Friday, March 31, 2017

We Asked Doctors About Patients' Dumbest Health Beliefs

Even reasonably well informed patients walk into doctor's offices every day with assumptions that are 100 percent false. We asked three health care providers on the front lines to share the most common misconceptions that drive them nuts—and to shed light on the truth.

Green mucus means you need antibiotics. From amoxicillin to Z-packs, antibiotics rank as one of medicine's greatest discoveries—but as the name implies, they only work against illnesses caused by bacteria. Meanwhile, viruses deserve the credit for colds, flu, and most sinus infections, says Myers R. Hurt III, a family doctor at Diamond Physicians in Frisco, Texas.

Contrary to the belief of many patients and even some doctors, Hurt says, the color of the stuff oozing from your nostrils and clogging up your coughs has more to do with where you are in the course of your illness than what's causing it.

Continue reading on Tonic.



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