The thing is, just because the people who give health advices
here are not professionals doesn't mean that they're quacks. The
way I see it, there's nothing wrong in sharing some information
which you may have from personal experience or from reading of
articles.
In addition, while not everyone here may be a professional, there
are people here with at least a working knowledge of first aid,
CPR, and the like. They're not qualified to give a full medical
opinion, but they can give suggestions and their personal
viewpoints on all things medical.
If anyone cares to know, I was a combat medic specialist in the
SAF. I'm not a doctor, and I'm not qualified to give diagnoses.
However, I'm allowed to make my own evaluations out in the field
and put forth my opinion on what the casualty is suffering from.
For example, if the casualty seems to be suffering from a broken
lower leg, I'll note down 'suspected tibia/fibula fracture' for the
MO to further evaluate.
Heck, once I got a soldier come up to me to say that he had
problems urinating. After looking through the symptoms, I suspected
it was more than just an ordinary urinary tract infection and
suspected gonorrhoea instead. I had him sent to the medical center,
who sent him on a clinic specialising in STDs (the one at Kelantan
Road). My suspicions proved correct, and it really was
gonorrhoea.
What I'm trying to say is that in this place, people may give
medical opinions. Just because I give my opinion doesn't make me a
quack. If anything, it gives the patient an idea of what he's
suffering from and what he should do.
That said, this forum should just serve as a means to educate and
inform people on health matters. Any postings here should never be
taken in lieu of true medical evaluation. While I felt that the guy
was indeed suffering from gonorrhoea, I still had him evacuated to
the nearest medical center anyway. Bottom line... if you're ill,
you should still go to your doctor for a full evaluation.
I hope the moderators can come up with disclaimers or
something.
