In 1921, exhausted by heart disease Block addressed a request to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) to allow him to travel to Finland for treatment. Lenin refused. But, most likely, foreign doctors would not have helped Blok - the disease was advanced.
Hard times
The year 1917 turned out to be especially difficult for Alexander Blok: he was looking for food in a hungry city, carrying firewood from the basement, selling books and furniture. The famous poet was constantly elected to various committees and commissions; it was dangerous to refuse - and Blok agreed, and was present, in particular, at interrogations in the damp Peter and Paul Fortress. It is not surprising that he preferred to ignore the periodic pain in his back.
In April 1920, Alexander Alexandrovich fell ill - his leg hurt badly, his temperature rose, and he was tormented by a fever. Blok believed he had gout, but A. G. Pekelis, a medical doctor who lived in the same house, diagnosed influenza (flu) and noted slight changes in the heart caused by nervous pathology. Why he decided this way is impossible to say now. But for quite a long time Blok took completely unnecessary “nerve powders”, the composition of which is unknown.
Correct diagnosis
The treatment did not help, the temperature continued to bother me, and after a while signs appeared that resembled a heart attack. But Pekelis continued to treat the poet “for his nerves.” In the end, a famous neurologist at that time was invited to Blok. E. A. Giese and therapist P.V.Troitsky. Both are medical doctors and experienced specialists. They make a diagnosis: acute endocarditis - inflammation of the inner lining of the heart - and psychasthenia (as neurosis was previously called). Strict bed rest, diet and heart medications are prescribed.
But the poet continued to complain of shortness of breath, pain in the heart, swelling, and fever. He began to rapidly lose weight, became completely weak, and fell into apathy. The exhausted Blok refused to be treated, eat, or communicate. It was difficult for him to lie down; he was suffering from suffocation. After a long agony, Blok died.
Modern approach
For endocarditis, long-term treatment with carefully selected antibiotics is recommended. If there is no positive dynamics, an operation is performed - the affected heart valve is removed, replacing it with an artificial one. Patients take cardiac glycosides, thrombolytic agents, and undergo detoxification.
Franz Liszt
Due to age-related farsightedness Sheet I acquired the habit of playing the piano without looking at the notes. Therefore, neither the deterioration of his vision nor the cataract that appeared later prevented him from giving concerts. He was led onto the stage by the hand, but in life he used strong glasses. 
Glasses and drops
The musician never complained about his health and first consulted a doctor at the age of 69 - he began to experience shortness of breath and it became difficult to walk. He was diagnosed with dropsy and pulmonary congestion and prescribed treatment - regular exercise and diet. We also recommended drinking mineral water at the resort. Instead, Liszt decided to go on another tour. But I still had to see a doctor again because of poor vision. Even though he knew how to play “blindly,” sometimes he had to read the notes. Famous German ophthalmologist Albert Graefe diagnosed with cataracts. On the right eye there are only initial signs, on the left - it is already fully formed. Strangely, the doctor began to dissuade the eminent patient from the operation, which at that time had already become quite good at doing. And Liszt was determined to undergo treatment. Instead, the musician was advised to wear purple glasses several times a day and put drops in his eyes. It was forbidden to look at fire and the sun.
Didn't live to see the surgery
Meanwhile, his vision began to rapidly deteriorate and reached the point that Liszt could not even eat without help. The cataract was accompanied by blepharitis (inflammation of the ciliary edge of the eyelids). List complained of constant redness of the eyes and tearing, especially when smoking. Ophthalmologist Graefe advised him to quit smoking, which List did not do. Another eye drop prescribed to Graefa did not help.
By early 1886 it became clear that surgery was required. It was scheduled for September, but in the meantime Liszt planned a big tour. And at the same time he refused surgical intervention. Friends and family still hoped to persuade the musician. But in July of the same year, Franz Liszt died, possibly due to the pulmonary-heart pathology for the treatment of which the very first doctor sent him to the waters.
Modern approach
Blepharitis is successfully, albeit long-term, treated with antibiotics (in the form of eye drops and ointments). To treat cataracts, an operation is used during which the clouded lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens. The operation is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia.
WikiHow works like a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. During the creation of this article, 30 people, including anonymously, worked to edit and improve it.
