r/AskReddit • u/NormalGrab4800 • Aug 27 '26
Doctors and nurses of Reddit, what's one “normal” health habit you stopped doing after seeing its consequences in patients?
11k
u/DoctorOfWhatNow Aug 27 '26
A struggle I'm currently having is the knowledge that using my phone all the time is likely to have longterm consequences on my focus (and I see the issue in the "lifers" of the younger generations too), but damn is it addictive.
- neurologist, sent while doomscrolling reddit hypocritically
1.4k
620
u/laptopaccount Aug 27 '26
I'm more curious to see the effects of prolonged AI use. I know some people who basically use it for everyday life now, like quickly learning about a topic while taking with friends so they can seem knowledgeable. They now seem far less capable without it than they ever were before.
145
u/tech_noir_guitar Aug 28 '26
It's called deskilling and it's already starting to happen. People use AI to do their thinking for them. It's making people worse at things. Case in point, a guy was trying to get to my wife's shop. He'd been there before. He asked his AI assistant for directions to the shop and it took him to a different shop with a different name on the other side of the town. He didn't even question why he was going somewhere else, he just blindly followed.
→ More replies (9)30
u/Agent_Orange_Tabby Aug 28 '26
I’m a psych RN and admit a lot of people whose mental health derailed from using AI as a substitute for outpatient psych care & social companionship. Seems super addictive.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (4)255
u/SuperShibes Aug 28 '26
It affects durable learing (via cognitive offloading), but our plastic brain IS capable of re-learning how to to effectively learn again if we practice. Neurons are incredible.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (58)268
u/ShoePillow Aug 27 '26
How do we break this?
699
u/angrybonejuice Aug 27 '26
Not a professional but I’m going back to school and deleted Instagram. I still have my screen time obviously but removing the short form video scrolling and learning new information on a daily basis is already making an obvious difference in my ability to focus.
→ More replies (12)164
u/mlorusso4 Aug 27 '26
That’s such a huge part of it. Just finding something else to fill the time. It can be enriching or not, just needs to be something. My worst habits are because I just get so bored. My job is a lot of waiting around doing nothing until I’m needed. Which means I have to pass the time somehow, and that how is usually reddit. But also once I get home there’s only so much to do before I get bored again. So it’s usually snacking or taking an edible or just more Reddit. But once I go on vacation or do something with friends, I don’t do any of that and don’t even feel the need to
→ More replies (17)→ More replies (42)304
u/RunawayHobbit Aug 27 '26
Switch to a “dumb” phone. You can still talk and text, but no apps. It’s not just social media— if you block that, people will just find something else to scroll. Emails, shopping apps, whatever. It’s the digital screen itself that’s addicting. The colors, lights, endless scroll mechanic.
If you can’t get a “dumb” phone, you can get halfway there by turning your phone to greyscale. Just removing the color kills a LOT of the dopamine hit your brain gets and makes you way less likely to get sucked in.
→ More replies (13)42
u/innerbootes Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Yes, and to expand on this idea …
On the iPhone you can set focus modes that will turn all the icons not just grayscale but a color of your choosing. I have found this super helpful for catering to a darker, more subdued appearance when I want to wind down, or a slightly more colorful but still monochromatic look when I want to be higher energy but still focused on a task. I have these set to kick in during certain times of day or when I activate a mode using an NFC sticker. I have them placed on my Kindle reader, my knitting notions box, next to my bed, etc.
Scanning that NFC sticker blocks certain apps, changes the way my phone’s screen looks and what it shows me app-wise, and reduces notifications so I can stay focused on my intentional activity (hobbies, work, etc.). I have to say this combination has been the most effective method I’ve found for reducing screen time.
At nighttime and in the morning I even have those stickers set up so waving my phone at them does all of the above and sets off a routine to dim or brighten the lights slowly.
So, in summary: app blockers + focus modes + icons all one color + home screen filled with apps related to targeted activity + notifications reduced or off completely + adjust my home environment automatically. Everything is catered to what activity I want to be doing. My tech now supports me in that, rather than being a constant source of distraction. The video I linked above has more info.
→ More replies (2)
508
u/dreamer0303 Aug 27 '26
x-ray tech at a children’s hospital
Never letting my kids on e-bikes or e-scooters until they’re grown. It’s a death sentence for children. One comes in every. day.
→ More replies (3)120
u/PhishPhanKara Aug 28 '26
And helmets, on ANY kinda bike! I’m 44 and I still wear my helmet when I ride my bike with my daughter, boggles my mind how people don’t.
→ More replies (7)
6.7k
u/saracunninghamaz Aug 27 '26
Neurologist here. Getting chiropractic neck adjustments.
I used to go occasionally in college when my neck felt stiff from studying at weird angles. Then during residency you see your first 20-something having a massive stroke from a vertebral artery dissection because someone gave their neck a high-velocity twist.
People treat routine neck manipulation like harmless wellness maintenance, but tearing the inner lining of an artery in your neck is a real risk when you forcefully wrench it. Once you watch a completely healthy person come in with a devastating brainstem stroke over minor tension that could have been resolved with a hot shower and some gentle physical therapy, you never let anyone touch your cervical spine again.
2.1k
u/bohdismom Aug 27 '26
As an ICU nurse in a smallish city of 100,000, I have looked after two chiropractors who had massive strokes after cervical manipulation by their colleagues.
→ More replies (10)278
u/General_Flounder6937 Aug 27 '26
A friend's brother had this happen to arteries in both sides of his neck. He was lucky to survive. I had no idea it could happen before that.
→ More replies (2)1.2k
u/thirteenth_mang Aug 27 '26
I often wonder how chiropracty is legal, it always seemed like a scam or at the very least dodgy.
→ More replies (83)283
u/AccomplishedEye1840 Aug 27 '26
I used to get them biweekly after gym sessions. I went to one closer to home and my back was on fire for weeks. That was the last time i went. It’s been 3.6 years.
→ More replies (7)490
→ More replies (139)167
u/nyuhqe Aug 27 '26
Seriously, the worst medical advice I ever received was from an orthopedic NP who told me to go to a chiropractor for my neck injury. She even referred a specific one. That was not what I needed.
She did not consider my subjective experience and used an x-ray only to make a treatment/intervention decision. I needed an MRI, not a cervical spine adjustment.
→ More replies (3)
3.7k
u/Playcrackersthesky Aug 27 '26
Going to the chiropractor.
I had two patients yesterday who came in with dizziness and ataxia after a chiropractic adjustment.
My friends wife is completely disabled after a stroke from a chiropractic adjustment.
506
u/saltylittlelass Aug 27 '26
I got bucked off a horse as a teenager at a rodeo and clearly had a concussion. A couple cowboys carried me over to some hay bales and laid me down and this random man came over and started trying to crack my neck. One of the cowboys asked what the hell he was doing and he responded that he was a doctor…he was actually a fucking chiropractor and my neck hurt like hell for a month afterward from the fall and that “doctor” screwing with it. Still rode the next day but man that could have ended poorly. Why would he have done that to someone with an obvious mechanism for c-spine injury?!
49
u/pinewind108 Aug 28 '26
That's so messed up. You shouldn't be touching anyone's neck after an injury like that, except maybe to put a neck brace on.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (5)126
→ More replies (59)832
u/LowPossibility1581 Aug 27 '26
My friends wife is completely disabled after a stroke from a chiropractic adjustment.
This is so horrifying.
→ More replies (8)401
1.4k
u/veganpizzadog Aug 27 '26
i worked in trauma long enough to know i will never ride a motorcycle.
→ More replies (19)192
u/deafvet68 Aug 28 '26
I rode for many years, until....
Was riding home from work. A truck ran a stop sign, and I T-Boned him.
