How Many Doctors Does it Take to Heal a Patient?

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It all Began With the Swallowing of a Fish Bone

A few hours after eating salmon for dinner and swallowing a fish bone, a young boy complained of having sore throat pain. His mother took him to the emergency room where he was given a nasopharyngeal scope. The doctor stated he didn't see a bone and told the mother the bone must have been digested and there shouldn't be any more problems.

The next morning the boy still experienced sore throat pain so his mother took him back to the doctor. There he was given another throat scope. This scope was more high tech with a camera attached to it enabling the doctor to see the child's throat on a TV monitor. Still, no bone could be found, yet the doctor discovered a scratch on the back of his throat and attributed that to the pain. The mother was told the child would be fine and was sent home.

A few weeks passed when the boy complained of his throat hurting again.

The next visit was to a pediatrician. After an inspection of the boy's throat followed by a negative strep test, the boy was once again sent home.

After the boy continued to complain of sore throat pain he was taken to see the pediatrician again who recommended he see a pediatric ear, nose and throat doctor. This visit prompted several unsuccessful appointments with different specialists.

The next stop, a visit to a refluxologist, who prescribed the boy Zantac followed by Prevacid. Later, he was given a 10-day pack of antibiotics in the event of an infection and Claritin in the likelihood of experiencing allergies.

Several weeks of taking the medications passed yet the boy still didn't feel any better. He also began to develop chronic headaches along with his sore throat symptoms. Another doctor's visit concluded that the problem was behavioral and would eventually pass.

More Doctors, Further Testing, No Answers

• Tested for mold and mildew allergies
• Two unnecessary sinus CT scans
• An upper endoscopy, which found the esophagus to be completely healthy
• Several blood tests
• Prescribed various medications that didn't work
• Three months of chiropractic therapy
  

A Break in the Case

The boy's mother took a recommendation to see a medical doctor who used some alternative therapies including acupuncture. After two months of acupuncture the boy's problem was diagnosed and he was on his way to recovery.

The Diagnosis

After an MRI, the doctor found the boy had swollen lymph nodes in his neck and behind one ear along with excess lymphatic fluid. The cause of the pain--pressure of the fluid on the nerves in his neck.

The boy went through a series of treatments with a physical therapist that drained the lymph nodes with a gentle massaging technique. After six of these treatments the boy reported that the pain was gone.

This was 2 1/2 years after the onset of his symptoms. The timing of the incident indicated a strong connection to the fish bone incident. One of the oncologists they saw explained that the child swallowing a foreign object could trigger infections.

In the end, the boy's mother found her son's problem was not life threatening and was actually simple to treat. Fortunately, because the boy's parents had good medical coverage they didn't have to wipe out their savings in order to cover the costs of the numerous tests, treatments and doctors visits before they found the real diagnosis.

Washington Post July 20, 2004

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Dr. Mercola's Comment:

If you don't understand why I'm so focused on my vision to transform the medical paradigm--one that a growing number of you are starting to pay attention to--the story above looks, sounds and smells like a bad joke but, sad to say, it's all true!

How many doctors and procedures does it take to cure a little boy's pain that all started with a fish bone he accidentally swallowed?

One emergency room doctor Two pediatricians Five otolaryngologists Two allergists One family practitioner One physician's assistant One ophthalmologist One pediatric oncologist One pediatric gastroenterologist

One pediatric neurologist One chiropractor One osteopath One physical therapist Two CT scans One thyroid ultrasound Two allergy tests Four blood tests

This is a classic case of what's wrong with conventional medicine, so focused on using their needless drugs and tests that doctors failed to observe and treat what was in front of their eyes all along.

If you haven't done so already, I encourage you to review my site and subscribe to my twice-weekly newsletter, but most of all join me in my quest to transform the medical paradigm to one that is sincerely dedicated to listening to the patients' concerns and expressing commitment to their health and well-being at the deepest levels.

If you want to take another giant step toward better health for you and your family, consider my book, Total Health Cookbook & Program. My how-to book goes into much greater detail about the proven health strategies I discuss on my Web site and use in my practice every day.

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