Don't get caught up in medical symptom management
Many people visit doctor
There go many people to the doctor.
In 2020 visited 75% of the population a general practitioner.*
Average number of visits to the doctor 5 times in that year.*
A doctor wants his patients help.
Unfortunately, doctors have only one limited toolkit which is mainly focused on the suppression of symptoms.
This is done in particular with medication.
Because doctors are trained only in suppressing symptoms the approach is often not very effective.
The Therefore, we do not see a decrease in the number of sick people.
In fact, practice shows that the number is increasing. increases.
* NIVEL, Zorg door de huisarts, Nivel zorgregistraties Eerste Lijn: annual figures 2020 and trend figures 2016-2020. https://www.nivel.nl/sites/default/files/bestanden/1004116.pdf
Medical symptom relief
A Drug treatment is a treatment of symptoms.
When you ask the doctor for help for headache you get a painkiller.
If you cannot sleepthen the doctor writes a soporific for.
When you nervous you get a tranquilliser.
You get Blood pressure lowering medication if you have a hypertension have.
The doctor goes almost never looking for the cause, so the cause is not treated.
Symptom treatment dominates and therefore the situation tends to deteriorate with time.
Also by the side effects which may necessitate new medication.
Two thirds take medication
Because doctors prescribe a lot of medication, the medicines used by many people.
In 2019, almost two-thirds of the population one or more medicines*.
There are more than 1.1 million people over 65 years of age who 5 or more different medicines use.
Nearly 20% of the over-75s, some 200.000 people, uses itself more than 9 different medicines.
Prolonged use of five or more medicines is polypharmacy mentioned. (Poly = many; Pharmacy = related to medication).
Many problems with polypharmacy
A problem often seen is that elderly people too many medicines take it.
Medicines that sometimes do not or no longer needed are.
Doctors easily prescribe medication.
Often people also have several doctorsGeneral practitioner, plus any specialists, who prescribe medication independently.
In addition, there are many less attention is paid to stopping medication than there is for start-up.
This keeps people often unnecessary long-term medication use.
In addition, there is little consideration for the unfavourable interaction between different medicines can exist.
Side effects of the various medicines and the combination of those drugs are also common problems.
As a doctor, you often no longer know what to do with the patient. caused by disease became and which is caused by the medication.
* CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics) - https://opendata.cbs.nl/#/CBS/nl/dataset/83251NED/table
* https://www.staatvenz.nl/kerncijfers/polyfarmacie-aantal-pati%C3%ABnten
Tackle the cause (also)
Of course, it is important to always have the Follow your doctor's advice.
However, it is important that when you are undergoing medical treatment and receiving medicines, you do so in parallel with this treatment. a plan makes to address the underlying cause in order to make your structurally improve health.
Unfortunately, a lot of wrong and confusing information is spread, consciously or unconsciously, about health and disease, nutrition, vitamins and minerals, which makes us can get caught up in the medical and pharmaceutical world of chemical symptom treatment.
