Choose your medical care wisely

Regulated physicians go through years of rigorous training before submitting themselves to detailed examinations. This assures, as much as possible, the safety of our patients.

Some physicians become generalists who see everyone from the cradle to the grave and for anything, from scalp problems to heel spurs, and everything in between. Others study specific conditions that affect our bodies.

Self-proclaimed 'physicians'

There are some physicians who are properly trained in the use of various alternative medicine disciplines ... I have no problem with them. However, there exists a number of self-proclaimed 'doctors', 'gurus' and 'physicians' who practise their 'craft' (as opposed to an art or science) with ignorance, guesswork, unsubstantiated procedures, unscientific methodology, highfalutin-sounding mumbo-jumbo, 'samfie' and flimflam that bears absolutely no relationship to anything scientifically tried and proven (evidence-based).

Those individuals are totally unregulated and can claim any qualification from anywhere in the world. Who is to say that they have bona fide alternative-medicine degrees when no one can substantiate whether or not the colleges or universities that allegedly issued their certificates are genuine or accredited? Jamaica has no regulatory authority covering such individuals and so the public is at their mercy.

The medical community has been circumspect in the face of the farcical public utterances, ridiculous claims and implausible anecdotes from some obvious charlatans. I suspect it is so because many people want to believe in these self-proclaimed healers and the doctors do not want it to appear as if they are competing with these frauds for clients.

Absolute nonsense

After receiving numerous plaintive phone calls about the absolute drivel being thrown at the public by so-called health gurus and physicians, curiosity led me to watch television as a popular 'practitioner' linked ear wax to bile! He boldly and confidently told a very desperate young lady in the audience that he can CURE her epilepsy! He told her that epilepsy was due to too much water in the body! Of course, he also told her to come to him for the cure. I am certain that, if she did indeed have epilepsy, she is definitely not cured.

Two of my patients - a young lady with kidney failure and an elderly gentleman with lung cancer - put their trust, their lives and their hard-earned cash into the hands of one such physician because he guaranteed that he would cure them. Consequently, the young lady declined dialysis and the elderly gentleman refused surgery (the cancer was early). After months of pleading, I failed to convince either that this self-proclaimed, alternative-medicine physician was only siphoning off their money - tens of thousands of dollars at a time. Both received long-formatted, standardised instructional sheets and concoctions. Both died because they turned away from treatment offered right here at the Kingston Public Hospital and the National Chest Hospital, respectively.

Now I see someone telling people that larger fish have larger molecules than smaller fish! He also asserts that, "I can have someone lose 30 to 60 pounds in a month - safely - with absolutely no danger." That is about four to eight times the rate of safe weight loss! Highly qualified medical scientists agree that weight loss of half-to one pound each week is okay. One to two pounds each week is a fast but safe rate and three pounds a week (for a while) is fast, but okay, if the individual is extremely overweight. Anything faster means that the person is losing too much lean (muscle) mass, which is likely unsafe.

People needing medical care must choose wisely before entrusting their most prized possessions (their bodies) to others.

Garth A. Rattray is medical doctor with a family practice who may be reached at garthrattray@gmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com