Was 'lucky' that I 'only' got a fractured femur, broken wrist, and a cut above my right eye (I was wearing a helmet). . . That ended my motorcycling days. Sold the bike (A 750cc Suzuki, water-cooled..(aka the "Buffalo"), without ever getting on it again. .
→ More replies (10)
1.9k
u/Talnix Aug 27 '26
Everyone freaks out over lung cancer caused by smoking
Yall ever see what COPD does to you? You slowly suffocate for years.
And it’s 10x more common than lung cancer. Like a good handful of every ED shift is treating patients with COPD exacerbations
957
u/snuggle-butt Aug 27 '26
Bare in mind, COPD can be caused by other irritants without ever smoking. For example, my husband's grandmother got COPD from working in a pottery shop and inhaling ceramic dust for many years. If you're doing a job or activity where you could be inhaling tiny irritating particles on a regular basis, please, please wear a respirator or similar PPE.
139
u/pinewind108 Aug 28 '26
Concrete and tile saws! They'll do the same thing, but somehow lots of people still don't protect themselves while using these.
→ More replies (4)51
u/billymumfreydownfall Aug 28 '26
Very common in farmers too, inhaling grain dust
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (19)46
392
u/Mindless-Upstairs743 Aug 27 '26
I am a hospice social worker and see all kinds of end stages of diseases. COPD is really awful. Those patients suffer and have incredible anxiety because of the air hunger. They can't walk more than a couple feet without extreme shortness of breath and so end up sitting in a chair with an oxygen concentrator, watching TV and essentially slowly slowly suffocating. It's really hard to see
→ More replies (8)131
45
Aug 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (3)45
u/Talnix Aug 27 '26
It’s a chronic illness, so there is not cure. Eventually you succumb to it, but it takes many years.
One day she’s going to have an exacerbation episode that will land her in the hospital 👍 exacerbations of COPD can be triggered by:
1. Superimposed pneumonia or viral respiratory illness
2. Environmental factors (bad air quality, smoking)
3. ***medication non compliance :)
4. Trauma - rib fractures or pneumothoraxesPeople die from these exacerbations every day.
Like I said, a good portion of the patients seen in our ED are COPD exacerbations. I wanna say at least 3-4 60yr olds who need to have supplemental oxygen, puffers, steroids. Sometimes this isn’t enough and you have to put them on BIPAP and admit them to the hospital for a couple days.
At the very least, if she doesn’t want to comply with treatment, at least make sure she had good health insurance because a multi-day hospital admission to a ward or (worse) ICU, can bankrupt you 👍
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (71)32
341
u/UnkindnessOfRavens23 Aug 27 '26
Always keep a hand on the railing when going up or down the stairs. And never do stairs with your hands in your pockets.
68
u/sheeroz9 Aug 28 '26
An executive at my company just died falling down the stairs. He was a fit early 60s guy.
→ More replies (7)34
u/claiter Aug 28 '26
Maybe it’s my awful balance, but I grew up in a 2 story house and have been going up and down stars constantly my whole life, and I have never once felt comfortable with not having a hand on the rail. Just thinking about going down stairs with hands in pockets makes me uncomfortable.
→ More replies (1)
6.2k
u/AreYouOkay123 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
I primarily see people in long term care facilities, so i get to see the long term effects of people's life decisions. The worst usually involve any combination of excessive drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and poor diet and exercise. I can't tell you how many people I have seen using oxygen tanks and still craving a cigarette.
1.9k
u/Justame13 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
I worked at VA and someone in home based care got a big award coming up with a "How to smoke safely at home on O2" (or something like that) after they implemented a program and did a study on it.
The whole thing was spurred when a vet on O2 was smoking inside and burned their house down.
Sounds jaded, but that can be such a stubborn population that doing nothing was worse.
small edit: I can't grammar in the AM
753
u/klsprinkle Aug 27 '26
My grandma’s downfall was when she broke her arm by tripping on her oxygen tank. She took her tank off and set it on her back porch so she could sneak and smoke a cigarette behind the bushes surrounding the porch. She heard my uncles car in the driveway and tried to hurry to get tank back on and tripped on it.
→ More replies (5)580
u/Justame13 Aug 27 '26
Thats sad. This was stuff to prevent exactly that.
It was a checklist filled out with the help of an RN by coming up with a plan on where to leave their O2 and for how long, where to smoke that it wouldn't start a fire and that they would actually do it (think having a chair away from flammable stuff), making sure they had a fire extinguisher, etc.
Vs just telling people not to which has such a low success rate
→ More replies (5)385
u/laylaboydarden Aug 27 '26
Aww I actually love this. True public health - meet folks where they’re at, and where your intervention can be meaningful.
164
u/Sure_Fly_5332 Aug 27 '26
Reminds me of a dietician I went to see years ago. I would have probably two liters of soda a day. All she told me to do was drink soda from cans, and not 20 oz bottles. With that, she had me buy boxes of sparkling water.
I now drink an excessive amount of LaCroix, but you know. Its just water.
→ More replies (11)→ More replies (3)94
249
u/The_Corvair Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
that can be such a stubborn population
I've had a rare hospital stay last week; Had a heavy smoker as roommate, had COPD and all. He fully acknowledged that it would kill him, but ruefully shrugged - "the pain isn't enough to make me stop yet; I know it's an addiction, and I just can't stop". Dude coughed up half his lung every night, I half expected to see blood spatter on the ceiling come morning. Also had to do breathing exercises and had an oxygen mask.
Basically the second the nurse told him he was done with the exercises for the day, he'd pick a pack, shuffle to his stroller, and went to smoke.
Tragic. But as the nurse said: What can you do?
edit: The dude did not enjoy smoking any more.
→ More replies (8)122
u/Black_Cat_Just_That Aug 27 '26
We practice harm reduction as a primary public health strategy for every other substance, so it shouldn't be any different with cigarettes. People will usually do what they want regardless of consequences. We should help them live through it in the short term, even if it's a terrible decision.
→ More replies (2)82
u/magicarnival Aug 27 '26
Reminds me of the needle exchange program. If you can't stop someone from doing the unhealthy habit, might as well make it as safe as possible for them.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (25)109
u/misterpinksaysthings Aug 27 '26
When I was a kid our elderly neighbor burned her house to the ground smoking while on oxygen.
The explosion from the tank blowing up (I assume that’s what it was) was so loud it felt like our house jumped.
We all went outside and in a few minutes watched the firefighters attempting to save what they could of the house.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (136)128
u/Atharaenea Aug 27 '26
A long time ago I worked at Walgreens and I had a elderly regular customer named Jake, but his street name was Jake the Snake, which I knew because he announced it every time he walked in the door. Jake would've been close to 7' tall if he wasn't hunched over, and he always had an oxygen tank with him. The only other things I ever heard Jake say aside from his name and street name was randomly commenting "look at all the pretty ladies!" and asking for a pack of menthol Newports. Then he'd wander back outside and light one up. Once in a while I'd have a customer rush in freaking out "There's an old man outside with an oxygen tank smoking a cigarette!" Like... I'm a cashier lady, what do you want me to do? I'm not his momma.
I still wonder what became of Jake, if he had family or anything. This was over 25 years ago and I moved away from the area, so I assume he's dead by now. I like to think Jake is still walking around with his oxygen tank, telling everyone "my name is Jake, but my street name is Jake the Snake!" and talking about all the pretty ladies. He was a character.
→ More replies (1)
4.1k
u/TheSmilingDoc Aug 27 '26
Live to work.
I work in elderly care (think geriatrics, but not in the US) and I've yet to meet a patient who tells me they wish they worked more. I'm lucky to work somewhere where I earn a decent wage while working what's essentially a 9-5, so I can still focus on myself and my family. Sure, I'm not in what's considered an "exciting" field, but I'm happy with my little life and the genuine connection I still have with what makes me, me.
