I WAS intrigued by the story that one in 10 Brits use medical TV shows to diagnose our own illnesses.
Apparently on feeling a sinister lump or mysterious rash, we do not visit our GP or even phone NHS Direct but flick on the telly in the hope that shows like House, Doctors or Casualty might help us to self-diagnose.
But surely you’d have to sit through HOURS of the stuff to find your exact symptoms? You’d have to rope the family in, set up a rota.
“Derek, this chap sounds like you: dizzy spells, palpitations...” “Blurred vision?”
“No.”
“Ah well, better keep looking then.”
And what if you do strike lucky and find a fictional character with your exact illness? Do you write to the fictional doctor to ask for a prescription?
No, you go to your own, real doctor.
Which rather begs the question: WHY NOT JUST DO THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE?
The only medical show I can imagine having a positive impact on health is Casualty, which must have prevented millions of accidents.
You must know that feeling, when you are about to do something foolish – use a nailgun in flipflops, make toast in the bath, etc – when you are been struck by the thought: “Hang on, this feels a bit like a Casualty opener. Abort mission.”
Or is that just me?
