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SKEPTOID BLOG:

Medical Facts and Fiction.

by Stephen Propatier

February 13, 2013

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Donate As a Nurse Practitioner I often spend my time teaching. It is anintegralpart of what I do. As a skeptic I spend that time trying to reinforce critical thinking skills and science based medicine. There are many common medical assumptions that are endemic in the "lay" population. Some have a element of truth and some are dead wrong. This is the first in a series of medical information posts I am hoping to do periodically. They will focus on common myths, falsehoods, and popular misconceptions. I will try to categorize them so that they make some sense. I will have to limit myself to the US healthcare system because it is what I know best. Hopefully the next time you go thedoctor'soffice you will have improved knowledge and critical thinking skills about your health. Today I will focus on some unrelated but common misperceptions.

1. Doctor's Can Treat Any Medical Problem-Fiction. Patientsinstinctivelyknow that having your dentist treat you heart problem is a bad idea, or having your psychiatrist treat your appendicitis is a mistake. Yet having MD after your name does give people the impressionthat you are able to handle all medical problems. That is not really true. Medicine has become too complicated and specialized to know enough to be a competent practitioner in all fields. The incorrect assumption that a "really good doctor" can do anything is common in pop culture and the media. For example Dr. Oz, a cardio-thorasic surgeon, offers his medical advice in a variety of medical fields. In fact his training makes him a expert in only one field C-T surgery. Because he is a physician his advice carries weight and authority but is this really the case? Commenting on Women's health, GI Dysfunction, Urology is not within Oz's specialty. General medical knowledge is better than none but it is not the same as expert. I have seen him use the "what medical school did you go to?" card to belittle opposing guests. My answer would be "What medical board did you sit for?". Medical boards are specific and unless he has done residency in thosespecialtiesand become board certified he is no expert either. He may be a medical doctor but a doctor can't just show up in the operating room and do any type of surgery he wants. Someone like Dr. Dean Edell(Retired) is a good example of a science based physician thatappropriatelydosed his advice with admission of his limits. Physician do receive extensive generalized medical knowledge in medical school. The longer they are out of school the more dated that information may be. Most physicians have a narrowspecialtythat they follow after medical school. Even primary carephysicians who are forced to wear many hats, are trained to know when they are out of their league. The title Physician does indicate a certain foundation of medical knowledge. It is broad based and it is the best way we know how to educate for the practice of medicine. It is not perfect and does not mean that your neurologist should be performingneurosurgery, or your urologist should be performingcesareansections.

2. A Nurse Is A Nurse By Any Other Name-Fiction.Like physicians, Nursing is a wide and varied profession with very different training and education levels. It is confusing (Sometimes even to doctors and nurses) and I will try to simplify the alphabet soup surrounding nursing.

CNA or Certified Nurse Assistant- depending on the state laws they are educated through a 90 day program and are usually licensed/regulated. There is no degree usually a certificate program.

LPN or VPN-Licensed practical nurse. LPN are utilized to fill manpower gaps in nursing. Usually a associates degree they have relatively limited roles compared to RN's. Expanded roles compared to CNA's.

RN-Registered Nurse, this is what peopletraditionallythink of as a the Nursing profession. There are a variety of degree's, Associate, Diploma, Bachelor of science. There is a standardized licensure exam, state laws guide practice.

APRN- Advance Practice Registered Nurse(The Terminology has has changed several times). This category is Nurse Midwife, Nurse Practitioner, Certified NurseAnesthetist, Clinical Nurse Specialist. Always a graduate degree, usually masters level. There has been increasing requirement to Doctoral. Simply put RN, with graduate education and training specific to thespecialty. It usually requires a board certifying exam specific to thespecialtyand licensure. State nursing practice laws vary slightly.

Nursing is often a stereotyped profession. From Nurse Ratched to Nurse Jackie nurses are usually portrayed ascaricaturesof reality. People make assumptions based on those stereotypes. Similar to physicians it is important that people know who they are dealing with and what their qualifications are. I am continually perplexed by the persistent sexism in medicine. I walk into a patient room, male in a lab coat, I'm a doctor. My colleague, female, MD same coat, she's a nurse. Pay attention, never assume because of the clothing or that person's sex that you know who you are dealing with. Healthcare workers should identify themselves to you. So know what the alphabet soup really means. If you are not sure ask. A good nurse will always want you to learn.

