It seems like every third commercial is for some sort of procedure or remedy for some ailment. Some of the ailments it seems were never heard of before by the public until the remedy came along. I always thought that extra energy causing your legs to move was just extra energy, not an ailment. Well I am no doctor so what do I know? The commercials all tell me to “ask my doctor” if whatever new remedy they are selling is “right for me”. Why do I have to ask my doctor? Shouldn’t my doctor know what to do if he discovers an ailment? What to prescribe? I really do not want to ask my doctor if something that has a list of side effects that are scarier than the “acid reflux” itself, is “right for me”. What if he says it is? I would rather have the acid reflux. Or maybe I just won’t eat the “food” that gave it to me in the first place. There’s a thought.
Elective procedures seem to run the gamut as well as the remedy train. Procedures for the eyes, body sculpting and weight loss procedures, cosmetic enhancements, to name a few. And we cannot forget toxic injections to remove wrinkles from my forehead. That’s a good one.
We recently spent some time with friends of ours from Europe. They have relocated temporarily to the U.S. for a business assignment so we decided to take advantage of the closeness in proximity and share a week together in the islands with our families. While visiting we were discussing the culture shock experienced when moving from an old world European Nation to a country like the U.S., and some of the differences.
My friend was astonished when he saw and heard some of the commercials for these procedures and remedies. His statement was, and I will paraphrase, “surely in my country these would be illegal”. I cannot independently verify in fact if it is actually illegal to advertise in this way in his country, but the sentiment is well received and gives some insight into the issue from a global standpoint. It is worth raising the questions before proceeding.
One last item worth discussion; recently I saw a news report about a woman who had dementia like symptoms and was diagnosed with two separate neurological disorders. She had been to six different doctors, over a six-year period and was on the decline in motor skills and cognitive abilities.
She finally found a new doctor, number seven, who re-evaluated her and gave a different diagnosis. The condition that she actually had was called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus. Because the symptoms of NPH are similar to those of other disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the disorder is often misdiagnosed and many cases go unrecognized and are never properly treated. In this woman’s case, this condition was actually treatable by means of surgical placement of a shunt in the brain to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid into the abdomen where it can be absorbed. The procedure took about one hour and now she is doing fine. She was walking well, and was lucid enough to be interviewed by the news media.
The lesson here is perseverance. This woman was not satisfied with six different doctors’ similar opinions and diagnoses.
Something told her they were wrong. And they “were” wrong. The quality of her life, if not her life itself, was at stake. She thought for herself, even though she was impaired, and took appropriate action. She was heard and got results.
It is your right and your responsibility to question. This is especially true when it comes to diagnoses and prescriptions. It is wise to get all of the information that you can before proceeding.
As in the case mentioned above, if you are not satisfied with the opinions that you are getting, then get another opinion. It might just make the difference.
Think for yourself. Self-preservation is your sovereign right.