5 Health Mistakes Doctors Never Want You to Make!

A doctor's job is to make you well. The success of the doctor often depends on how well patients cooperate and communicate. Reader's Digest recently interviewed doctors to find out what patients can do to not only improve their help but avoid mistakes that might harm their health and well being. Here are 5.

1. Don't wait if you think you're having a stroke - if your symptoms are severe, the worst thing you can do is wait until it gets better. Waiting can increase the damage.
2. Don't dial 911 from your cell phone - why not? Because calling from a cell phone makes it difficult for dispatchers to locate where you are. Use a land line. Land lines make it much easier and quicker to locate you.
3. Don't drive yourself to the hospital - one paramedic commented how amazing it was that so many people tried to drive themselves to the hospital. This is not only dangerous to your own health but to the health of others you may injure in an accident if your lose consciousness or your heart stops on the way.
4. Don't leave the hospital without fully understanding what's next - if you don't understand what your condition is or exactly what you are supposed to do when you leave the hospital, ask and keep asking until you understand. After-hospital care is very important if you want to get well.
5. Don't take old prescriptions - many people make it a practice to use what's left in their medicine cabinet rather than spending money on a new prescription. If the medicine is expired, throw it away. They lose strength, and some can even become toxic with age.

Medical professionals can only do so much to help you get well. Don't make it worse or undo what the doctor has done to make you better by practicing these don'ts.

Read more by visiting www.rd.com/slideshows/doctor-advice-patient-mistakes/#slideshow=slide1