2012年2月10日星期五

Is there ever a polite way to suggest to someone they may have a health problem?

I have a new coworker who I think has the same health problem that I do and I am wondering if there's ever a way to suggest politely to someone that they might want to see their doctor, especially when what tipped you off was some embarrassing facial characteristics.





I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which can cause facial hair on the chin and lip, too much hair in other places (arms, toes, etc.), acne, irregular periods, acanthosis nigricans (which causes thick, discolored, dark skin on the neck and other places) hair loss from the head, and other unpleasant things. I've actually had it since I was 13 but only got diagnosed when I was 24 and went to a doctor who had a clue what was happening, and sent me for tests. I am on medication now and most of my secondary symptoms are gone.





I just started working with this girl and she has all the secondary symptoms I had - facial hair, acne, receding hairline, thick discolored skin on her neck, etc. A lot of times, if girls aren't trying to get pregnant, they don't realize there's a problem with their period and therefore think all their skin and hair problems are cosmetic, meaning they try to treat them by going to a dermatologist instead of an endocrinologist. You can't treat the cosmetic symptoms without treating the underlying disorder. The other thing is that if the syndrome goes untreated for a long time it can cause diabetes, infertility, and heart problems.





Is there a polite way to bring this up with someone I don't know very well? I don't want to embarrass her or make her self-conscious. I know that she is probably struggling with her cosmetic symptoms the same way I did - it is awful trying to figure out how to conceal all these problems - and I just want her to know there is a solution that she may not know about, because there are a lot of doctors who still don't know about PCOS. She can get on Metformin and a progesterone-only birth control pill and probably see most of the cosmetic stuff disappear in a few months but without treatment she is putting her health in danger, not just her appearance. I want to help because I wish to God someone had helped me when I was struggling (I didn't even know about PCOS until I started trying to get pregnant and couldn't, which is what sent me to the doctor for tests) but as I said, I don't want to embarrass this girl. Any advice?Is there ever a polite way to suggest to someone they may have a health problem?
yes








'; Excuse me ( miss/ sir ) im afraid that you may have a health problem ';Is there ever a polite way to suggest to someone they may have a health problem?
You don't know that this woman has PCOS and you don't know that she may already be under the care of a physician for PCOS or some other condition and just doesn't feel comfortable broadcasting her medical problems to the office.


Since you are comfortable with your condition, you may openly discuss it with her, but just as it relates to you. If she expresses no interest in your condition, then just drop it. Insisting upon pointing out to the woman that she has acne and is hairy and obese could chill relations between you two and cause her to report you to human resources, even though you thought you were helping.
You know, one day I was in the local shops and a complete stranger came Io to me and said '; you've got the same thing I've got, why aren't you doing something about it?'; at first I felt quite affronted, but a few weeks later I took what she said into consideration, and it nearly saved my life. Just talk to her, you're just being a good person. :)
I'm of two opinions here: On the one hand, I don't think its ever a good idea to bring up someone else's health issues unless they bring it up first, especially if you are just making an educated guess and don't know anything for certain. On the other hand, those symptoms sound pretty specific, that is to say they probably aren't caused by anything else, and you know first hand what you're talking about.





The best way to approach it, I think, would be to tell her about yourself first. Start with ';I had this and that, I went through this and that.'; Explain to her what PCOS is, that you have it, and you know all the symptoms. Let her know that you know what you're talking about. Maybe just be listing the symptoms that you notice in her, she will connect the dots. If not, you can gently tell her that you notice alot of the sypmtoms in her. You don't want to embarass her right now, but if you're right, she'll be grateful in the long run.

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