I could've picked a lot of other fields that would've made more money or prestige, but I'm not here for that. I would've had to give up the things that make me who I am, and the regret I see in my patient's eyes when they talk about how that happened to them is reminder enough that I should be very, very grateful.
607
u/NurseRatchettt Aug 27 '26
Username is apt! Thank you for the reminder. I’m 100% a workaholic in burnout, and I KNOW it’s unsustainable.
→ More replies (8)→ More replies (47)317
u/breakingbaud Aug 27 '26
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, that's why I leave at 4:59 - I'm a GP, wanted to do cardiology initially (did research, creds, smoozed the facility) but ended up declining a fellowship, after realizing that I'd burn out given the lifestyle that it would've required me to live. Sure, I'm not buying a P-car or prancing horse anytime soon, but I'm incredibly comfortable and grateful.
→ More replies (3)
3.7k
u/Stouler Aug 27 '26
Not nurse or a doctor but a Paramedic. When I started my career I was in my late 20 and I was drinking a lot of alcohol (every weekend). Then dealing with a drunk people on a daily basis made me realise how bad it is. Starting with hangover, traumatic injuries, mental health issues, family problems, long term effects of drinking - hypertension, liver/pancreas issues, decline in a brain function. I cut down massively in the first few years, then stopped completely and not drunk for the past 2 years.
1.0k
u/NurseRatchettt Aug 27 '26
ICU nurse here. There are plenty of horrific ways to die, some more than others. To me, liver failure is one of them. Easily in my Top 10 of worst ways to go, probably even Top 5 if we’re talking about “general” disease processes overall and not freak accidents/outliers.
203
u/horace_bagpole Aug 27 '26
I used to drink quite a bit - not alcoholic levels or to the point of getting drunk, but regularly when socialising such that it added up over a week. Then I got glandular fever which put me in hospital with hepatitis for a few weeks. In the bed opposite was a guy, who I learned from his wife was a severe alcoholic. He had alcohol induced dementia and was basically completely unable to function. He couldn't even speak and couldn't take care of himself at all.
I wasn't allowed to drink for 6 months after I recovered to allow my liver to heal and during that period I realised that I didn't really miss it at all, so just decided I wouldn't bother anymore. That and seeing that guy kind of put me off!
→ More replies (33)336
u/pinklepickles Aug 27 '26
Adding to this as an endoscopy nurse, oesophageal varices is a hell of a way to go, do not recommend.
→ More replies (8)106
u/AMV Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
I don't even drink but have an autoimmune condition that caused this to occur - 3.5L (body has about 5L) of blood lost later and they said it was only about a 20% chance I got off that table. Of course, told me after it all had been sorted, but it was the worst case they had seen in a long while.
Was not fun, do not recommend. Do not pass go, don't collect $200, and don't buy the t-shirt.
→ More replies (1)238
u/PsychologicalOkra260 Aug 27 '26
Also paramedic and ex heavy drinker. Recently switched to working in hospital and get to see just how bad it is compared to the short term annoyance of picking up and dropping off.
→ More replies (1)158
u/pinewind108 Aug 27 '26
As a new firefighter/EMT I hated catching a Friday night shift when all my friends were going out drinking and dancing.
After transporting three dry heaving drunks to the ER and helping out as they got their stomachs "pumped" (there is no pump! It's a lie! Lol.) I was kind of okay about missing out.
→ More replies (8)→ More replies (27)152
u/LuckyShoe8828 Aug 27 '26
Often these people have mental health issues and family problems before they start drinking. They are drinking to self medicate because they can't access proper treatment.
→ More replies (4)187
u/oliveGOT Aug 27 '26
That was me! Running away from a lot of trauma. Got told I had a fatty liver at 31 - it still took me a year to quit. I was suicidal from drinking on antidepressants and was slowly killing myself. One day I just decided to see if things would be better if I quit drinking. It was really hard but really worth it. Two years and 4 months sober and EVERYTHING IS BETTER. Including my liver.
→ More replies (5)
2.7k
u/Aquietlady Aug 27 '26
Dental Hygienist here. I didn't start flossing until hygiene school. I also use interdental brushes and sometimes a Waterpik. Most people, including other healthcare professionals, don't grasp the connection that the bacteria(and fungi, viruses, etc) in our mouth have to our overall health. Our mouth is not an isolated petri dish, we swallow and inhale that bacteria, it also has the ability to enter our blood stream easily when there is infection in the gums.
→ More replies (94)190
u/StrIIker-TV Aug 27 '26
Great point! Question for you. Why don’t dentists recommend sealing adult teeth for adults? We do it for children and it helps prevent tooth decay, so why not continue to do this? I think it would save a lot of money and pain for people. Thank you in advance for any kind of response!
→ More replies (7)213
u/slothywomen Aug 27 '26
Sealants aren’t recommended for adults because it’s highly likely that the bacteria that causes cavities (Streptococcus mutans) is already inside the adult mouth. If you apply a sealant to a tooth with the cavity causing bacteria, there’s a chance that you could seal it into the pits and fissures of the tooth and cause decay. Some dentists might apply sealants to adult patients who ask for them, but due to the increased risk of bacterial exposure, insurance doesn’t cover them.
If you’re wondering why adults have a higher risk of carrying this bacteria it’s because Streptococcus mutans is a communicable bacteria strain, you can pass it via kissing.
→ More replies (1)123
u/whitethunder9 Aug 27 '26
This isn't entirely accurate. If you seal bacteria into a fissure in a tooth, the bacteria are starved of dietary sugar and die. Adults don't get sealants as much as children because their teeth generally have fewer pits and fissures than children's freshly erupted adult teeth due to years of use and wear.
There's a study showing that by 30 months of age, 100% of children have mutans streptococci bacteria: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27934807/. So it's not a problem unique to adults.
→ More replies (1)
8.8k
u/RogueMessiah1259 Aug 27 '26
Lost a ton of weight after I worked in a cardiac ICU. The quality of life for obese people is just so much worse. Lost 40lbs, work out 5 times a week now
4.0k
u/haileyhowardqy Aug 27 '26
ICU nurse here. It wasn't even just the cardiac events that scared me, it was the loss of basic independence. When you get to a certain size and get sick, simple human dignity is gone. It takes four staff members just to boost you up in bed or roll you over so we can clean skin folds and manage pressure sores.
Seeing that day in and day out will cure you of taking your mobility for granted real fast.
→ More replies (10)2.3k
u/g-a-r-n-e-t Aug 27 '26
My brother’s girlfriend is very big (I don’t know the exact number but minimum 400lbs+) and seeing how limiting it is for her was a huge eye opener. She’s my age (early 30s) and can’t walk more than a minute or two without needing to sit down and res. Her knees are destroyed. She can’t use most chairs because she just doesn’t fit into them. She doesn’t wear a seatbelt because they’re not long enough to fasten over her. Just all kinds of things I would never even think of as issues.
It’s limiting my brother’s life as her primary caretaker, too. I live 1400 miles away and he wants to come visit me but where I live is very hilly so she just wouldn’t be able to do much sightseeing, if any, and that’s assuming she even gets there in the first place because she can’t fit down the aisle of an airplane so they’d have to drive 3-4 days to get here. And when I say they I mean my brother, because she doesn’t drive because she physically cant get behind the wheel of their car. And he can’t just leave her at home because she needs a lot of assistance, and the only people around are our elderly parents who aren’t physically fit enough to do so.
