THE LIFT PRINCIPLE !
THE LIFT PRINCIPLE !
THE LIFT PRINCIPLE !
Whenever you go to any apartment or a big building with several floors you are bound to find multiple lifts or elevators! Most of the times these lifts are interconnected and even if there is one lift the point, I am trying to make remains the same!
Now suppose your aim is to go up and you notice that the display is telling you that the lift is on a higher floor. Now there are usually two buttons, for up and down! Which button are you supposed to press?
You are supposed to press the button marked UP since you want to go up! You do not press the Button DOWN thinking you are telling the lift to come down!
This is because the lift does not need to be told where it is supposed to go! It only wants to know where you want to go!
Keeping the above story in mind this is a retelling of an experience though it is actually an amalgamation of several such experiences which we face daily!
So this patient walked in and announced he had a sinus!
I of course gently corrected him saying that everyone has sinus! I added that he probably meant that he has a Sinus issue or problem or possibly headache or nose block!
He said, "yes that's what I meant! I wouldn't know the technical thing but you should know that right!!?"
So I replied,"let's leave it there and tell me your symptoms?"
The discussion then went like this…
He- I sneeze a lot
Me- Do you have headache?
He-No
Me-Then why do you say you have sinus problem?
He-Because I have sneezing and occasional nose block!
Me-Oh but that's not sinus problem but allergy!
He-What's the difference doctor!!??
Me-Well usually sinus problem means that you have infected sinuses which can cause headache and that headache is usually early morning and may increase if you take head bath and is typical over your brow area!
He-I do have headache doctor when I don't sleep well or when I think or am under stress or when I get exposed to loud noise for a long time!
Me-Well in all these situations I would be more bothered if you didn't have headache!! Human body and brain is unique in that any stress can cause headache which is natural! Once you remove the stress the headache would go! When you do not sleep well then you are not giving adequate rest to the body, so it is natural for the body to react by protesting with a headache!
He- Also I get headache when I skip a meal!
Me-Hey same pinch! That is also normal my friend! Especially if you skip important meals of the day like the breakfast! When you have low sugar or energy levels then it is natural to have headache though some others may have weakness or irritability or other symptoms! But if your headache is due to skipping of a meal just make sure you do not skip the meal! You of course do not have to overeat but make sure you have something that’s all! Your body and brain will be happy, and you will not have any headache!
He-But doctor, can't you just take a scan just to be sure!?
This is when the button of the lift was pressed! And I friend understood where it was going!
Now if he didn't get the scan the patient would shop till, he gets the scan in spite of me doing a better investigation which was free called the diagnostic nasal endoscopy! It is done to find out any sinus issues and can be done in the outpatient itself! Of course, it is respected more when we charge for it and give a colour print out of the report!
So anyway, a scan was ordered, and it revealed mild mucous collection with otherwise normal sinuses!
Now anyone who gets a scan done with a mild cold or allergy could get this finding and there is actually nothing which needs to be done! We do not have to treat the scan but the patient!
But who can try to explain this to the patient who actually has sinus problem in his mind than in his sinuses! I ordered a course of Anti allergy treatment and a review after couple of weeks! Luckily the patient was fine after two weeks and his happy face was bought great peace to my mind! He gave me a wink and said, “Thanks doctor, I do not have any Sinus Now!”
Next patient…
“Doctor, I have severe headache in the morning and for the past two months or so! Occasionally I also get some blood from the nose”
Me- Looks like a complicated sinus issue sir, I am having some findings in the endoscopy also, also your eye movement is a little off. I would prefer if we took a scan to evaluate this further, ok?
The lift button again "Is the scan really necessary doctor!!?"
The lift just sighs and goes on trying to make you reach where you want to go!
A doctor can truly only be happy when his or her patient is happy!
The sketch is a dedication to one of the greatest doctors in India, Dr B C Roy, under whose honour we celebrate Doctor’s Day in India.
Dr. Sriram Nathan