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 the usual desire to "check health". 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, that is, they give random values.

As a result — anxiety, confusion and a feeling that "everything is bad", excessive financial costs, unreasonable prescriptions and side effects... although 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 is why I say again and again: the best test is the one that answers a specific diagnostic question "could there be such and such a 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 will comment on each point.

They forgot to ask Karasev