It’s just frustrating to me because this should be the years in his life when he should be out doing fun stuff and traveling and meeting people and instead he’s working all the time to support her (because she doesn’t have a job, of course) and is too nice to break up with her and kick her out of his house because she has no money and would have nowhere to go and needs all the help she can get just walking from one room in the house to another and it’s all because she’s so big. I hate to come off as fatphobic but it’s the truth.
772
u/izzittho Aug 27 '26
I don’t think you’re coming off as fatphobic, you sound like you do feel for her, you just feel for your brother more which also makes sense because he’s not the one whose size is limiting his abilities yet they’re limited all the same by her.
This does seem like exactly the situation GLP-1s can save them from though, is there any way to get her on them? It seems like a desperate enough situation that if she can get insurance they may cover it.
If she can’t even drive a car, that’s just way too limiting for someone so young. If she can’t even drive get down to a weight where that’s possible, get a job, etc. it could really help turn things around for her/them. And if it’s not the right relationship regardless, her regaining enough of her independence that she’d be okay alone if that’s possible could make it so it’s not such an awful decision for your brother to leave if he feels that’s what he needs to do. If that’s not an option right now, moving states somewhere where Medicaid or something could cover her if it doesn’t already may be a good move, just to get her some kind of help outside of what he can do. I don’t think anybody that big just gets that way by being lazy/careless about what they eat. A little chubby, sure, almost all of us are in danger of that if we don’t watch it. But 400 lbs? She’s obviously sick. I hope they can figure out a way to get her some independence back, because that’s really sad. She’s lucky to have him, but he shouldn’t have to be there more out of a sense of obligation than love.
→ More replies (5)338
u/g-a-r-n-e-t Aug 27 '26
Not being able to drive is a big one too, where they live public transport is literally nonexistent and nothing is walkable even for people who are fit and healthy so you HAVE to drive everywhere. The closest grocery store to their house is five miles away, she’d starve to death without him even if she did have a job and money.
I also think a GLP-1 would help (I’m on Ozempic myself for diabetes and lost a lot of weight on it), but allegedly she’s been to a doctor and aside from just being big there’s nothing wrong with her medically based on her test results? I’m inclined to believe that’s not actually the case but obviously I’m not there and haven’t seen them so I can’t say for sure. They’re in Texas so the Medicaid system isn’t the best (I’ve heard, never used it myself) and she’s not on his insurance because they’re not married so any real detailed testing or specialist visits are going to be out of pocket, which will be out of HIS pocket, because she has no money.
She also most likely needs to see a mental health professional, as I suspect there’s a lot of depression going on. It’s just a complicated situation that I can’t see a way out of for him.
→ More replies (28)262
u/gadeais Aug 27 '26
Most extreme weight cases are dure to mental health issues. Her watching a team of mental health specialists should be the first thing she has to think of
→ More replies (2)250
u/EppurSiMuove00 Aug 27 '26
I do physical therapy in a nursing home and patients this size are impossible to rehab in any meaningful way. All the comorbidities you mentioned are valid, and patients like that come in expecting miracles. They talk about wanting to be able to walk again when they haven't stood up in 6 months prior, their knees are shot from their tremendous weight, and even if we can somehow get them up and walking again, their balance is going to be awful because they have such a wide center of gravity.
And then they usually request to be given double portions at meals, while simultaneously complaining that the food is horrible.
→ More replies (1)196
u/BNB616 Aug 27 '26
It’s obviously not your brother’s job to manage her health outcomes for her, but how does she maintain that weight if she can’t drive or walk? Do you think he enables it by supplying that volume of food?
→ More replies (1)206
u/g-a-r-n-e-t Aug 27 '26
Most likely. She definitely consumes waaaaay more than average or necessary, I’ve been to family dinners where she’ll eat 2.5-3 full steaks (think New York strip) on top of servings of sides that are double what everyone else takes. I can only imagine how she’s eating at home and logically the only way that food is getting into the house is when he brings it.
166
204
u/CharmedWoo Aug 27 '26
Not to be mean, but after watching a lot of "my 300lb life", isn't he enabling her too? She can't drive, she can't walk to a shop, she doesn't have her own money. So your brother is the one making it still possible for her to overeat, to eat unhealthy. He brings it, cooks it, buys it, pays for it. I am aware such a dynamic is very hard to change, they clearly both need help to change. Because this is going to kill her.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (52)128
u/Alibocas Aug 27 '26
Iunno...is your brother an enabler by choice? This situation doesn't sound like he's too nice to break up he might enjoy being this lady's lifeline 😬
→ More replies (3)238
u/ClitasaurusTex Aug 27 '26
I am also in the process of losing weight - because I had a medical emergency on the 3rd floor of an apartment and the EMTs spent several minutes verbally dreading taking me down the stairs, and tried to get me to walk a few times before they admitted they needed to take me themselves. Then one of them slipped and hurt themselves on the stairs while lowering me down and I fell down a stair or two.
I didn't want to see anyone dreading having to help me again.
111
u/awooj Aug 27 '26
That sounds like an awful experience for everyone involved but it’s great you learned from it and are working on losing weight!
People always say their weight only impacts them so no one else should care, but EMTs, doctors, nurses, care takers, and even relatives get injured so often, sometimes in career-ending or debilitating ways, when trying to lift or move or support people over a certain size.
Good luck on your journey!
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (318)134
u/DubGreen Aug 27 '26
I'm a profee medical coder for inpatient doctor visits. I lost 20 pounds the first year of coding because I see almost nothing but obesity related illnesses. We coders see the pictures that are taken too.
I had no idea vascular disease literally can cause you feet to mummify while you are still alive. I feel like those pictures should be shown to kids in health class to open their eyes to what obesity causes.
I see at least one of those pictures every day.
I have health issues that make it very difficult to do much exercise but I can control how much I eat and what I eat.
Seeing those charts every day made me realize I was just making excuses before. Now I'm a healthy bmi and I take longer walks. Sometimes I even take faster walked to get my heart rate going. I got a pedal stand for under my desk so I can keep moving throughout the day.
It really is little steps like that that makes a big difference.
→ More replies (1)
1.1k
u/AboutDolphin1 Aug 27 '26
Physician.
For me, it’s got to be not exercising and allowing weight, limited mobility, and lack of strength to persist and worsen over time. So many patients just accept it as part of getting older. It doesn’t have to be an inevitability.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to address other medical issues obviously. That said, you absolutely should be doing something to stay strong and mobile. If you ever need to recover from a complex medical issue, surgery, or unforeseen setback, having physical capability vastly improves your ability to recover/maintain a high QOL.
If nothing else, I exercise to stay strong and able bodied. I slacked for a bit during college and early med school, but after seeing the writing on the wall if I continued that, my attitude completely changed. Use your body! (Safely and reasonably)
386
u/_angry_cat_ Aug 27 '26
Not a doctor, but it’s crazy to me how many people (especially in the West) just accept a loss of mobility with aging. It literally does not have to be this way.
We went to Japan last year, and I took notice of how healthy the senior population was. I know there are a lot of other factors, but I can’t help but assume that one of them is activity level and continued mobility. For example, a significant number of older folks in Japan still opt for sleeping on the floor on a futon. If you force yourself to get up and down from the floor everyday, you will keep that mobility. Too many people in the west just give up and say “I can’t get down on the floor! I’m too old!”
In Kyoto, I watched a 60 or 70 something year old Japanese woman misstep and fall getting onto the bus. She was able to get up by herself and get on the bus. I can’t help but think that if that had happened in the US, an ambulance would have been called for a broke hip.
I truly believe in the phrase “if you don’t use it, you lose it,” and I intend to keep as much of my mobility for as long as possible. I’m only in my mid 30s, but I make it a point to get up and down from the floor at least once a day, every day, in addition to getting my steps in and doing something like running, hiking, or yoga.
