Recently, Redditor u/bishinishii asked medical professionals in the Reddit community to share health-related things that everyone should do but don’t, and some of these responses may be a wake-up call. Here are some tips the medical profession urges everyone to consider:
1. “Increase your fiber intake, especially the gooey kind from oatmeal, tea, okra, etc. It helps lower cholesterol in many ways, as well as making you break down more easily.”
-Five-Oh-Vikril
2. “Take an advanced course and encourage your elderly relatives to have one too. Few people want to be fully coded if you see us doing CPR on your 90-year-old grandmother.”
– stupid_warrior_
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3. “Schedule preventive health exams and screening procedures as soon as you’re eligible (mammograms, colonoscopies, etc.) and always stretch.”
-hot-artichoke6317
4. “Brush your teeth!”
– Celebrinda
5. “Sagittarius. Your. Hands. Hand sanitizer doesn’t count in most cases. Norovirus hits hard, and alcohol-based disinfectants won’t kill it. Use soap and water for at least 20 seconds.”
-qwertyuiko
6. “I’m into billing, but a lot of people don’t know that you can apply for financial aid for medical bills, especially from big hospitals. They make most of their money from insurance companies, so most hospitals set aside funds for ‘charity’ – they don’t really tell you. I had a free hysterectomy sent to Vanderbilt. How can I request a bill to send to the financial aid department after you get the bill? Some tax returns to prove I’m broke, but It’s very easy if you have a hospital bill, call the hospital whenever you can.”
– Sparkletophate
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7. “Breathe. Take a few deep, purposeful breaths here and there. Pause for a second. Belly breathe (to engage the diaphragm). As long as you’re breathing, you’re alive. Alive is good.”
– Gypsum
8. “Flossing.”
– fetal photographer
“Looking forward to it. Dental health is important for overall good health.”
– Anderkimsen
9. “Don’t smoke. Don’t smoke anything. Don’t do it. Your lungs, your heart, your blood vessels and everything else in your body will be much better.”
– casapantalones
10. “People should engage in some type of exercise program that they can tolerate and participate in. Make it fun, like walking while listening to your favorite podcast. You don’t need to break a record, just move your body. I always tell people that if there was an exercise pill, everyone would be on it.”
– Thomport
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11. “Magnesium supplementation. I’m an emergency medicine pharmacist, and even though the labs are normal, most people are deficient in magnesium, because that lab represents the magnesium in the circulation, not the cells (which need magnesium the most). I take magnesium glycinate (highest absorption), if you have an air deficiency. Hypermagnesemia with this is rare, but err on the side of caution.”
—tikosyn_daydream
12. “As an ambulance worker, know your damn health conditions and medications. It’s amazing how many times I pick up people with Ziploc mixed pills or conditions they can’t remember. A very real conversation I had this month was when I was asked, ‘Do you have any medical conditions?’ They said, ‘No.’ I asked, ‘Do I take medicine?’ They replied, ‘Yes, insulin.’ Get it together!”
– Butsexington 3rd
13. “Clean the wound you got! Even if it’s just a paper cut, please wash it.”
– advanced-mod9966
14. “In your 20s and beyond, start actually going to the doctor. If it costs you something, like, $500 a year for a visit, it’s invaluable to grab the stuff early. Second, seriously start planning for retirement. A moderate rainy day fund for old age so you can go home and get good care. It doesn’t take a lot of money to know that, but they need money when they know they need money. 30.”
– Dr_Esquire
15. “Everybody should know proper nutrition. Almost everything people are taught about it is wrong.”
– firm_ratio_621
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16. “People have to fight colds on their own. You don’t get sinus infections at the same time every year; you don’t need antibiotics, because they don’t help viruses. Stop demanding antibiotics because ‘you know your body.’ you do Your body knows, but you don’t know how bacteria vs. viruses work, how drugs work, etc. You don’t need antibiotics! The obsession with antibiotics in American medicine is wild. Patients think you are the hidden gem of medicine.”
—Important Spy 34
17. Finally: “Everyone should fight for reform and Medicare for all.”
The Good Brigade / Getty Images
– Low vision
BRB, is making a doctor’s appointment as we speak. If you are a medical professional, what should everyone do, but not? Let us know in the comments, or you can submit your advice anonymously using the form below!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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