Recently, a young man came to my appointment with a whole folder of test results. He was in despair: "Why is everything not normal? What's wrong with me?".

It all started with a simple desire to "get a health check-up." The patient himself asked to prescribe "something comprehensive" to "be sure." The doctor, not wanting to argue and striving to "not miss anything," wrote out a long list of tests. Some of them were simply unnecessary, and some had no scientific basis at all, meaning they produce random values.

As a result — anxiety, confusion, and a feeling that "everything is bad," excessive financial costs, unjustified prescriptions, and side effects... even though the person had no health problems at all.

This story is not unique. I see such patients almost every day. We all want to be healthy, but sometimes our desire to "check everything" becomes a trap.

Why does this happen?

• Fear of missing something important.

• The patient's desire to feel in control of their health.

• Convenience for the doctor: it's easier to prescribe more than to explain.

• The influence of advertising and "package" offers from laboratories.

That's why I say again and again: the best test is one that answers a specific diagnostic question "could it be such-and-such syndrome" and leads to action.

The publication in Komsomolskaya Pravda was widely quoted. So we continue with a big list.

Help with a repost and I'll comment on each point.

They forgot to ask Karasev