When To See An M.D.

Q. From reading your articles it seems that you address a lot of different health situations. Do you think it is ever necessary to see an M.D.?

A. Yes, in certain situations that is the appropriate thing to do.

In emergency situations such as severe car accidents, complicated fractures (broken bones), and blocked air passages, to name a few, it can be lifesaving to be treated by an M.D. who specializes in dealing with this type of situation. I don’t think there will ever not be a need for this type of care as long as people continue to have accidents and severe, life-threatening health situations.

Another appropriate time to see an M.D. or D.O. (osteopathic physician - also licensed to dispense drugs and do surgery) is if there is a bacterial infection that isn’t responding to natural methods of treatment. I f the infection continues to worsen it can be appropriate to take an antibiotic (a type of drug that destroys bacteria in the body). There are occasionally times that I have recommended that course of action to my patients. It is of course very important to continue the supportive measures for the body at the same time so the antibiotics have the least possible negative effect on the person’s overall health.

If a person has allowed his health to deteriorate to the point that body parts have to be removed, a surgeon is obviously the correct person to see. However, this has to be judiciously determined as many unnecessary surgeries are performed every day to the detriment of the person’s future health.

An example of this is to errantly remove a child’s tonsils to “correct” the problem of repeated swelling and inflammations. It would be best in this situation to determine the cause of the increased tonsil activity, such as food allergies or smoke inhalation , and correct the underlying problem. The tonsils are then happy and still in the body where they belong , doing what they are meant to do .

Another situation in which I use an M.D. or D.O. is as a second opinion in diagnosing certain physical conditions. Many M.D.’s and D.O.’s specialize in evaluations of the nervous system or reproductive organs, to name a couple, and have a tremendous amount of experience in their specialty area. Because of this, they can be very valuable in assisting me in caring for my patient. What I remind my patients in this situation is that they don’t need to follow the M.D.’s recommended treatment (drugs or surgery, usually) but that we can use the more specific information and test results to correctly plan their natural treatment program.

I hope this helps you to evaluate correctly when you are faced with such a decision in the future.