Seeing your doctor with a new, previously undiagnosed problem can be scary. Patients often have difficulty explaining their symptoms to a doctor in an effective manner, and the therapist needs to collect all the necessary information from the patient without leaving out anything important. And all this should happen during a medical examination, which on average will last less than 10 minutes. You can get the most out of your visit by giving the doctor all the information they need in a simple, concise manner, just like they were taught in medical school.
Steps
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- Don't be afraid to tell your doctor about a symptom, no matter how embarrassing it may seem. The faster you tell, the faster you will be cured.
- Consider bringing a friend or family member with you to the exam if you are unsure if you can explain a physical problem correctly, or if you are forgetful or easily lost.
- Bring along written prompts with what you wanted to ask. Many people, when faced with a doctor, forget everything! A pen will also be useful to write down what the doctor says. Many patients often remember things they wanted to ask the doctor about after the visit is completed, and then are embarrassed to call back and ask about them again.
- Not wait until the end of the inspection to say: “... and by the way, I have another problem.” This is terribly inconvenient for the doctor, since what you think may seem like a small thing can completely change his treatment plan. Tell him about all your symptoms early and before he starts diagnosing you.
- Make a list of questions you have for your doctor. Most of the time, due to time constraints, you will forget to ask what you were supposed to, so it is important to have a list.
- Honesty is the key. Physicians are subject to an obligation of confidentiality. If your continued health is at risk, you can also tell everything down to the smallest detail.
- Match the image. If you're complaining about the worst pain of your life, you can't sit around drinking coffee, flipping through a magazine, and answering the phone. If you complain of pain in your toe, do not allow the doctor to walk into the office and see you lying on the couch in a medical gown.
- Think about the symptoms and their nature before you go to the doctor to save both your time and his, as well as expressing them more diagnostically for him.
- Know your health status. This is very annoying for both the patient and the doctor to meet face to face and then start piecing together the story.
- There may be no need to actively follow these steps if the clinician already seems to be asking questions in a logical sequence and getting to the point. A well-trained professional should actually be able to figure out what's going on without even thinking about using the steps.
Warnings
- Start your conversation with your doctor with your symptoms, not with what you think your diagnosis is (unless you are absolutely sure). An answer like “I think I have multiple sclerosis” may seem like a time-saver for you, but in practice it will tend to frustrate most doctors and derail the conversation. Instead, start the conversation with something like, “My arms and legs have been really weak lately, and I can barely walk now.”
- If you feel like you are not getting satisfactory answers during your conversation with your doctor, it may be more effective to continue expressing concern and worry, and much less helpful to become upset or angry. You don't want to be flagged as a "problem patient" or potentially facing litigation (something that could carry over to your future doctor visits, or even leak to the doctor's colleagues). In such cases, it may be better to try another time or seek a second opinion.
- This scheme is most useful when dealing with someone who has never seen you before, and especially when the disease occurs for the first time. It won't do much if you're discussing a chronic illness with your own GP.
Bring your general medical questionnaire with up-to-date information to your appointment. You can make one by summarizing all the data on diseases on one page. Include dates as well as reasons for hospitalizations and surgeries. Ultimately, you may not need to turn to her, but if questions arise about your past, having one will maximize the time you spend discussing your current health problem(s). Also bring along packages of the medications you currently use that contain the name and dosage information, including herbal supplements if used.
Describe the main reason for visiting in one or two sentences. Most doctors will begin the examination with something like this: “What brings you here?” A pre-prepared answer to this question will help in the appeal. Some common symptoms include: pain, weakness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, chills, confusion, difficulty breathing, or headache.
Remember when symptoms appear and how long they last. Including their start, stop and frequency. (“I have terrible pain between periods and it lasts about three days.”) Be prepared to give dates and times if possible. (“The first time I remember this feeling happening was on the 15th. It usually gets worse late in the evening, but sometimes I feel it in the morning too.”)
Explain what increases or decreases the pain. Notice any movement that makes the pain worse (“My finger doesn't hurt unless I bend it toward my palm, then I feel a sharp pain.”) or lessens it (“The pain seems to go away when I lie on my side.”) ). Explain clearly if any foods, drinks, body positions, activities, or medications make symptoms worse or better. (“The chills went away when I took Tylenol, but came back 2 hours later.”)