3. Antibiotics Cure Viral Infections-Fiction. People wanting antibiotic treatment for upper respiratory infections and sore throats is classic confirmation bias, and scientific misunderstanding. In the western world the vast majority of contagious illness is viral not bacterial. Antibiotics do nothing to shorten or affect the course of viral illness. Most viral illness has a 7-10 day course. Often by the time someone isseekingmedical care they are usually at the peak of the disease. People seetheir doctor, get a antibiotic, and feel better in 2-3 days. So the the antibiotic cured you, right? No, most likely it was a self limiting viral illness that ended on is own. Your confirmation bias about the antibiotic is putting together the correlationfalsely Abouthalfof the 100 million prescriptions written for antibiotics each year are for respiratory ailments that aren’t going to be helped by a drug.Prescribing an antibiotic for a viral infection is not only wasteful, it can hurt the patient. More than 140,000 people, many of them young children, land in the emergency room each year with aserious reaction to an antibiotic. Nearly 9,000 of those patients have to be hospitalized.So why do doctors write the prescription? Most do it out of habit or to make their patients happy. A mother brings her sick child to the pediatrician and expects to walk out with a prescription. It takes time for the doctor to explain why antibiotics won’t do any good and might in fact do her child harm. There is also the ever present CYA or cover your ass medicine. Meaning there is a perception of litigation protection in antibioticprescription. Bottom line is don't go looking for antibiotics you probably don't need them. Don't get mad if you walk out of the doctor's office with an explanation and advice not a prescription. It means that him/her is probably a thoughtful practitioner. It is much easier to write the Rx than teach the patient. Make sure the prescriber tells you why they think you need a antibiotic. FYI: Color of mucous is not a predictor of bacterial verses viral illness.

4. You Can Only Have Three Orthopedic Cortisone Injections Per Lifetime-Fiction. This one mystifies me because I have no idea of the origin. In myspecialtyI hear it all the time. Cortisone is a type of steroid that is produced naturally by a gland in your body called the adrenal gland. Cortisone is released from the adrenal gland when your body is under stress. Natural cortisone is released into the blood stream and is relatively short-acting.Injectable cortisone is synthetically produced and has many different trade names (e.g. Celestone, Kenalog, etc.), but is a close derivative of your body's own product. The most significant differences are that synthetic cortisone is not injected into the blood stream, but into a particular area of inflammation. Also, the synthetic cortisone is designed to act more potently and for a longer period of time (days instead of minutes). There are side effects to cortisone, non of them are based on lifetime dosage.Probably themost common side-effectis a 'cortisone flare,' a condition where the injected cortisone crystallizes and can cause a brief period of pain worse than before the shot. This usually lasts a day or two and is best treated by icing the injected area. Another common side-effect is whitening of the skin where the injection is given. This is only a concern in people with darker skin, and is not harmful, but patients should be aware of this.Other side-effects of cortisone injections, although rare, can be quite serious. The most concerning is infection, especially if the injection is given into a joint. The best prevention is careful injection technique, with sterilization of the skin using iodine and/or alcohol. Also, patients with diabetes may have a transient increase in their blood sugar which they should watch for closely.Because cortisone is a naturally occurring substance, true allergic responses to the injected substance do not occur. However, it is possible to be allergic to other aspects of the injection, most commonly the betadine many physicians use to sterilize the skin.There isno rule as to how many cortisone injectionscan be given. Often physicians do not want to give more than three, but there is not really a specific limit to the number of shots. However, there are some practical limitations. If a cortisone injection wears off quickly or does not help the problem, then repeating it may not be worthwhile. Also, animal studies have shown effects of weakening of tendons and softening of cartilage with cortisone injections. Realistically you want to avoid frequent short interval steroid injections but there is no lifetime limit.

5. The Flu Vaccine Can Give You The "Flu"-Fact. Flumist is live attenuated vaccine. There is a remote 0.6% chance of getting the flu. 5-20% of the population gets the flu every year, so it is better to get the Flumist than not. There are noinject-ablevaccines given in the US that useattenuated live vaccine. The difference is the virus iscompletelykilled for theinject-able. So if it worries you get the shot.

So that's a start. I am sure Brian does not want me to turn skeptoid into WebMD so I will limit these posts.

PS: Please, for the love of Pete, your shoulder has a Rotator Cuff not a Rotor cuff, and it is the Pros-tate not pros-trate. ;)

References:

http://ideas.time.com/2012/04/16/why-doctors-uselessly-prescribe-antibiotics-for-a-common-cold/#ixzz2KkFT3MUZ

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/paindrugs/a/cortisone.htm


http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm

by Stephen Propatier

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