When it comes to illnesses, people commonly consult and trust the physicians. However there are times where doctors make mistakes and end up misjudging one's illness. On 2014, a study that was released in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety found that around 12 million Americans, who pay specialists a visit, were misdiagnosed. And from these cases 1 out of 20 misanalysed patients has greater risk of accumulating harmful health conditions.
CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook, stating his opinion about the high number of people that were incorrectly detected said, "It's very serious. When you have numbers like 12 million Americans, it sounds like a lot -- and it is a lot. It represents about 5 percent of the outpatient encounters. It may be acceptable to make mistakes on a school test but in medicine, no one can afford to slip-up to save lives." Listed below are some of the health ailments that were proven many times to be incorrectly interpret.
Celiac Disease- A type of gastrointestinal concern in which a person experience cramps on stomach or abdominal pains. This sickness is triggered when one eat food with Gluten as one of its ingredients. The body reacts to gluten and the small intestine becomes injured. When this happens, the food nourishment coming from what a person eats would be impeded to sustain the body. Hence the nutrients needed such as calcium and iron are not received by the body. The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness release a data that shows about 83% of Americans who are suffering from celiac disease are either misdiagnosed with other digestive disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or undetected.
Fibromyalgia- Mayo clinic defines this illness as "A disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues." Those who suffer from this ailment experience these symptoms after a surgery, physical injury or an anxiety occurred. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 52.5 million Americans that must be suffering from this disorder were diagnosed with Arthritis.
Stroke- A study from the American Heart Association showed that 14% of people age 16 to 50 with stroke were misdiagnosed with other less severe illnesses such as vertigo, migraines or alcohol intoxication. Part of the problem is that physicians doubt that Americans age 45 and younger are suffering from stroke.
