rsz_rsz_1rsz_stethoscopeThe advances in modern medicine with it’s reliance on laboratory tests and imaging as well as the time constraints doctors face these days have had a negative impact on the foundation of medicine; history taking and physical examination.

When doctors deviate from the tenet of history taking and physical examinations, bad things like misdiagnosis can happen.

Even in the best of medical centers, misdiagnoses and medical errors happen.  Take the case of Lauren a college student and Healthgist gal. Doctors are humans and they are not immune to the human-error factor.

Here is Lauren’s story in her own words:

Hey Everyone, my name is Lauren Little and I am a freshman in college.lauren

Since around the time I received my first period I have experienced painful blister’s in my pubic area and on my under arms. I never mentioned them because they always went away after a week or so and only showed up every couple of years.

Recently, on a trip home for Christmas break, I went to the emergency room because the blisters were so painful on my buttocks and pubic area. I was diagnosed with Genital Herpes after a pelvic exam. But no blood test, culture, or fluid test had been done.

The medicine they prescribed didn’t help, and the pain lasted two weeks as usual. I was devastated, to be diagnosed with Herpes my freshman year in college.

As a nursing major, I knew things just didn’t make sense. I had the symptoms the first time long before I ever had any sexual contact.

So how could it be Genital Herpes?

The video below goes into even more details about sexually transmitted infections (STI)

On this 8 minute video you will discover;

⇒—How to tell the difference between a normal discharge and a sexually transmitted infection

You will see the images of the different sexually transmitted infections

You will get a primer on the specific treatment for each type of infection.

The Sexually transmitted infection video is available to logged in Healthgist members.

Not yet a member? Create your account now & refresh this page to watch video. It’s FREE!

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Back to Lauren’s story……

I began researching, and came across a video presentation on Healthgist.com about different types of discharges and what they mean. At the end I was allowed to write in a question to the presenter. I explained my situation to her, and she mentioned a autoimmune disease (that develops soon after puberty mainly in females) called, Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

The symptoms were all the same as the one’s I had experienced. Its a condition dealing with ineffective sweat glands and bacteria build up. I tested positive for the disease.

I have learned how to prevent the flare ups, and what medications are available in the case of one.

If I had never visited the site, and spoken with someone who cared enough to answer my questions, I don’t know if I ever would have gotten a proper diagnosis.

I love the site.

We love you too Lauren. You and the other Healthgist gals who enjoy the girlfriend talk about health topics with doctors in a comfortable and relatable way encourage us to show up here week in, week out.

Access to health information is not the problem. Making sense of the avalanche of information and applying it to your unique situation is the problem. We call that “too much information” (TMI) with “too little context” (TLC)

Do away with the worry, save precious time and get a doctor in your back pocket when you enroll in Healthgist University

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About the author

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Dr. Bola

Family physician. Works for the "man" by day, wife & mom 24/7.
Loves the work of translating "medicalese" to plain english.

6 Comments

  • What annoys me is how fast doctors seem to make up their minds about what’s going on with me, then reach for the prescription pad. I even had a podiatrist recently tell me that x-rays don’t show osteo-arthritis, which I thought strange when I found one on the website for the American College of Foot Surgeons. He also said that physical therapy wouldn’t help. So I bought the expensive shoes he insisted I needed to wear all the time, never mind how uncomfortable they were, with the orthotics he preferred. I later found orthotics that actually fit my foot Those helped, but after a month of misery, the P.T. showed me a couple stretches and I was pain-free in less than two days.

    Fortunately, I finally found a good gyno who listens to me and will take things slowly.

    • As much like we (doctors) would like to feel like we are God, clearly we are NOT. Please pardon the know-it-all attitude we sometimes project.

  • I get these too! It is crazy how often doctors just treat you for something and it may not even be the true cause. This has happened to me a few times!

    • They call it the “practice” of medicine for precisely that reason. Perfection is the pipe dream though.

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