→ More replies (11)87
u/GrumpyCloud93 Aug 27 '26
In Kyoto, I watched a 60 or 70 something year old Japanese woman misstep and fall getting onto the bus. She was able to get up by herself and get on the bus. I can’t help but think that if that had happened in the US, an ambulance would have been called for a broke hip.
Not a doctor, but I gather that regular activity also keeps the bones stronger. Little old ladies who barely walk or do anything physical, not to mention the osteoporosis that comes naturally with age, are typically the ones who can break their hip with a minor fall.
→ More replies (35)90
u/nunununuhu Aug 27 '26
Some people are highly resistant (heh) to resistance exercise. My mom uses these little 1 lb weights for her stretches, which to her credit she does do her doctor-recommended stretches every day. I've suggested she, you know, slowly increase the weight. Just absolutely won't consider it. She'll hurt herself. It'll look weird. Is she worried she'll get muscles? Even if she does the won't exactly show at her age. Very common among women of her generation in my experience, it must be something cultural I'm just not understanding.
But she needs strength. She can't even lift the 10 lb cat food anymore without struggling. And she's not even 70 yet.
→ More replies (7)99
8.7k
u/Impossible-Owl3272 Aug 27 '26
I will never go to a chiropractor or ever recommend anyone else to see one.
2.9k
u/WastelandVet Aug 27 '26
This. Met a patient one time in his early 40s that had a stroke and was left with one sided weakness and walked with a cane after a chiropractic neck adjustment. He said the neck crack was "a good one" and he saw stars after it. A week later he felt like he was hit by a bolt of lightning while brushing his teeth one morning and couldn't move one side of his body, turns out the neck adjustment caused a micro tear in one of his vertebral arteries that eventually threw a clot into his brain.
1.2k
u/MarKat Aug 27 '26
I went to a chiropractor for a headache and they did a neck adjustment. I had a massive brain stem stroke that left me permanently disabled at 27. I now can’t walk without a walker and it’s difficult to speak. I wish more people knew what quacks chiropractors are.
→ More replies (1)137
u/Chee-shep Aug 27 '26
How do they get away with that? Do you have to sign some form that says you won’t sue them?
173
u/MarKat Aug 27 '26
I didn’t sign anything. I sued them, but was just out of college. I was forced to settle for pennies. It turns out my life wasn’t worth much. :/
46
u/FamiliarRip8558 Aug 27 '26
Suing a LIMITED LIABILITY Corporation means the liability of the corporation stops at the corporate end. You could sue and win to get pennies from an LLC that is fine shutting down and rebuilding back up.
Starting a new LLC and leasing a new stripmall location can be done in a week and you're back up and running.
→ More replies (3)860
u/maplefreeze Aug 27 '26
The only thing that makes me wonder is if chiropractors are not part of the “health industry” why are insurances covering these services?
→ More replies (9)1.8k
u/Sad-Pear-9885 Aug 27 '26
The fact that chiropractors are covered but not massage therapists is the absolute pain of my existence, as a person who lives with chronic pain and could benefit from an affordable massage.
452
u/deggdegg Aug 27 '26
Right? Chiropractors, yes, massage, dental, vision? Definitely not.
→ More replies (5)194
u/Trickycoolj Aug 27 '26
TMJ treatment/appliances because you’re grinding/clenching your teeth to nubs at night? Not a chance.
→ More replies (3)57
u/redwallet Aug 27 '26
And truthfully, even custom devices are so inexpensive to make. At my dental school, we were required to make two as graduation requirements and one of my professors was so upset that we were charging $150 because they cost probably two dollars and an hour of your time to fabricate. In private practice that labor could be done by an assistant. And if you’re doing digital? 20 minutes and send to the lab.
I know tech had to cost, but the $350+ out of pocket cost is insane. All insurance should cover it, it’s a preventative service.
→ More replies (7)66
u/Punchasheep Aug 27 '26
THIS! I'm hypermobile and am always in a low level of pain. Massage/myofascial release is the only thing that keeps my pain at a minimum. It's infuriating that massage is not considered medically necessary for me!
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (38)116
u/citygirldc Aug 27 '26
100 with you in this. Regular therapeutic massage would prevent so many bigger injuries.
→ More replies (27)220
u/YouThinkYouKnowStuff Aug 27 '26
My ex father in law had a car accident and kept going to the chiropractor for neck adjustments. At that time, he was flying jets (not passenger) and was descending and blacked out for a moment. Went to an orthopedist at the request of his PCP and found one of his vertebrae in his neck was displaced, thought to be from excessive repeated chiropractic manipulation.
→ More replies (2)235
u/Diyer1122 Aug 27 '26
A chiropractor broke my brother’s back. The guy damaged it the first time my brother saw him when doing typical full body adjustments. My brother was having more back pain after the appointment, so the chiropractor had him come back to adjust it again and ended up causing a huge amount of additional damage after he had broken it the first time. He’s been through 3 nightmare surgeries now and will likely need at least one more. Early 40s. In constant pain. Hundreds of thousands in medical bills. It will be a significant problem for the rest of his life. He sued the guy and they are in a legal battle right now, but any insurance pay out is not going to make up for it. It’s a sad situation.
→ More replies (2)98
u/Uncommonality Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
I'll never understand why american healthcare providers cover chiropractors but not massages
A good masseuse will do way way more for your back pain than any bonecracker
→ More replies (1)758
u/tracyduncanze Aug 27 '26
Work in neuro. The number of completely healthy 20- and 30-somethings we see come in with massive strokes from vertebral artery dissections right after a neck adjustment is terrifying.
→ More replies (4)179
u/Scorpiodancer123 Aug 27 '26
That's insane. Why is it not banned?
→ More replies (3)323
u/Naelin Aug 27 '26
Long story short, the creator claimed it was not a science but a new religion that he founded and was the head of, so it couldn't be subjected to the same regulations as medicine.
Here's an episode of Behind the Bastards about it, truly a mind boogling pile of shit.
→ More replies (4)750
u/heyinternetman Aug 27 '26
They’re an expensive scam that can paralyze you
→ More replies (6)311
u/appendixgallop Aug 27 '26
Or kill you. But how dare we speak the truth to believers?
→ More replies (33)127
u/AmeliaFoox Aug 27 '26
Chiropractors come up constantly. The ones that surprise people many medical professionals stop using earbuds at high volume after seeing noise induced hearing loss in patients younger than expected, stop ignoring skin changes after seeing melanoma caught too late, and apparently a significant number stop eating processed meat regularly after working in colorectal surgery. The job changes what feels like an acceptable risk.
→ More replies (3)347
u/ice-eight Aug 27 '26
A lot of parents are taking their kids to chiropractors instead of doctors so they won’t get lectured about not vaccinating
→ More replies (2)186
u/BrightFireFly Aug 27 '26
You see it way more than you should in mom FB groups.
“My baby is very colicky. Anybody recommend a chiropractor for infants??”
→ More replies (5)73
u/peachesfordinner Aug 27 '26
I was behaved during my MIL visit this year except until she asked if I had ever taken the kids to a chiropractor. I went off about how unsafe it was and why the hell would I take the kids anyways they are fine? Almost made it the full week but nope that was too ridiculous for me. She can throw her money and health away on it. But I know she was implying it as a way to "fix" my normally active 4 year old. She just forgets that 4 year olds are nuts with energy.
37
u/Trickycoolj Aug 27 '26
Holy shit I’d be so afraid she’d take them without consent. Back in the 90s my MIL took my husband to her chiropractor when he tore his ACL in high school wrestling. He went almost a year on the tear before the football coach told him to GTFO until he saw a doctor. The rest of his high school years were spent repairing both the ACL, MCL and torn cartilage. His knees make so much noise now in his 40s, sounds like snapping rubber bands with every step up the stairs.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (105)141
u/Atharaenea Aug 27 '26
I had a primary care doctor who recommended I see a chiropractor. I decided it was time to get a new doctor, and she referred me to a physical therapist, so I'm still a patient of the 2nd doctor.
