5 ms·

I have successfully diagnosed and treated MRSA and upper respiratory infections in myself. I NEVER suggest anybody else to self medicate. Most people do not tak

I have successfully diagnosed and treated MRSA and upper respiratory infections in myself. I NEVER suggest anybody else to self medicate. Most people do not take it seriously enough or do enough research to self medicate. All that being said, I think it is a shame that we live in a system where it is so expensive and inconvenient to see a real doctor that people resort to this kind of thing.

maxerickson 13y ago
Active duty special forces is likely more worried about keeping a clean medical history than expense or inconvenience.
- pmorici 13y ago
  I doubt that is what drove this. I'm sure they teach them that sort of thing so they know how to treat themselves in a pinch if they are on there own and can't see a real doctor. The problem is that some of them are too self confident and a little dumb so they think it is a fine idea to give it a go during every day life even when there is a doctor available to them. Think, "I'm not lost and don't need to ask for directions I'll just follow the north star like they taught us."
  - karmajunkie 13y ago
    I've got family who is ex elite forces, and I met a number of his comrades in arms at his wedding last year. Cocksure and self-confident? Certainly. A little dumb? I can say without qualification that they are not.
carbocation 13y ago
By what means did you self-diagnose MRSA? At a hospital, that would involve a Gram stain / culture/speciation / sensitivities and take a few days. Gram stain, because it's very fast (minutes) and can tell you, e.g., that you have Gram positive cocci in clusters (thus, likely staphylococcus species). Culture, then, to grow the bugs and see what nutritional requirements they have and what biochemical modifications they make. Catalase producing? Likely staph aureus. Finally, sensitivities: resistant to oxacillin? MRSA. One could imagine PCR-based tests, too, though at my institution such a test is not in use. Getting back to my question, how did you successfully self-diagnose MRSA?
- apendleton 13y ago
  A really determined person could probably do almost all of those at home if they really wanted to, with the exception of the sensitivity test and PCR. A makeshift incubator wouldn't be that hard to fashion, TSA plates are cheap, gram stain kits are relatively cheap, and you can do a catalase test with hydrogen peroxide. I guess you'd need a decent microscope, but the hypothetical person that's gram staining their own cultures at home surely has one, right? So the MRSA diagnosis is hard to swallow, but getting to staph aureus might be doable.
  - carbocation 13y ago
    Totally agreed; I don't doubt that anyone on HN could do this in their own apartment with the right tools. Many HNers probably have done this in bio lab back in high school or college. I'm just doubtful of the actual claim of self-diagnosis of MRSA.
    - Blahah 13y ago
      edit: misread your comment, nvm
  - tptacek 13y ago
    'carbocation is too nice to say it, but I'm not nice at all, so I will: the point is that it's hard to diagnose MRSA even if you have expertise and a full lab, and so it's nearly certain that the commenter above didn't actually "self-diagnose MRSA".
    - apendleton 13y ago
      Oh, definitely. I'm just saying listing the steps in the diagnosis isn't, in and of itself, convincing, since most of them aren't actually that hard (and like carbocation says, you end up doing most of them in a college bio class), so at least figuring out that you have a staph infection isn't completely implausible (though like I said, the "MR" part of MRSA is probably harder). It's still unlikely, though, firstly because PCR is hard, and secondly, because what person willing to go to that much effort wouldn't just go to the doctor?
cosmic_shame 13y ago
Really, you successfully diagnosed yourself with MRSA as opposed to a methicillin-susceptible Staph infection? And how exactly did you do that? Non response to one antibiotic? This is exactly the problem with people self treating. Without a proper workup, which in this case would have likely involved some sort of diagnostic microbiology, people end up over- or mistreating themselves.
- mberning 13y ago
  I was able to recognize the symptoms based on my previous experience and some reading. I had it previously and the doctor was able to diagnose it on sight. No testing was required.
CWuestefeld 13y ago
I have self-medicated with antibiotics in the past, when circumstances warranted. It is indeed an access problem (at least for me), but not caused by the cost (I have good healthcare insurance). Rather, it's caused primarily by the delay before one can see the doctor. And all evidence suggests that the results of the USA's current healthcare initiatives will exacerbate this waiting problem, and therefore also the self-medication issue as well. I also think it's a pretty good idea to carry emergency medication when traveling abroad. You won't know where medical care will be available, and indeed how to avail yourself of that care. Having a Z-pack and a couple of other things handy can save a lot of trouble. This has been a big boon to me more than once in the past. One one occasion the wife got a UTI, which is easily treatable with the right meds. On another occasion I helped out a fellow traveler, a doctor as it happens, by giving him an Ace bandage for a sprained ankle. I actually have some fish meds stored in case of emergency, but have never been desperate enough to use them. The extra stuff I have on hand I acquired while traveling abroad, in countries that have looser restrictions on pharmaceuticals (this used to be Mexico, but they recently tightened up their laws).
- DanBC 13y ago
  Obviously th need to be a bit careful with the meds and the country you're travelling to. Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight. Carrying prescription medications with unclear prescriptions is risky advice unless you're sure about the country you're travelling to.
  - klibertp 13y ago
    > Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight. OMG, where? I need to be sure to never go there, given my random (being treated) phobias and such.
    - mzs 13y ago
      Japan for example is strict about some drugs used to treat ADHD or anxiety in US and Europe, better travel with papers from a doctor.

