Recently, Reddit user u/bishinishii asked medical professionals in the Reddit community to share the health-related things everyone should be doing but isn’t doing, and some of the responses may be a wake-up call. Here are some suggestions that the medical community urges everyone to consider:
1. “Increase your fiber intake, especially the viscous fiber found in oatmeal, chia seeds, okra, etc. It can help lower cholesterol in a number of ways, and you’ll poop more easily.”
—五Oh-Vicryl
2. “Have an advance directive and encourage your older relatives to have one too. If you see us performing CPR on your 90-year-old grandma, there will be far fewer people who want to be a full coder.”
—nerd_fighter_
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3. “As soon as you are eligible, schedule preventive health exams and screening procedures (mammogram, colonoscopy, etc.) and always be prepared.”
— Hot Artichoke 6317
4. “Brush your teeth!”
——Cetidae
5. “Wash your hands. In most cases, hand sanitizer won’t work. Norovirus hits hard and alcohol-based sanitizers won’t kill it. Use soap and water for at least 20 seconds.”
——qwertyuiko
6. “I do billing, but a lot of people don’t realize that you can apply for financial assistance with medical bills, especially with big hospitals. Most of their money comes from insurance companies, so most hospitals set aside money for ‘charity’ – they just don’t really tell you that. I had a free hysterectomy at Vanderbilt. After you get the bill, you can call the billing department and ask how to apply for financial assistance. I had to send in some tax returns to prove I was bankrupt, but if you qualify, if you have hospital bills, call the hospital if you can.”
—sparkleytophat
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7. “Breathe. Take a few deep, purposeful breaths here and there. Pause for a second. Breathe abdominally (to touch your diaphragm). As long as you’re breathing, you’re alive. And alive is good.”
——Gypsy
8. “Floss.”
——Fetal Photographer
“Wait for this. Dental health is vital to overall health.”
——Andkinson
9. “Don’t smoke. Don’t smoke anything. Just don’t do it. Your lungs, heart, blood vessels and everything else in your body will get better.”
—Casaphenones
10. “People should be involved in some kind of exercise program that they can tolerate and want to participate in. Make it fun, like walking while listening to your favorite podcast. You don’t have to break a record, just move your body. I tell people all the time, if exercise were a pill, everyone would take it.”
——Tom Porter
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11. “Magnesium supplementation. I am an emergency department pharmacist and most people are deficient in magnesium even if the lab results are normal because the lab results represent circulating magnesium and not the cells (which are where magnesium is most needed). I take magnesium glycinate (best absorbed) and magnesium threonate. Use caution if you have renal insufficiency. Hypermagnesemia is rare, but still be cautious.”
—tikosyn_daydream
12. “As an ambulance worker, know your damn medical conditions and medications. It’s shocking the number of times I’ve picked up people who had Ziploc bags full of mixed pills or conditions they couldn’t remember. One very real conversation I had this month started with me asking, ‘Do you have any medical conditions?’ They said, ‘No.’ “I asked: “Are you taking any medicine? ” They replied, “Yes, insulin.” “Get the fuck together!”
——Butter Sexington 3rd
13. “Clean the wound! Even if it’s just a paper cut, please clean it.”
—Advanced mode 9966
14. “Starting in your 20s, really start going to the doctor. Even if an annual doctor’s visit costs something, say $500 a year, catching an illness early is priceless. Second, start planning seriously for retirement. A modest senior emergency fund means you can go home and get decent care. It doesn’t require a ton of money, but people need to know they’re going to need more money when they’re 60 than when they’re 30.”
—Dr_Esquire
15. “Everyone should know a fair amount about nutrition. Almost everything people are taught about nutrition is wrong.”
—Firm_Ratio_621
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16. “People should fight colds on their own. You don’t get a sinus infection at the same time every year; you don’t need antibiotics because they don’t help viruses. Stop asking for antibiotics because ‘you know your body.'” You Do Understand your body, but you may not understand how bacteria and viruses work, how medications work, etc. You don’t need antibiotics! The American medical community’s obsession with antibiotics is insane. Patients think you’re guarding a hidden medical gem. “
——Important Detective 34
17. Finally: “Everyone should fight for reform and Medicare for All.”
Good Travel/Getty Images
– Decreased vision
BRB, schedule a doctor’s appointment as we speak. If you’re a medical professional, what’s one thing that everyone should be doing but isn’t? Let us know in the comments, or you can submit your suggestions anonymously using the form below!
NOTE: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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