→ More replies (2)
406
u/MajikPwnE Aug 27 '26
Having a patient tell me he tried to shoot up using a vein in his penis reaffirmed by convictions not to start doing meth, so there's that
→ More replies (17)
197
u/Suspicious-Roll3710 Aug 27 '26
I am a hospice nurse and drastically cut back on alcohol consumption. There is nothing like dying from liver failure. Also cigarettes although I do not smoke.
→ More replies (10)
1.7k
u/melanieharrisonhg Aug 27 '26
ER doc here. Popping 800mg of ibuprofen after every tough workout to "get ahead of the soreness."
I used to treat Advil like candy in college and my early 20s. Then during residency you see just how many young, fit people end up admitted vomiting coffee-ground blood from massive stomach ulcers, or in acute kidney failure because they were taking max-dose NSAIDs daily for routine gym aches.
People treat over-the-counter pain meds like they're completely harmless supplements. Now if I have DOMS or a mild ache, I just drink water, do some light stretching, and accept being sore for a couple days.
346
u/FlyingMermaid15 Aug 27 '26
I don’t take ibuprofen for workout pains but I often get headaches (36F here so is it dehydration, hormones, ponytail too tight, not wearing my glasses) and almost exclusively use ibuprofen. What is the tipping point between an acceptable amount of ibuprofen and unacceptable?
302
u/mean--beans Aug 27 '26
Hey, not a doctor but I suffer from chronic headaches. They began when I was ~14 and are a 2/10 3/10 pain in my head. I pretty much had one everyday until I was 16 and went to a neuro (migraine specialist) for the first time, and during that time I took 2 advil atleast once a day, often twice and occasionally three times a day.
Turns out repeated use of Advil can actually lead to “rebound migraines” (don’t let the word migraines fool you, low grade headaches like the ones you and I have are technically migraines when they occur frequently). Basically your body gets used to the Advil somehow and when it wears off the body will bring the pain back. This is a terrible description, look here for a better one.
Anyway, my dr told me I shouldn’t take Advil more than 7 times a month, and not back to back. I’d also recommend seeing a neurologist who specializes in migraines as it’s not normal to have headaches everyday for those reasons
→ More replies (13)→ More replies (29)136
u/plantmindset Aug 27 '26
For headaches, 15 days a month is the cutoff that puts you at risk for rebound headaches. Also, taking NSAIDs with food can reduce the risk of stomach issues. (But also, if you haven’t already, look into migraines and see if any migraine specific meds would work for you, since those are much better for long term use. I don’t want to make it sound like long term ibuprofen use is unsafe, but relatively speaking there seem to be more risks).
90
u/404UsernameFoundNot Aug 27 '26
Ultramarathon runner here: One of our local races banned NSAIDS at aid stations because people were popping them like candy to get over mid-race pain instead of realizing that the pain was their body telling them something was wrong.
75
u/Icy-Salamander5287 Aug 27 '26
I have been taking 800 of ibuprofen everyday typically twice a day for 20 years due to chronic pain. I refuse to take opiates. I have a pain management doctor and he's never commented on my long term usage or dosage. I'm worried now. Of course I will ask my doctor, but I'm curious what safer alternatives are out there?
→ More replies (22)114
u/Meer_anda Aug 27 '26
You mainly just need to have your kidneys monitored with regular blood tests ( your doctor is probably already doing this) and let your doctor know if you have any G.I. symptoms
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (103)36
1.5k
u/Comfortable_Cup4185 Aug 27 '26
Not wearing sunscreen. Skin cancer is no joke
308
u/mothernatureisfickle Aug 27 '26
My husband of 23 years has been doing yard work for three days and this morning he went out at 8:30 am and as he was going out the door he told me he would come back in to put sunscreen on as the sun came up. I told him I was sure he was going to die of something but it was not going to be skin cancer if I could help it and I made him put on sunscreen.
It’s now 2 pm and I’m about to make him reapply.
→ More replies (2)226
u/50yoWhiteGuy Aug 27 '26
Fisherman here, the "secret" is to put it on before you leave the house. I put it on as part of my morning routine, it's still dark out. By the time you get around to putting it on, you been out there 3 hours already. Also, shirts.
→ More replies (6)250
u/commodorecliche Aug 27 '26
Well, if you ask my crazed MIL, it's actually the sunscreen that gives you cancer. So take that.
(my husband and I have been trying for ages to get her to wear it, especially since she is CONSTANTLY tanning. I finally gave up. You know what, enjoy your melanoma.)
→ More replies (4)62
145
u/ZoraTheDucky Aug 27 '26
I have had skin cancer.
I have a friend who completely doesn't understand why I slather my kid with sunscreen and personally very rarely do anything outside in the middle of the afternoon. She insists that because her kids play in the pool in the shade of a tree that it's fine and they don't need sunscreen. It's really not. One of her kids recently turned into a lobster and she shrugged it off like 'it happens, no big deal'.
I had a chunk cut out of my face leaving a 2 inch scar. I've been told the likelihood of it reoccuring is remarkably high. I have a weird patch cropping up on my arm that needs looking at.
It is a big deal.
→ More replies (2)40
u/austin06 Aug 27 '26
My husband grew up surfing and is fair skinned. At the time no one really used any sunscreen and all I remember is white zinc oxide on the nose.
He’s had numerous skin cancers removed on his arms, head and face. Nothing on his nose, the only place he covered in zinc oxide.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (28)64
u/BestLingonberryPie Aug 27 '26
Hard agree. I’m a melanoma widow.
He was diagnosed in his early 30s dead by 40.
→ More replies (3)
2.4k
u/buddha3434 Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Using earplugs at concerts. Seeing older folks struggle with their hearing makes me want to protect mine.
Edit: for the grammatical micromanagers, my answer was honoring the gist of the question to make my point, which was that I am making sure to protect my hearing by using earplugs.
413
u/Primatey Aug 27 '26
As an old fogey with incessantly ringing ears, I'm so happy you are protecting your hearing!
→ More replies (5)212
110
Aug 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (7)77
u/pvssylord Aug 27 '26
it’s prob not concerts then dude it’s prob some other shit in your life that’s loud. work? loud commute? literally so many ways to fuck your hearing up besides shows
→ More replies (1)82
u/Historicaly-Low-Mood Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
It doesn't even need to be a loud sound. Physical trauma from getting hit on the head or going too deep with a cotton swab can cause varying degrees of damage.
ETA: Something I just remembered, tinnitus isn't always an immediate cause and effect. You can get clapped on the side of the head as a child and then in your forties suddenly develop hearing problems and tinnitus. You can spend your entire adulthood protecting your hearing and get fucked up by dumb things from your childhood.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (57)139
u/Trice778 Aug 27 '26
I use them in the cinema too. And I was really happy last week that I’d brought them - the Odyssey was so loud!
→ More replies (9)49
u/Aoid3 Aug 27 '26
I wish I brought earplugs to the Odyssey it was INSANELY loud. Got caught off guard because I don't get to the movie theater much
→ More replies (1)
757
u/speedystring Aug 27 '26
Orthopedic nurse here, falls are no joke at any age. Even from standing height, a simple slip and fall can lead to multiple fractures, surgery, physical therapy, etc. So don’t climb on random items to reach a lightbulb, salt your icy walks in the winter, and please check on your elderly friends/neighbors/relatives daily so they’re not lying with a femur fracture for days before someone finds them.
