Getting Out Alive: A Guide to Surviving Hospital. Michael Alexander

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      He’s now in his early fifties, and he has not had a heart attack.

      This is a perfect example of using medical care to help live with a problem that will not go away. He’ll always be at risk, but he’s doing everything possible to reduce the odds of something bad happening.

       Allergies versus side effects

      Knowing your allergies and, in the more extreme cases, carrying with you a bracelet or another sort of label with your allergies mentioned can also be life saving.

      Unfortunately allergies are complicated, and many people get them mixed up with a drug’s side effects.

      A side effect is something that is a ‘known’ possible consequence of a particular drug. So long as the side effect does not outweigh the benefit of the medication, it is accepted. A very common example would be having diarrhoea as a result of taking antibiotics. This is not an allergy, because it is not your body rejecting this substance. Yet I’ve had many people tell me that they are allergic to an antibiotic, and when I ask them what type of reaction the answer is diarrhoea.

      An allergy is an altogether different thing. An allergy is your immune system reacting to a substance. Reactions can range from the very mild to severe. Mild reactions include sneezing, itching and weeping eyes, stuffy or runny noses, and coughs. Severe reactions are life threatening, often because they affect the breathing due to swelling around the face and neck blocking the airway.

      Here are some tips on how you can reduce the risk of allergies affecting your health:

      – Be aware of any personal allergies

      – Be aware of any family allergies

      – Carry a card, bracelet, or other type of label with any extreme allergies specified

      – Be able to describe any type of reaction you’ve had in the past

      – Find out if your allergy was actually a side effect. Ask your doctor if unsure

       Know your symptoms

      ‘I’ve got a sore stomach, Doc.’

      This, unsurprisingly, is what most people say when they have a stomachache. This is helpful information to the extent that it stops us from wasting time examining your legs, but there’s so much more you could offer to help. Whether your problem is acute (a new problem) or chronic (present for a long time) it’s useful to make note of the ways in which your problem presents. With long-term problems, a diary of symptoms is a must.

      The most useful information is as follows:

      – How severe is the pain?

      – Where exactly is it? i.e. left, right, center, upper, lower?

      – Does it radiate? (does the pain move anywhere)

      – Is the pain constant?

      – If not, how often do you have the pain?

      – And how long does the episode last?

      – Is there anything that makes it better or worse?

      – When did it begin?

      – What you were doing when your symptoms started?

      – How have your bowels and waterworks been? i.e. have you experienced diarrhoea, constipation, etc.?

      Any competent medical professional assessing you will ask these questions, plus a few more. However, often when a patient’s put on the spot they might not remember to mention everything they could, so having a diary, or even just a slip of paper with a description of the symptoms through the above criteria is a huge help, and be sure to use descriptive words e.g. sharp pain, dull ache, spasm, cramp, burning.

      If you think this is obvious or even a waste of time, read on. I’ve seen many patients suddenly become tongue-tied and forgetful when, for instance, their consultant does a ward round with an entourage of junior doctors. It is intimidating. I’ve seen patients that have been complaining about their pain for over an hour suddenly tell the doctor they feel fine when he or she asks them how they’re getting on.

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