Use adjectives to more fully describe your symptoms. Not all pain is the same. It can be sharp, aching, directly on the surface of the body, deep inside, and so on. Example: “When I feel dizzy, it's not just the feeling that I'm going to faint; it's more like the world is constantly spinning to the left! Without being too poetic, try to explain what makes this sensation different from other types of pain, that you already felt earlier.
Please indicate the location of your symptoms. Including details if the pain moves from place. (“At first the pain was right around my belly button, but now it seems to have moved down here to my right hip.”)
Assess the severity of your symptoms. Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 would mean you feel almost nothing and 10 would be the worst feeling you can imagine. Be honest, don't understate or exaggerate. Pain of a magnitude of "ten out of ten" (in the eyes of medical professionals) would render a person unable to speak or perform other activities such as eating or reading. (“I was sitting having lunch and suddenly I felt a headache worse than I’ve ever had in my life, out of nowhere. It was so bad that I almost passed out. Definitely a 9 or 10.”)
Describe the situation and your condition at the time the symptoms appeared. Where were you? What did you do? What was unusual about the environment and activities, and were they different from your usual? What were you doing just before your symptoms started and earlier that day?
List other things that happen at the same time as symptoms appear.(“During the three weeks that I was experiencing these attacks, my wife also noticed that I looked very pale, my stools were dark in color, and I had lost 10 pounds even though I was eating exactly the same.”)
Includes prevention and treatment of various common ailments of internal organs. The specialist not only identifies all kinds of internal diseases, but also proposes a plan for their treatment and then refers the patient to highly specialized doctors who specialize in these pathologies.
A paid therapist is ready to accept every patient who needs help and advice. In this case, anyone will be able to visit the doctor, regardless of their registration address, availability of a medical insurance policy and other factors.
We can say that the specialist under discussion is the first and main doctor to whom the patient should go if any health problems arise. After detailed inspection And visitor survey the doctor will be able to determine what additional examinations and tests to refer him for, as well as which doctor to contact for further diagnosis and treatment. The patient will be instantly oriented in his further actions
Consultation with a therapist is important not only at the very first, but also at all subsequent stages of therapy. The specialist under discussion will be able to carry out comprehensive monitoring of the treatment process and the patient’s condition. Any violations and deterioration of the condition will be noticed in time.
Appointment with a therapist
The therapist's appointment begins with a conversation between the doctor and the patient. First, the specialist must collect all the information he is interested in. To do this, he asks his visitor many questions: what worries him, what symptoms were noticed, what diseases he had previously suffered from, etc. The more detailed and accurate the patient answers, the easier it will be to diagnose preliminary diagnosis.
We can say that a therapist's office is the starting point to which a person turns to be directed in the right direction to receive qualified help. It always contains all the tools necessary for a quality inspection.
It is worth noting that already from the first conversation the patient will be able to understand how competent and experienced the specialist is receiving him. Our clinic staff are able, using standard questions, to collect all the necessary information about the characteristics of the visitor’s body, find out the main symptoms of the problem and make a preliminary diagnosis, which in the future will need to be confirmed with the help of additional examinations, tests and consultations with more specialized specialists.
The therapist may also prescribe the necessary medications for the visitor.
Symptoms
A patient should make an appointment with a general practitioner if they experience the following symptoms:
- Temperature rise of more than 37 degrees;
- Pain and discomfort in any area of the body;
- Headaches for a long time;
- Cough, runny nose, sore throat;
- Weakness, bad mood, lack of appetite;
- Feeling tired already from early morning.
It is very important not to try to diagnose yourself and not to start treatment with improvised folk remedies. This should only be done by experienced professionals. Otherwise, you can cause serious irreparable harm to your health.
Each of us is the buyer of our own health. It is the patients who directly or through taxes provide salaries to doctors. We want to get results for our money.
What do we have the right to demand from a doctor?
1. The amount of information is as we want.
This means that we have every right to know our diagnosis, prognosis and alternative treatments, receive the recommendations we need and know what they are based on.
This is a correct position in principle, but sometimes it is difficult to implement it for moral reasons, for example, when a doctor is dealing with a patient whose prognosis for the course of the disease is unfavorable, especially if his relatives ask the doctor not to tell the whole truth.
2. The opportunity to slowly express your questions and doubts.
If your doctor doesn't have time to answer your questions right now, ask him to schedule another time to talk.
