Going to the doctor’s office isn’t exactly a fun experience. In fact, it’s often boring, time-consuming, and expensive. So why spend any more time subjecting yourself to such an experience when you don’t have to? With the advent of medicine delivery and telehealth services, there are more opportunities than ever to avoid the actual office. Read on to learn about four ways you can ditch the doctor’s office while staying safe and healthy.
1. Order Medicine From Delivery Services
Going to the doctor’s office or the pharmacy to pick up medications can be a hassle. You’ve got to schedule appointments, spend time traveling, to then likely wait in line. And, to top it off, you may even need to take time off from work to get it all done. The whole endeavor is annoying at best and, at worst, it can be an aggravating experience. So rather than spend all that time and energy, just get your medication delivered to you instead.
You can use medication subscription services to circumvent most if not all, inconveniences posed by visiting the doctor. These services are a particularly good option to consider if you have any medication that you take regularly. That could include monthly medication like B-12 injections, or it could mean daily medications, like birth control pills. Imagine the relief you’d feel returning home from your busy day to find your medication waiting for you in your mailbox. It’s just one more thing you can take off your to-do list to put your mind at ease.
2. Consult a Doctor Via Telehealth
How many times has this happened to you? You feel a little bit sick — but not too sick — but might get sicker, and you’re not sure what to do. So you book an appointment to consult with your doctor, only for them to tell you that you have a cold. They recommend you push fluids and get plenty of rest until you feel better. While that advice is helpful, it’s also something that pretty much anyone could have told you, and you were likely already following.
Now, checking in with your doctor at the beginning stages of sickness is still important. That’s especially the case if you know that you’re prone to developing more serious complications. But that doesn’t mean you necessarily have to go to your doctor’s office to get their input. Nowadays you can schedule a telehealth appointment instead. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, most clinics offer telehealth appointments for you to take advantage of. You can consult a doctor from the convenience of your home, which also usually costs less than an in-person visit.
3. Practice Healthy Living
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to avoid the doctor’s office completely. However, if you really want to limit the number of times you go, focus on proactively improving your health. Simply put: the healthier you are, the less medical intervention you’ll need. Now, what counts as being healthy is different for everyone, as you may have some struggles that others don’t. But, just like a plant needs water to grow, there are some things that everyone needs to feel good.
When it comes to your physical health, you need good exercise, nutrition, and sleep. Good exercise means finding a semi-vigorous activity that you can enjoy doing. Good nutrition means making sure you get the right balance of nutrients on a daily and weekly basis. And good sleep involves falling asleep and waking at the same time every day, for about eight hours each time. Incorporate these three pillars of health into your life, and you’ll hopefully see the fluorescent lights of the waiting room far less often.
4. Cut Out Toxins
The majority of this article has focused on what you should do to help avoid the doctor’s office. But there are also a few things that you shouldn’t do. And on the list of things you shouldn’t do, ingesting toxins is number one. Toxins are compounds that become poisonous in your body at high enough concentrations. And you’d be surprised how easy and legal it is to poison your body.
The two major ways of poisoning yourself on the regular are smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Smoking often leads to heart disease, respiratory infection, and lung disease. In turn, excessive drinking can also lead to heart disease, liver damage, and an increased risk of cancer. Some may argue that smoking or drinking every now and then has a negligible effect on your overall health. But severely limiting or entirely abstaining from both can significantly reduce the number of doctor’s visits you’ll need throughout your life.
Approach Your Health From a Proactive Mindset
Limiting the number of times you have to go to the doctor’s office is all about being proactive. And being proactive is all about investing your time and energy into making good decisions now.
For you, making good decisions may involve incorporating more healthy practices into your life. It may also involve cutting out toxins that can harm your body over time. But it can also involve maximizing your time, like ordering medicine online or consulting your doctor via telehealth services.
Your time on the planet is finite. So use these ideas to help limit the amount of it you spend in a waiting room.
