Trusting doctors | Imamother

amother

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:01 am

Why do people trust doctors with all their problems including major health issues, but suddenly when it comes to vaccines they don’t?

meme6

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:04 am

Cause the anti vax don’t have rhyme or reason and they are brainwashed agains vaccines and that doctors are only looking to make the money etc..

amother

Gold

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:05 am

How can you make such a Blatant statement? Whenever someone gets devastating News usually the first thing they do is get a second and third opinion? If they 100 percent trusted their doctors then they wouldn’t need another opinion?

oneofakind

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:12 am

Why should anybody trust doctors 100%? Malpractice is what drives medicine. Doctors use the same google that you could. If they had a certain experience, that will color the way they treat everybody I.e. one kid had meningitis, of course the next bunch of sick kids were sent to the hospital for spinal taps for meningitis. They are human just like everybody else. Research changes every few years-a few years ago you were told don't give anything allergic to babies, now give them Bamba.... You have to use your common sense.

southernbubby

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:21 am

The few anti-vax people that I know personally don't trust doctors for anything besides life or death emergencies. They will call the ambulance for a heart attack or use insulin for diabetes but they don't use conventional doctors for routine care and some are opposed to conventional cancer treatment. They often give birth at home. Most that I know trust homeopathy and chiropractors even if science is highly skeptical about the effectiveness of some the treatment (chiropractors can relieve some types of back pain).

JoyInTheMorning

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:25 am

As I've said repeatedly, I'm a born skeptic. When I or a family member faces a medical issue, I do research, which means I read abstracts and articles on PubMed and do my best to weight them according to the quality of the study. I do my best to get second opinions. (Sometimes, a family winds up in the hospital with a life-threatening issue, and realistically, there is almost no way to get a second opinion.) I ask questions. There are plenty of times when I am frustrated at the lack of available medical or surgical options.

But I don't see how the issue of trust is relevant to vaccines. Nearly every doctor I know is absolutely pro-vaccine. I could go for 8th, 9th, and 10th opinions, and I'd still get a recommendation to vaccinate.

The doctors that I know or have heard of who are anti-vaccine have something to sell you (like unproven and possibly dangerous supplements) and/or have set themselves up as boutique physicians to the rich and crunchy. Why would I go to them for a first or second opinion? I don't trust any of them.

So, in a nutshell: I'm often skeptical of the medical establishment. But I have more reason to trust them than the ones who have set themselves apart from the medical establishment.

JoyInTheMorning

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:30 am

southernbubby wrote:

What makes insulin okay as opposed to say, antibiotics?

If/when heart attack patients recover, do they take whatever medications they need to take in order to prevent another heart attack, or do they go back to homeopathy?

amother

Orchid

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:42 am

We are all vaccinated
But
I don't"trust" doctors ir any other professional, I do my own homework and see the doctor as a consultant, not an authority.

amother

Vermilion

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:43 am

Why is there always such a trust issue with doctors? I am a medical doctor and live and work in Israel. I am also a frum Jew. I honestly try to treat my patients to the best of my knowledge and I know that Hashem is the one who really heals, I'm merely a conduit. As I'm human, I can't always avoid errors or bad judgement. But I generally only recommend treatments that I myself would take if I had the patient's condition. That goes for vaccinations as well, my children are vaccinated, I'm vaccinated and I recommend it to others because to the best of my knowledge the benefits outweigh the risks in almost all cases, with very few exceptions.
I'm not out there to get you and I don't get any special payments from big pharm or something like that.
Besides, if you have a problem with the brakes in your car, do you trust the car mechanic to fix it properly? What if he doesn't and your brakes fail, c"v? In a way, you trust him with your life. Just think how many deadly traffic accidents there are all the time. Some are caused by technical failures. Do you google how to change brake pads?
What about an electrician? Do you trust him to do his job properly? If he doesn't, you could get an electric fire and your house could burn down in the middle of the night, c"v. Do you google how to wire up a house, just to be sure?

southernbubby

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:49 am

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

..