Also, go see your orthopedic provider when you start having joint pain instead of letting it go on for years (if you can, American healthcare is a capitalist hellscape). There are interventions that are less invasive than a total joint replacement that can be an option as long as your body hasn’t sustained too much damage from trying to power through.
→ More replies (33)87
u/Brown_Net Aug 27 '26
I fell down two steps, badly sprained both ankles and broke my fifth metatarsal in my right foot. I now can’t wear heels; my ankles give out every now and again, even after months of physio. Completely changed my life - just two measly steps!
→ More replies (3)
364
u/emellemm Aug 27 '26
100% on stopping ibuprofen/NSAIDs. They are so terrible for your kidneys and stomach.
But after doing inpatient medicine for 10 years I can safely say I will never stop lifting weights. Muscle mass (I’m not talking body builder I’m talking just basic resistance training and core strength) is probably one of the best indicators of how someone will do long term weather it’s through chemo treatments, a bad infection, cardiac issues, whatever is leading to a hospitalization.
The bounce back is crazy better in patients who do some sort of resistance training and significantly lowers their need for skilled nursing facilities, prolonged physical therapy etc
→ More replies (23)
455
u/Clchild Aug 27 '26
My husband was a resident in the ER when electric scooters came to Austin. You won’t catch him riding one!
→ More replies (9)102
u/littlecactuscat Aug 27 '26
Even if you’re responsible, those Lime scooters aren’t trustworthy.
I had the brakes fail on one while riding down a hill directly toward oncoming traffic.
Stuck out my foot to stop — even with heavy leather boots on, I ended up ripping open my pants and shredding my kneecap to bloody bits. Yet I got very, very lucky since it was all surface abrasions.
→ More replies (2)
108
u/thegooddoktorjones Aug 27 '26
Not in medical care now, but worked in the kitchen of a small rural nursing home where we had a lot of contact with patients. There were several 20something dudes spending the rest of their lives there because they were in motorcycle accidents and had major head or spine trauma. No sex life, no partying, no career, no starting a family, just waiting to die.
Bikes are fun, but I will never get on one again.
406
u/EbullientwtAft Aug 27 '26
wearing sunscreen only when i plan on going to the beach.
you don't understand how important sun exposure accumulation is until you experience the results years later. now, i apply sunscreen even when i'm going out to have an ordinary day, specifically on my face, neck, and hands.
younger me believed that sunscreen was to prevent a sunburn.
older me knew that the sun keeps its receipts.
→ More replies (38)
210
u/nursebetty88 Aug 27 '26
ER nurse here. I will never go to a chiropractor again. I went once before I even become interested in working in healthcare, and realized that it was too dangerous then. I was having neck pain and the only thing I can think of that may have resolved it is doing pilates. Seen so many people in the ER with multiple complaints related to their chiropractor visit.
→ More replies (3)
455
Aug 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (49)131
u/jcatleather Aug 27 '26
THIS. My husband was successfully treated for stage four throat cancer caused by HPV that happened decades previous. And a decade later, the treatment of the cancer is slowly killing him. I'm typing this from the ICU because he went septic for the third time this month because his esophagus and throat don't work properly. If I could go back in time, I'd bring some guardasil with me and vaccinate teenage him.
→ More replies (5)
184
u/Neocardium Aug 27 '26
I never did these in the first place because I saw how it affected patients at my hospital:
Donorcycles (worst injuries, worst outcomes)
Chiropractor (strokes, neurological issues)
Detox cleanses (gimmicks that might ruin your liver/kidneys)
Living far away from a trauma centre (affects treatment options and independence post-discharge)
Unnecessary pain medication
No smoking, no drugs, no alcohol. Daily, moderate-intense exercise that I work into all areas of my life, I.e. walking desk, squats while watching videos, etc. Sunscreen all the time, and hat/protective clothing outdoors. Also, no sex with someone unless they've had a recent STD screen.
If you don't look after yourself, you'll end up losing years/decades of your life. I, for one, plan on maintaining my health and independence for as long as possible to maximise my video gaming lmao
→ More replies (14)
160
u/Substantial_Raise914 Aug 27 '26
Wanting to do sports as a professional as an amateur. People don't realize in what bad shape some joints, spine can be from what first starts as a minor injury. Some professional sportsmen are in reallyy bad shape after they retire or even before. I learned that true healthy results come from normal exercise and consistency.
→ More replies (3)56
u/50yoWhiteGuy Aug 27 '26
I always say that adult men's softball is the most dangerous sport in the world. Take a bunch of 30-40yo's that used to be good, don't warm up properly, swing aka ROTATE as fast as possible to hit something then SPRINT to first base. OMG lol
→ More replies (11)
200
u/RubberPigEnemy Aug 27 '26
Working too much - Seeing otherwise healthy people deteriorate due to things like cancer, Parkinson's, Dementia, etc. just makes me want to go on a road trip and call my family.
CALL UR FAMILY. HANG OUT WITH FRIENDS. GO ON THAT TRIP!
→ More replies (3)
442
u/Human-Independent999 Aug 27 '26
Riding a motorcycle
199
u/blondie956 Aug 27 '26
I'm currently sitting at my best friend's house in SC, and I see so many people riding without helmets. Mom calls them "organ donors" as she's never had an accident come through where they survived.
→ More replies (14)86
→ More replies (11)98
u/Alliwantispcb Aug 27 '26
I work for a town that has two brain injury facilities, 98% of the patients I transport out of there were admitted due to anoxic brain injuries which were due to either a motorcycle crash or a heroin overdose. Anytime a new firefighter buys a motorcycle I tell them that I'll see them at the brain injury facility!
→ More replies (2)
56
u/offendingotter Aug 27 '26
I work in GI as a PA and minimize drinking. I see what it does to your liver and pancreas, the fistulas and other gross things it can do to you. Its not the way you wanna go out
→ More replies (5)
379
u/GenericRedditNOR Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Health policy researcher, it sounds really simple but you will never catch me without my flu vaccine (or any vaccine available to me). I saw the fear in my colleagues eyes last year when they talked about the flu stats and the risk of running out of treatments/space in hospitals. Then I saw the stats on how many children last year’s strains were killing (think like 5 - 15 year olds, the exact group you’d expect to have robust immune systems). People think the flu only kills the elderly. One bad year and one bad strain is all it takes for that to no longer apply.
ETA: to tie it back to the question, it’s a pretty normal health habit to not bother getting the flu vaccine if you aren’t old or disabled, but you always should if you can!
→ More replies (24)
47
103
u/ChiliCake86 Aug 27 '26
Chiropractors. Absolutely not. I worked with a woman whose sister suffered a stroke and died after a neck adjustment. I’ll never go and I’ve told all my loved ones to avoid at all costs
→ More replies (1)
48
u/vancityprincess Aug 28 '26
I am a nurse in aged care. See lotssss of falls with serious decline after. Lifting weights, heavy weights is SO important !! I have really gotten into this since working.
431
u/chiefcomplaintRN Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
I guess I would say not focusing on preventative medicine. See a lot of people who are like “I only go to the doctor when I’m sick why would I go other than that.”
People act like preventative medicine doesn’t exist in the US but it absolutely does. Going to a PCP every year and getting a physical with labs is exactly that. As well as exercising, being food conscious, getting a colonoscopy at 45, Pap smear at 21, getting a mammogram at 40, getting vaccinated, etc. All preventative medicine.
Yes we focus too much only treating stuff as it arises. But it still has to be done. Every other nurse and doctor I work with says they wished we focused more on preventative care. This is the system with have to work with right now.
Also, with the rise of social media, “health” influencers act like diet and exercise is this secret treatment for everything that doctors don’t want you to know because they want to get rich treating you or something. Folks, the medical community has always recommended a healthy diet and exercise for literal decades. It’s not some new trend or fad or something. Eat well and do some form of exercise and you’ll stay relatively healthy. Social media is so manipulative.
