health anxiety but afraid of seeing a doctor.

[tourmalinetart]

so the title of the post pretty much speaks for itself. i'm a 40 year old woman who is terrified of doctors. so much so that i haven't seen one in well over a decade now. not a doctor, dentist, OBGYN, nothing. but i'm also incredibly fearful of anything health related. as an example, i have a toothache that almost brought me to my knees last night and most people would just run to the dentist and get things sorted out. with me, i am more scared of the dentist than i am the toothache......although the toothache was something i wouldn't wish on my worst enemy if i even have one.

so i am curious if there's anyone else like me. i don't take medicines. not even OTC stuff. i don't see doctors or dentists, but yet i have horrible health anxiety.

[Adamadam99]

I have the same thing, but only as far as cancer is concerned. It's because of the family history of the disease

[Athena_M]

Hydrogen peroxide 3% comes in a brown bottle. See the label for instructions to swish like a mouthwash- half water half hydrogen peroxide will help with dental issues. When you have health problems look up what Vitamin deficiency you have and natural cures on YouTube.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Hydrogen peroxide 3% is not a substitute for the dentist's work. The dentist will have to fill the cavity to prevent further rotting, or pull the tooth if that needs to be done, etc..

[specialmom]

So, I've used hydrogen peroxide for different things.  My dentist does say that you can use it as a mouthwash for gums and teeth at 3 percent but that you should dilute it with water if doing so. Just a caveat. Everyone should check in with their dentist. Health anxiety is such that people have a lot of fear of this or that being wrong and serious. So, it's important to get checked out first and then appropriately deal with th anxiety.

[specialmom]

Oh, and I think it is so common to have dental anxiety.  I have to drag, literally drag myself to the dentist due to anxiety.  Important to go but an understanding dentist is so essential.

[AnxiousNoMore]

specialmom  At this point tourmalinetart has a bad toothache but has never seen a dentist, so needs more than just a h peroxide mouthwash. The dentist will have to either fill the cavity or pull the tooth. The longer the tooth is unattended, the more damage the infection will do the jawbone. If tourmalinetart waits too long, the jawbone will be so damaged that it can break later on when she becomes a senior, and then there will be a serious problem dealing with a break that can't heal.

[specialmom]

I am giving my advice to the poster. I suggested they also see a dentist but hydrogen peroxide is used as a mouthwash. Thanks though

[AnxiousNoMore]

I understand your points. I hope he accepts that he doesn't have options.

[AnxiousNoMore]

It is not surprising that you have health anxiety since you stated you distrust all medications and health professionals. Doctors and dentists are trained to fix health problems. You have no medical training, so have alternative plan to solve health problems. That sore tooth is a ticking time bomb that will make you very sorry if you continue to ignore the issue it presents. Rotten teeth will rot your jawbone too, so the quicker you see a dentist, the less damage you will do to your jaw.

In summary, your present method of dealing with health problems lacks logic. See a therapist to see if you can find a way to get rid of this illogical fear of doctors and dentists before you do irreversible damage by neglecting the signs of a health problem.  

[AnxiousNoMore]

...., so you have NO plan to solve your health problems.