I imagine that they use a combination of diet, supplements, yoga, etc and they don't rely on drugs if they can improve some other way but some cardiologists also advise dietary changes, certain supplements, stress reduction, and exercise.
In regards to antibiotics, I think that it's a last resort and maybe in some cases that is the best approach.

amother

Mint

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 9:54 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Why do people trust doctors with all their problems including major health issues, but suddenly when it comes to vaccines they don’t?

The reason is because when a doctor goes to medical school they study all types of medicine. We accept them as experts and therefore rely on them. I don't think there is a single course doctors take studying vaccines. Can the typical pediatrician name 5 ingredients in a vaccine? I doubt it.

A second reason is because even if a doctor is skeptical about vaccines, they would be foolish to admit it. A doctor with a thriving practice who publicly says he questions vaccines, is literally out of business the next day.

southernbubby

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 10:02 am

amother [ Mint ] wrote:

There are specialists in immunology and infectious diseases where the doctors have more than rudimentary knowledge of the inner workings of vaccines.
I would admit that doctors need more education on the illnesses and pharmaceutical products that they encounter.

amother

Honeydew

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 10:17 am

Doctors are here to help, but doctors make mistakes too. If something doesn’t seem right, always question and go for another opinion if necessary.

amother

Burgundy

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 10:24 am

amother [ Mint ] wrote:

Its not a doctors job to name ingredients in vaccines.

Its the job of the anti-vaccine industry to scare people by listing ingredients in vaccines.

amother

Lavender

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 10:30 am

I trust my doctor to diagnose. I don't necessarily trust my doctor for treatment. And it's not because I don't trust her. I believe she's an excellent doctor and truly cares about her patients. I don't trust the products she recommends for treatment as they are created by those who make money when we come back for more of their products. These products tend to cater to the symptom and not to the root cause.

JoyInTheMorning

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 10:33 am

amother [ Vermilion ] wrote:

I am an all-purpose skeptic, not just about medical issues. I think that doctors in general have earned skepticism, because recommendations often change and because doctors are not always as informed as they should be. My classic example is that my mother and I both had fibroids. I had a much worse case, and at a much younger age, than she did. But all the doctors that my mother saw insisted that the only remedy was a hysterectomy, which she got, and which made her miserable. A dozen years later, I had a myomectomy, and the results were wonderful: I was not only able to get pregnant but to deliver vaginally. I know now that myomectomies were being performed when my mother needed one, but she didn't know enough to find one. And the doctors she consulted either didn't know or didn't care to tell her. I know that when I was deciding what to do about my growing fibroids, I got advice from a former college friend who was not only an MD but an ob-gyn!!! to wait and do nothing. It's one story out of many. Doctors have earned our skepticism.

But I think, first, that most doctors are better now than they were then. Maybe because I've moved into a different socioeconomic stratum, but I don't think it's that. I think that the increased competition for spots in medical school has resulted in doctors who on average are smarter and more knowledgeable. I think the availability of PubMed and of science reporting in various newspapers has forced doctors to keep on their toes more than before. There are still egregious mistakes being made but the incidence is less. (Though still awful when they happen to your family. And I have so many stories to report, just in the last few years. I personally have been fortunate. My family members, not so much.)

And second, and most importantly, I think medical practice self corrects over time. Like my example above: hysterectomies were performed too frequently several decades ago. But now there are many uterus-preserving procedures that are much more common.

Vaccinations have stood the test of time. They have been given for hundreds of years. They work. They are well researched. They have been pulled from the market when problems have been noted and verified. I understand being skeptical about specific procedures or medications that doctors advise. I don't understand being skeptical about vaccines.

amother

Burgundy

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 10:51 am

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

So what do you do?

By the way - everyone who markets a product makes makes money from selling it - even the first time.

JoyInTheMorning

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 11:07 am

amother [ Lavender ] wrote:

I've heard this argument, but it applies just as much to the crunchy side of healthcare.

You think supplements aren't created by people who make money?

What makes supplements and megadoses of vitamins okay? What makes unproven treatments like chelation okay?

amother

Coffee

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 11:28 am

amother [ Mint ] wrote:

And antivaxxers with a degree from Google Medical School? They are experts??

soap suds

Sun, Jun 16 2019, 12:07 pm

amother [ Gold ] wrote:

Second or third opinion from another doctor. Do they say all doctors are wrong and go do their own "research"?