Internal medicine focuses on adult medical treatment, including chronic disease prevention and health maintenance. Since these physicians treat patients of all ages, they may also work with older adults to ensure their general wellness and medications are appropriate for their age and medical conditions.
This is a field of medicine that focuses primarily on adult medical treatment instead of surgery or gynecology. These doctors spend their time diagnosing and treating adults with complex diseases rather than dealing with urgent situations like broken bones. These specialists are also frequently referred to as general physicians, family doctors, or internists. They diagnose and treat conditions from cancer to diabetes to skin rashes—and may work in multiple specialties at once.
This differs from other fields of medicine in that it deals with preventative care. In short, they find diseases early and treat them before they progress. They also focus on chronic medical conditions that require ongoing treatment, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
If you’re going to be seeing a doctor regularly, especially if you have a complicated health condition, it’s important to select one specializing in your needs. That way, they can administer a proper diagnosis and start you on a treatment plan tailored to your specific symptoms.
A few specialties that exist within internal medicine include:
These specialties treat specific conditions in adults. For example, cardiologists treat heart disease, and lung specialists treat asthma and other respiratory diseases. Specialists can treat conditions from low blood pressure to infertility.
Like most specialties, it is broken down into subspecialties to treat specific conditions in adults. In addition to cardiology and pulmonary specialists, gastroenterologists treat digestive problems, endocrinologists treat hormonal imbalances, and reproductive specialists treat infertility issues.
When you or your loved one is ill and needs medical attention, it’s important to know that if you have an internal condition, your doctor will be able to diagnose it accurately and treat it accordingly. Due to advances in technology and research methods, there are now many more treatment options for patients.
Many practitioners also work in specific areas, such as pediatrics or surgery. This gives them more specialized knowledge in specific areas than your general practitioner would have. For example, if you were to develop a condition that affects your heart, it would be best to consult with a doctor who specializes in cardiology and is trained in diagnosing and treating such conditions.
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Should I seek treatment now or wait, and see? That’s not a question you should be asking. Instead, you need to make an appointment with your primary care physician. A specialist can help determine whether medical treatment is necessary for your condition or if it’s something that can be managed with lifestyle changes and over-the-counter treatments. Your primary doctor will also monitor your progress throughout your condition and check in regularly to ensure any course of action they recommend is working as planned.
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