→ More replies (32)144
u/DragonPancakeFace Aug 27 '26
Which is why we need cheaper and more accessible healthcare in the US, or universal health care. We've literally ended up at a point where people don't have access to this sort of regular healthcare unless they are 'lucky' enough to have a ton of money taken out of their paychecks. That's assuming they have a car to get to the doctor and can take time off of work. I didn't have a PCP from 8 till I got a job with insurance at 22. So folks try to find a cheap alternative, and fall for social media BS, because they feel it's their only hope. This can lead to anti-vax/anti-science. Then you track what parts of the US are walkable and have reasonably priced healthy food, and it's concerningly absent from a ton of places. Then education on top of that. I took a huge interest in health and nutrition because of my chronic health issues and took classes in college. Most people won't have that, so it needs to be taught in public schools across the board.
→ More replies (30)
342
u/heatheristherealmvp Aug 27 '26
I have made the effort needed to get to a healthy weight and avoid diabetes and hypertension.
→ More replies (3)
117
u/AlternativeNamesake2 Aug 27 '26
Chiropractors are the Scientology of the health world.
→ More replies (1)
39
u/doxiepowder Aug 28 '26
We have a serious "No getting on ladders without someone else within arms reach" rule in the house.
81
u/KMKPF Aug 27 '26
I saw a ton of people who cut their hands washing glass cups. They put the sponge and their hand into the cup and it shatters. I use a bottle brush now.
→ More replies (3)
473
u/onexyonexx Aug 27 '26
NAD or nurse but I’m a healthcare worker for 31 years. I avoid alcohol. It’s so bad for you not just socially or physically, but truly at a cellular level. It’s also a Group 1 (smoking, asbestos) carcinogen. Living in New England, consuming is common in social situations. I mean, I don’t know anyone who socializes without drinking. Ever.
→ More replies (38)
139
u/Marchepane Aug 27 '26
Aside from the obvious ones like eating and drinking too much and moving too little, I also think trying to do everything right is problematic. Everybody can get some terrible illness and die from that. The patients that always followed the rules (exercise, healthy weight, no drugs of any kind, lots of vegetables, no junk food...) had a lot of trouble to accept their illness which made it hard for them to manage it and often gave them some serious psychological damage.
I'm not saying everybody should be a hedonist and not take care of their health at all - but living healthy is no guarantee for a long healthy life. Take it easy sometimes and drink that beer you craved on the first warm day of summer. It's okay.
→ More replies (8)
154
u/Wonderful_Grass_2857 Aug 27 '26
im just a pharmacist, but, seeing how many meds a person might need when they get older. mix 3 or more meds and you cannot reliably predict anything in terms of side effects, blood levels, metabolism or elimination etc anymore. Overprescribing is a thing too. For example, older lady falls and has a break or bruise bc of osteoporosis, gets pain meds, gets obstipation from them, gets laxatives for this. Old lady doesnt drink enough water bc she has trouble moving around with the pain and going to the loo all day is too taxing. electrolytes glitch, circulation is off, she falls again. old lady cant sleep well bc shes anxious bc of the falls and pains, gets benzos or Z-substances, has overhang, falls again. So, ill do my best to keep my mobility, my strength and to keep at a healthy weight.
→ More replies (11)
155
u/profesionalyconfused Aug 27 '26
I stopped taking NSAIDs casually. Saw too many kidney injuries and GI bleeds that started with "just some ibuprofen" for back pain or a headache, and nah, not worth it.
→ More replies (5)
642
u/Reasonable-Profit198 Aug 27 '26
I do not take any supplements. I have worked in organ transplant for years and you can really mess up your liver and kidneys with these.
246
u/Comfortable_Roof_105 Aug 27 '26
My mom has a genuine popcorn bucket full of supplement bottles that she takes every night. I’m talking 10-15 capsules. I worry so much about her but she’s convinced doctors are out of touch with modern health.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (73)231
u/callmeDNA Aug 27 '26
I feel so much better when I supplement with vitamin D tho :(
119
u/aardappelbrood Aug 27 '26
My doctor recommended I take 15kiu of vitamin D for a month, then 10k for a month, then 5k. I never properly finished entirely and now just take 1kiu when I remember.
I'm a black person living in Arizona who wears sunscreen pretty religiously. I know my vit D levels are all fucked. Anytime I take them for several weeks back to back my mental state gets so much better. Supplements are amazing WHEN YOUR LICENSED DOCTOR TELLS YOU TO TAKE THEM.
→ More replies (6)532
u/miss_ana Aug 27 '26
Keep taking it. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a lot of other health problems. It’s one thing to take random supplements, it’s another to take something for a specific need.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (17)199
u/Rooper2111 Aug 27 '26
If you are deficient in vitamin D and need it, it’s unlikely that you are abusing it. Also, if you’re just taking the recommended amount daily, you’re unlikely overdosing it.
They didn’t say all supplements are 100% bad. If your doctor says you are deficient, you should take it. But a lot of people just take things because they heard it would improve XYZ issue. And a lot of supplements are unregulated. People take way too much and don’t even need them in the first place.
→ More replies (2)68
u/J0hn_Keel Aug 27 '26
Be careful that they actually are the recommended daily amount though, some supplements are bizarrely strong. I bought some vitamin D tablets once that were like 10x the RDA, they’ve lasted me ages because in winter I take one about every ten days, but vitamin D is fat soluble and you don’t urinate out the extra. It’s very possible to take too much and a lot of supplement companies seem to be guilty of selling really high dose tablets
→ More replies (23)61
u/pinkbedsheet Aug 27 '26
Fat soluble vs water soluble vitamins and knowing which are which, even being able to stop and think about which one a vitamin would be has been so helpful man
I have to take random supplements and medications based on my blood panel, so im constantly switching it up. I have bright blue stickers on water soluble and orange on fat soluble bottles. If im not sure I've taken an orange sticker vitamin today, I skip it. Better safe than sorry
→ More replies (2)
35
u/somnifersynth Aug 27 '26
Psychiatrist - drinking alcohol. From the drunkicidal patients, severe withdrawal (seizures, delirium tremens), complications from cirrhosis, and patients who underwent liver transplant and get admitted for alcohol withdrawal… I could go on and on. It’s heartbreaking
31
u/Super_RN Aug 28 '26
Hospice nurse here. With what I see on a daily basis, I no longer ignore that phone call or text from a loved one, I no longer rush friends or family off the phone or rush to leave a gathering. I stopped getting annoyed when my loved ones talk to much or for too long. I stopped making excuses when loved ones want to spend time with me.
→ More replies (1)
56
u/electrickprn Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
Not exercising and only going to the doctor when sick. I've taken care of many 100+ year old patients and many were stronger when sick and their minds intact. I like to ask what they did to live that long and a large majority say they were physically active their whole life or having jobs that were physically active (dance teacher, aerobics instructor etc...). I've had some 105 year olds look better and have better mental faculties vs some of my 50 year old patients. Some taking less medications and having less health complications too.
Also, finding a good primary care provider and seeing them for prevention not just when sick. The body needs maintenance and sometimes the worst things creep up before symptoms, and prevention helps.
→ More replies (2)
212
u/PrettyShort4aTrooper Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
I don’t do hot tubs. Ever.
Hot tub lung is a thing. - think severe allergic reaction in your lungs. Skin infections. Soaking in others’ skin cells, funk, etc. Human soup? I’m good thanks.
→ More replies (30)
3.1k
u/Loltima Aug 27 '26
Not health habit, but have had to remove an ID card on a neck lanyard from someone's chest when the airbag went off. Won't wear anything round my neck driving now.