Knowing about your medical condition
When you begin suffering from a medical illness there is a lot of turmoil in your mind regarding the illness. Sometimes you feel you must know about it and try to fight it. Sometimes you may feel desperate and think that it is better to stay away from such information and only focus on getting better. Although all these experiences are a part of life, ideally it is better to be aware of your medical condition.
Knowing your medical condition gives you an advantage and can aid in your faster recovery. Medical conditions can be of acute variety i.e. those which have occurred recently and last for a short duration; for example, fever or headache. While there can be certain medical conditions that have been bothering you since long; for example gastritis or back pain. In any of the case, it is important for you to know about the condition and help yourself to deal with it in a better way.
Medical information for you
Becoming aware of your medical illness does not mean you need to learn the technical aspects. What you need to know is what is related to you and probably what you can control. Some of the aspects that you would like to know are:
- Nature of illness – the diagnosis, disease severity, complications, etc;
- Treatment options – medical management, possible requirement of surgery, its complications, etc;
- Prognosis – disease progression, chances of improvement, further treatment, etc;
- Prevention – ways to prevent, vaccines, lifestyle management, etc;
- Rehabilitation- physical therapy, exercise, rest, etc.
Gathering medical information
There are various options through which you can gather information related to your medical condition:
- Your physician
The best source of information is your physician as you trust them for your medical needs. You can talk to them about your illness and get yourself informed about the disease, its progression, treatment options, and ways to prevent it or deal with it.
- Patient education material
There are patient education materials that are specially developed keeping in view a patient’s requirement of medical knowledge regarding any particular illness. They are mostly found at doctor’s clinics, hospital and medical centers. You can pick those and read them to get a better understanding of your medical condition. These days, there are videos shown in waiting areas of clinics to create patient awareness.
- Medical workers
Medical social workers are those people who work towards the aim of educating patients about their disease condition and helping them to comply with the medical treatment given. They are often attached to hospitals and can be spoken to for gathering your relevant medical information.
- Medical literature
You can read through medical magazines and such other literature meant for increasing health awareness.
- Internet
You can browse through the internet to obtain the required medical information. However, you need to keep in mind that not all information on the internet is true or useful. Also watching images, reading warning signs and such other information can affect your wellbeing. It is advisable that you visit authentic medical websites like those of the government or specific associations. It is best to take help of a medical person or your doctor to confirm such information.