A Super-Power to Avoid

Once upon a time, I went to the Doctor with what I was fairly certain was a broken finger.  My Doctor, as Doctors will do, handed me a slip to go have the offending finger X-rayed.  It seems a simple enough response to such an injury, but I paused without taking the form.

I asked my Doctor this:  If an X-ray shows that my finger IS in fact broken, what would you do?  

He replied, of course, that he would put it in a splint.

So I asked him, what if my finger is not broken?  Then he said he would believe it to be sprained.

The course of treatment for a sprained finger, I enquired?  A splint, he sheepishly replied.

My Doctor, who is actually a very sharp guy, then threw away the X-ray order, left the exam room, and returned with a splint, which he applied to the (still) offending finger.

Now, clearly if you break something, you should have this looked at.  The problem here is, X-rays are frequently ordered when the results won't change the course of action.  

If you are a klutz like me, this means that a broken finger, or a nose broken but not visibly displaced, or even a torn rotator cuff, likely isn't something you need an X-ray (or any other sort of imaging) for.

If you break a finger or nose, it would be splinted or taped.  Your Doctor can do this without an X-ray.  And if you have a MILD tear of your rotator cuff, they will immobilize your shoulder, generally with a sling.  And if after several weeks, if you are still experience pain, they might recommend physical therapy.  This, too, requires no X-ray.

In short, a few simple questions at the Doctor's office, can save you the time, trouble, and expense of an X-ray, not to mention exposure to potentially harmful radiation.

Why, then, does the otherwise completely competent Doctor write out that X-ray order in the first place?  In many cases, they have come to realize that people EXPECT that, that some of us won't feel the right course of action is being followed without the X-ray.  

Some people might feel their Doctor is skimping on their health-care, to not request the X-ray.  Others feel that they should take advantage of this benefit of their health insurance.  Still others, having not broken a dozen bones as I have, unwittingly look forward to this novel process.

In a case of a severe accident, I would highly suggest an X-ray or a CT scan, as this could illuminate injuries that otherwise might be masked by the pains and traumas of other, less crucial injuries.  Such as a ruptured spleen, a potentially life-threatening injury that could easily be mistaken for a standard case of broken ribs.

The key here is to ask questions.  Your Doctor is not infallible, and you are probably one of thousands of people he or she treats each year.  Advocate for yourself.  Your Doctor, your wallet, and all your X-ray sensitive bits, will thank you!  Of course you can be excused from asking these sorts of probing questions directly after you are involved in a 20-car pile-up on the Freeway.  But for the routine, it-can-wait-for-an-office-visit sort of injury, be prepared and curious!

Oddly enough, if you cut your finger, say, in the kitchen (NOT that I just did this 20 minutes ago, and for the 417th time in my life, oh noooooo!) and it's bad enough to not stop bleeding within, say, 30 minutes…  Consider Crazy Glue as an alternative to a trip to the emergency room!  Do you really want to haul your silly self to the emergency room at 1:00am, spending hours and $100s of dollars there, just to get one stitch and some Tylenol?

Sounds, well, Crazy, right?  Consider this:  mountain climbers and extreme athletes in remote places have had life-threatening arterial lacerations closed (temporarily of course) with Crazy Glue.  It has been studied as a way to successfully prevent bleeding during open-heart and brain surgeries.  People are waking around with this stuff in their BRAINS!  So, a drop or two on your skin is not going to harm you, and may well save you lots of time, expense, and trouble.