Laura Jonikaitė: People Are Less Willing to Self-Medicate

“In my practice over the past few years, people have generally been willing to get vaccinated. Of course, there are occasionally patients who are against vaccines or certain vaccines. But people are willing to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis, flu, and pneumococcal infection,” says Laura Jonikaitė, a family doctor and cognitive behavioral therapy practitioner at the "Rezus.lt" clinic in the capital. We discuss with the doctor about current issues in family practice, seasonal illnesses, and the integration of psychotherapy with family medicine.

 

- What have you noticed in your practice after several waves of the COVID-19 virus and past quarantines?

- I have noticed that people are more concerned about their health and are getting checked prophylactically. Patients with acute illnesses want to undergo necessary tests to determine the most accurate diagnosis.

For example, a classic everyday case: differentiating a bacterial disease from a viral one to prescribe the necessary treatment. In my practice, I see that people are less willing to self-medicate, even when it comes to simple illnesses like the common cold.

Our quality of life and habits during quarantine were significantly affected by the fact that most people were isolated, socialized less, and developed more fears, withdrawal, and stress in performing things that previously seemed normal.

Of course, after the waves of COVID-19 and quarantines, I also observe cases of neglected diseases when patients did not seek medical care. Especially those with chronic illnesses who, fearing infection, avoided going to the polyclinic. Therefore, their condition was not monitored, tests were not conducted, or there were no opportunities to see specialists.

I am pleased to note that people are paying more attention to mental health. The stigma of talking about it, seeking help from a psychiatrist or psychotherapist is decreasing, and people are interested and seeking help.

Post-pandemic, patients have become more cautious about health, willingly undergoing tests. However, there are patients who are overworked, work a lot, and do not allocate enough time for self-care, exercise, and nutrition - this is often revealed by tests.

There are many neurological complaints. Fatigue, insomnia, and mood deterioration are also caused by vitamin deficiencies (e.g., vitamins B3, B5, B12, vitamin D, vitamin C) and harmful habits like smoking and alcohol consumption. Various diseases result in poorer absorption of vitamins from food. Nowadays, a working and active person wants to be energetic and productive, so they pay more attention to health and want to regain it as quickly as possible. Intravenous vitamin therapy is effective for this.

 

- Autumn annually brings us a bouquet of ailments - a runny nose, cough, and sore throat. What cold prevention measures and tips would you highlight?

- The deeper I learn about human health, the more I understand that we all currently lack the simplest basic needs. These include quality sleep, maintaining sleep hygiene. A work-rest regime, balanced nutrition, quality communication - satisfying the need for closeness, sports, meditation, leisure.

I would say that this is the foundation that we often push to the background in our fast-paced life, thinking that taking a magic pill will make us healthy. Good emotional health significantly affects our immunity and helps prevent diseases.

For colds and other diseases, adequate vitamin D levels are important. It is recommended to check vitamin D levels in the blood to prescribe the necessary dose. Also, vitamin C intake, adequate fluid intake, and replenishment of other vitamins and electrolytes.

 

- You integrate cognitive behavioral therapy models and practices into the field of general practice. How do they complement each other?

- Knowledge of cognitive behavioral therapy greatly helps me in my work as a family doctor. It helps better understand patients, their fears, causes of anxiety, defense mechanisms, avoidance. It helps to recognize depression, panic disorder, burnout, and other disorders, which we can assess in the office with various tests within minutes and, if necessary, refer patients to the appropriate specialists. I also share recommendations on how to prevent the deepening of the problem. Psychotherapeutic knowledge allows me to see the person as a whole organism, not just treat a sore spot or damaged organ. It is important to me to give each person quality attention and enough time during the consultation.

 

- Share how you strive for a harmonious relationship with the patient without losing clinical professionalism? How do sometimes exaggerated expectations and desires of patients affect the consultation?

- Probably every doctor has their own rules or beliefs on how to work with patients. In my opinion, the patient and I are like a team where both are important. As a doctor, I have to provide understandable information, options, explain possibilities and potential consequences. And the patient - make choices about health matters, follow the given recommendations.

I believe that communication issues or strange patient expectations are caused by a lack of knowledge, fears, different views of the situation. It often happens that patients come having read various articles on "Google," suspecting diagnoses for themselves and being quite worried.

I do not recommend doing this; better to save your nervous system and discuss these questions in the doctor's office, who will order the necessary tests.

And if we talk about the desires or whims of patients or their relatives, they cannot go against the treatment algorithms, and most importantly, the desires should not harm health.

You can read the full article here: https://lsveikata.lt/is-gyvenimo/laura-jonikaite-zmones-vis-reciau-nori-uzsiimti-savigyda-15267