Taking responsibility for one’s health
There are really times when I think people just do not understand that it’s the patient himself/herself who has the greatest responsibility of taking care of their health.
It’s pretty difficult to control diabetes if the afflicted person continues NOT to watch his diet.
A smoker who doesn’t quit faces a multitude of illnesses in the future, the most well known of which is cancer.
And, of course, you get AIDS, syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases through promiscuous, unprotected sex.
There are lots more out there. I’m sure people already know about these things and know what risks they’re facing when they do not do their task of taking care of themselves.
There’s the argument that perhaps they do not know. Perhaps they were not educated enough. But I get patients who actually lie about what they did or didn’t do. How did I know that they lied? A relative might whisper that the diabetic patient with uncontrolled sugar levels couldn’t help himself and stuffed himself with dessert at a fiesta. Or a person who denies having sex with commercial sex workers would suddenly develop signs of gonorrhea.
Why do they lie? Because they were afraid that they will get scolded by the doctor. Sigh. I wish they would just take care of themselves and be more afraid of the consequences of their actions rather than a doctor’s admonishment.