Why are people afraid of doctors and what is white coat syndrome? The main reasons for this fear, danger and consequences. Features of treatment and prevention.
White coat syndrome is a spontaneous fear that occurs when measuring blood pressure, which causes a sharp increase in the upper and lower allowable levels. Doctors describe this condition as arterial hypertension.
Why are doctors afraid?
The fear of going to the doctor is familiar to many. Especially when it is associated with discomfort. Let's say a head hurts, a person suffers to the last, trying to get by with home remedies. Maybe it will cost!
However, not always everything ends well. Constant pain makes you go to the clinic, and this is a very sad procedure! Walking through the offices, research, injections. Unpleasant diagnosis. Unforeseen financial costs. And although health should be above all, unfortunately, not everyone understands this clearly.
So the fear of the Aesculapians has a very real basis. Sometimes a late visit to a doctor turns into a serious problem. The disease becomes irreversible, and this often leads to a tragic outcome.
People worry about different things. Often when you need to measure your blood pressure. As soon as the doctor said that let's measure him, his heart skipped a beat and beat faster, anxiety appeared. The doctor measured the pressure once, twice, and then anxiously said that it was high, and prescribed a medicine. And it may not be necessary to accept it at all.
I remember how a classmate entered a military school. The therapist measured the pressure and said that it was at the limit, it was necessary to measure it. The guy got worried, the result of the new measurement was depressing. The upper limit of blood pressure jumped to 160 mm Hg. Art.
The hope of entering a military school had to be abandoned. When he was drafted into the army, his blood pressure was normal (120/70 mm Hg). And all because he was not worried at all. The result of the measurement was not even affected by the drinking the day before.
This example is a prime example of white coat syndrome. When a person is worried, blood pressure rises sharply. The doctor only states this fact. Understanding why this happened is not part of his function. He believes that the patient has hypertension and prescribes a course of treatment for him.
Although fear of doctors is not always a disease. Not everyone experiences hypertension. According to statistics, only 15% of patients undergoing a medical examination are susceptible to white coat syndrome when measuring blood pressure. He is not familiar to people with a strong psyche.
A typical example. A flight school cadet told a friend over a glass of wine that he had a training flight tomorrow. The friend was surprised: "Aren't you afraid, you drank the day before?" “No, this is not the first time. Before the flight, the pressure is always measured, I have iron 120 to 70. The norm! ". Many years later, the cadet rose to the rank of colonel, became a first class pilot. The pressure never bothered or worried him.
Hence the conclusion that the white coat syndrome when measuring pressure is a consequence of a weak, unstable psyche, it manifests itself in the patient's emotional reaction to the words and actions of the doctor.
It's important to know! When measuring blood pressure at home, there is no white coat syndrome, since a person does not worry in his usual conditions.
Causes of white coat syndrome
The main cause of white coat syndrome lies in the processes taking place in the brain. Through neurons (nerve cells), specific signals in the form of electrical and chemical reactions are transmitted and processed in the cerebral cortex. In those departments that are responsible for the mental state and behavior of a person.
When the psyche is unstable, it leads to disturbances in the conduction of neurons. The brain receives distorted information that has nothing to do with the real state of affairs. It is often disturbing, as is the case with white coat syndrome.
When the doctor says that it is necessary to measure the pressure, the patient is suddenly lost. His body and hands may sweat, his heart beats faster. He is unable to control himself - to control the surging emotions. As a result, the pressure rises sharply.
The upper limit of blood pressure (systolic) can jump to 200, and the lower (diastolic) - up to 100 mm Hg. Art. There is hypertension, this is not a disease yet, but a serious warning that you need to pay close attention to your health.
Important! People who do not know how to control their emotions and fall into an anxiety state need to learn to control themselves using a special method. This is the only guarantee that hypertension will not develop into hypertension. And this is already a disease that can lead to disability and premature death.
Who's Afraid of the Doctor?
All healthy people are afraid of doctors. After all, no one is reluctant to lose their health, so that later they can go to clinics or stay in a hospital. There is nothing good about it. However, there is a certain category of citizens who, at the sight of a man in a white coat, feel much worse than it was before.
These overly susceptible individuals include:
- Extremely emotional personalities … These are easily aroused. A critical word inadvertently spoken to them causes a storm of emotions in them. They attach "global" significance to everything, which indicates suspiciousness. This forces you to engage in "self-digging", to find in yourself a bunch of shortcomings that are actually absent. If a suspicious patient came to the doctor with a health complaint, and he offered to measure his blood pressure, his heart throbs, his pulse and heart rate increase. As a result, hypertension. The doctor does not know such a mental peculiarity of the patient and diagnoses hypertension. Although it is not really there, treatment can go down the wrong path.
- Boys and girls of adolescence … During puberty (puberty), significant physical and mental changes occur in the adolescent's body - the person is growing. In combination with personality traits, this can lead to increased excitability. Teenagers are not afraid to undergo medical examinations. However, they are not yet quite mature, they often express their emotions violently. This affects blood pressure, it can rise. If this happens several times in a row, the boy or girl are likely candidates for the group of people suffering from white coat syndrome.
- Mentally unstable individuals … This category should include persons whose weak psyche is genetically programmed, that is, they acquired this from their parents from the moment of their birth. For such individuals, only one thought about visiting a doctor causes severe stress. They postpone their "agony" until the very last moment, when it is no longer possible to endure the pain or the symptoms of the disease manifest themselves clearly. Explosive emotions in such people are accompanied by strong feelings. Therefore, it is not surprising that a visit to a doctor is associated with negative feelings that develop into a persistent white coat syndrome when measuring blood pressure.
It is believed that the syndrome of fear of the doctor depends on the physical and mental stress that is often experienced in everyday life. This is especially true for people with a depleted nervous system and an unstable psyche, people who are emotionally excitable.
Note! Each person has their own blood pressure. Over the years, it increases slightly. An indicator of 130/75 mm Hg is considered acceptable for young and middle-aged people. Art. If the data of the upper and lower limits are higher, this is already hypertension.