3. The opportunity to regularly communicate with your doctor.
You should talk to your doctor about the possibility of follow-up consultations and decide whether they should be regular or as needed.
4. Participation in decision making - your opinion should be taken into account by the doctor .
The issue must be resolved who replaces your doctor if he is sick or temporarily absent.
6. Information about who has the right to access your medical history.
How confidential is the information contained in the medical history, does the doctor transmit it to your employer, insurance companies or authorities, what obligations does he have in this regard.
7. Information about the cost of treatment.
The doctor should tell you the cost of each item separately so that you know exactly what you are paying for and how much. He should also tell you which screening and treatment methods are covered by your insurance.
Be sure to remember this advice, since in our conditions it is especially relevant. Our compulsory health insurance does not cover some types of diagnosis and treatment. In addition, although we declare the patient’s right to choose a doctor, insurance companies enter into agreements only with certain medical institutions, where they send patients. If you go to a medical facility with which your insurance company does not have a contract, you will most likely pay out of your own pocket.
8. Guarantee to be accepted at the appointed time.
If the doctor has appointed a specific appointment time, it is necessary that he be present. The exception, of course, may be urgent calls.
9. The right to choose a doctor.
You have every right to change the doctor if he does not suit you for any reason. In this case, you must be given all the necessary documents about the examination and treatment performed.
However, think carefully before you do this. Your new doctor will have to reacquaint himself with everything related to your disease in order to determine the most suitable treatment method and medications for you, which can take quite a long period of time. Surgeons do not like to perform repeated operations on a patient who has previously been operated on in another institution, and always advise him to go to the place where he had the first intervention.
10. Second opinion.
If the doctor cannot make a diagnosis or you have doubts, you can insist on seeing another doctor.
However, remember that some problems may arise due to the fact that there is no complete unity among doctors on many issues.
Doctor's rights
1. Complete frankness of the patient.
Doctors are not mind readers; if you hide anything about your medical history, treatment, or heredity, you should not expect to be given a correct diagnosis. In addition, you may be prescribed the wrong medicine to which you are allergic, the wrong drug may be prescribed, and so on.
People rarely deliberately hide any information about their illnesses. Elderly patients often simply forget about how their disease progressed, what studies were performed, and what treatment methods were used. Therefore, keep the medical documents issued to you, especially certificates of surgical interventions, and bring them with you to consultations.
2. Mutual politeness.
Treat your doctor no worse than you treat your business partners. If you have agreed on a consultation, show up at the appointed time; if you cannot, at least call and notify the doctor about it.
It happens that a patient scheduled for hospitalization, due to some circumstances, cannot appear at the hospital on time. If he does not inform about this in advance, then unnecessary difficulties may arise in the work of doctors, especially if the operation was planned in advance.
3. Consider what you will say to the doctor.
If you are going to an appointment, think through the complaints that you are going to present, so that on the one hand the doctor does not have to pull them out of you, and on the other hand, he does not have to listen to irrelevant stories for an hour. If you have a poor memory, it is better to write down your complaints so as not to miss important details of the course of the disease.
4. Understand the doctor's questions and answers.
If you don't understand something, ask again. Interrupt, if necessary, the doctor’s explanations and ask him to state the same thing in a more accessible form for you. Do not later blame the doctor for not giving you sufficient explanations.
Feel free to ask again. It is not at all necessary that your lack of understanding is due to insufficient erudition. It is quite possible that the doctor is simply not able to formulate his thoughts clearly for you.
5. Don’t unnecessarily irritate the doctor.
If you need a medical consultation, try to arrange it in the usual way and appear at the appointed time. It is absolutely not necessary to constantly call the doctor at home at 4 o'clock in the morning or 10 times a day at work to state each new complaint.
6. Give your doctor enough time to make a diagnosis.
Diagnoses are not made immediately. Give the doctor time to conduct the necessary examinations. Don't expect a miracle in fifteen minutes. Most likely, you will have to appear again after the doctor has all the necessary results of your examination.
Extremely sound advice, try to follow it. Sometimes the patient is sincerely perplexed why the professor cannot make a diagnosis immediately after he has crossed the threshold of his office.
7. Follow your doctor's advice punctually.
Take your medications as prescribed by your doctor, without changing the dose or time of administration. However, if your condition worsens after taking this medicine, tell your doctor immediately.