maxerickson 13y ago

Active duty special forces is likely more worried about keeping a clean medical history than expense or inconvenience.

pmorici 13y ago
I doubt that is what drove this. I'm sure they teach them that sort of thing so they know how to treat themselves in a pinch if they are on there own and can't see a real doctor. The problem is that some of them are too self confident and a little dumb so they think it is a fine idea to give it a go during every day life even when there is a doctor available to them. Think, "I'm not lost and don't need to ask for directions I'll just follow the north star like they taught us."
- karmajunkie 13y ago
  I've got family who is ex elite forces, and I met a number of his comrades in arms at his wedding last year. Cocksure and self-confident? Certainly. A little dumb? I can say without qualification that they are not.

carbocation 13y ago

By what means did you self-diagnose MRSA? At a hospital, that would involve a Gram stain / culture/speciation / sensitivities and take a few days. Gram stain, because it's very fast (minutes) and can tell you, e.g., that you have Gram positive cocci in clusters (thus, likely staphylococcus species). Culture, then, to grow the bugs and see what nutritional requirements they have and what biochemical modifications they make. Catalase producing? Likely staph aureus. Finally, sensitivities: resistant to oxacillin? MRSA. One could imagine PCR-based tests, too, though at my institution such a test is not in use. Getting back to my question, how did you successfully self-diagnose MRSA?

apendleton 13y ago
A really determined person could probably do almost all of those at home if they really wanted to, with the exception of the sensitivity test and PCR. A makeshift incubator wouldn't be that hard to fashion, TSA plates are cheap, gram stain kits are relatively cheap, and you can do a catalase test with hydrogen peroxide. I guess you'd need a decent microscope, but the hypothetical person that's gram staining their own cultures at home surely has one, right? So the MRSA diagnosis is hard to swallow, but getting to staph aureus might be doable.
- carbocation 13y ago
  Totally agreed; I don't doubt that anyone on HN could do this in their own apartment with the right tools. Many HNers probably have done this in bio lab back in high school or college. I'm just doubtful of the actual claim of self-diagnosis of MRSA.
  - Blahah 13y ago
    edit: misread your comment, nvm
- tptacek 13y ago
  'carbocation is too nice to say it, but I'm not nice at all, so I will: the point is that it's hard to diagnose MRSA even if you have expertise and a full lab, and so it's nearly certain that the commenter above didn't actually "self-diagnose MRSA".
  - apendleton 13y ago
    Oh, definitely. I'm just saying listing the steps in the diagnosis isn't, in and of itself, convincing, since most of them aren't actually that hard (and like carbocation says, you end up doing most of them in a college bio class), so at least figuring out that you have a staph infection isn't completely implausible (though like I said, the "MR" part of MRSA is probably harder). It's still unlikely, though, firstly because PCR is hard, and secondly, because what person willing to go to that much effort wouldn't just go to the doctor?

cosmic_shame 13y ago

Really, you successfully diagnosed yourself with MRSA as opposed to a methicillin-susceptible Staph infection? And how exactly did you do that? Non response to one antibiotic? This is exactly the problem with people self treating. Without a proper workup, which in this case would have likely involved some sort of diagnostic microbiology, people end up over- or mistreating themselves.

mberning 13y ago
I was able to recognize the symptoms based on my previous experience and some reading. I had it previously and the doctor was able to diagnose it on sight. No testing was required.

CWuestefeld 13y ago

I have self-medicated with antibiotics in the past, when circumstances warranted. It is indeed an access problem (at least for me), but not caused by the cost (I have good healthcare insurance). Rather, it's caused primarily by the delay before one can see the doctor. And all evidence suggests that the results of the USA's current healthcare initiatives will exacerbate this waiting problem, and therefore also the self-medication issue as well. I also think it's a pretty good idea to carry emergency medication when traveling abroad. You won't know where medical care will be available, and indeed how to avail yourself of that care. Having a Z-pack and a couple of other things handy can save a lot of trouble. This has been a big boon to me more than once in the past. One one occasion the wife got a UTI, which is easily treatable with the right meds. On another occasion I helped out a fellow traveler, a doctor as it happens, by giving him an Ace bandage for a sprained ankle. I actually have some fish meds stored in case of emergency, but have never been desperate enough to use them. The extra stuff I have on hand I acquired while traveling abroad, in countries that have looser restrictions on pharmaceuticals (this used to be Mexico, but they recently tightened up their laws).

DanBC 13y ago
Obviously th need to be a bit careful with the meds and the country you're travelling to. Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight. Carrying prescription medications with unclear prescriptions is risky advice unless you're sure about the country you're travelling to.
- klibertp 13y ago
  > Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight. OMG, where? I need to be sure to never go there, given my random (being treated) phobias and such.
  - mzs 13y ago
    Japan for example is strict about some drugs used to treat ADHD or anxiety in US and Europe, better travel with papers from a doctor.