8. Disagreement with the doctor.
If you believe your interests do not align with what your doctor is suggesting, speak up and give him an opportunity to explain his position. Don't slam the door or threaten to take the doctor to court - he may be right.
If you have read in the newspapers about multimillion-dollar claims from patients against doctors, which are satisfied by insurance companies in the West, then remember that this does not apply to us. Even if you sell a Russian doctor with all his property, you can hardly count on receiving any significant sums.
If you violate these provisions, the doctor has every right to refuse to deal with you and suggest that you look for another specialist.
I may say something banal, but EVERYTHING. Yes, at a doctor’s appointment you need to say everything, even if it does not directly relate to the disease with which you came to the doctor. He is a specialist, and a person is such a multifaceted and complex system that a rash on the leg that is invisible at first glance can help in establishing the correct diagnosis, even though you came with a high fever. And to say that you were visited by an ambulance or that you were at an appointment with another doctor is absolutely necessary, it means that you have already been treated for something, something did not work and you will not run in circles with the same medications or treatment .
Everyone knows that after calling an ambulance to your home, a so-called active visit is sent to the clinic at your place of residence, that is, the local physician must come after the ambulance and examine the patient. If there is a lot of work, then at least call the patient and find out how he is doing and if anything is bothering him (if he is worried, then you will have to go to his house). So, some citizens, having heard from the ambulance that we will transfer the asset to the clinic, wait for the local police officer at home tomorrow, sit and wait for a doctor from the clinic, instead of duplicating the call and calling the doctor themselves at home, if there is such a need.
In the interaction of various departments, all kinds of things happen: somewhere they will let you through, somewhere they will not inspect, the ambulance generally transfers assets in a list and the receiving party at the registry may not hear something and may not ask again. And the patients are waiting.
Or, on the other extreme, the ambulance did not transfer the asset, the patient did well and called a doctor to the house, since he did not feel better. A local police officer comes to such a patient, interviews him, inquires about his health, but the patient, believing that the doctor knows about the ambulance coming to him yesterday, does not say anything about it. Instead of telling the new person that last night he called an ambulance, they came, gave him an injection or gave him pills, but the treatment didn’t help and it got worse, so he called a therapist to his house. Is it that difficult?
They remain silent like partisans, and the doctor prescribes treatment based on the current condition, not knowing that the patient had already received therapy before his arrival. As a result, an allergic reaction may develop from such a combination of drugs, up to anaphylactic shock, and there is no need to talk about the fact that the disease may be diagnosed incorrectly (you can’t do many tests at home).
There is now an example from real practice, when a young patient, having eaten mushrooms the day before, gets severe poisoning at night. She calls an ambulance, they come and want to take her to the hospital, but she refuses and writes a refusal. She is given a rinse, which makes her feel better - the emergency doctors report that they will leave the asset to the local therapist and leave. This asset does not reach the doctor at the clinic, and the patient calls the doctor at home herself. He comes, sees the current condition of the patient, as a result of which he makes a diagnosis of ARVI (absolutely justified, taking into account the current picture of the disease and symptoms), but does not receive valuable information about the previous use of mushrooms and the arrival of the ambulance (as it turns out later the patient thought that the ambulance had conveyed all the necessary clinic information).
On the same day, the patient is picked up by a second ambulance, diagnosed with poisoning, she is taken to an infectious diseases hospital, where she receives the necessary treatment, but her body cannot cope and she is transferred to intensive care, where after a long period of treatment and subsequent recovery, she recovers and returns to normal. He is discharged and begins to make claims to everyone along the chain: emergency doctors, local doctors, and even the infectious diseases hospital. The case comes to the investigators, who bring all the testimony together and refuse to initiate a case of negligence, which is absolutely fair, since she was diagnosed correctly at each stage, all tests were prescribed (even the district police officer ordered her to take the required minimum tests, the question is that they were not fulfilled). The patient’s negligence towards his health and incomprehensible indifference are immediately visible, since if a person clings to life, he will once again repeat his problems and tell as much as possible, and will not then be treated for weeks because of triviality or receive disability, making unreasonable claims to everyone around him.
You need to be more attentive to your health and not remain silent when visiting a doctor, so as not to experience such excesses as the example described above.
