We've all been there, face-to-face with our doctor, and they start asking questions.
"I always ask: Married or single? How much alcohol do you consume? Do you smoke," said Inova Mount Vernon Hospital internist Dr. David Gehring. "We need to know all the details. Everything that one does impacts their health in some way."
But there are a lot people flat out lying to their doctors, according to a new survey. That can lead to dangerous, even life-threatening consequences.
Of the 1,500 people who answered the WebMD survey, 13 percent actually admitted lying to their doctors. Another 32 percent said they "stretched the truth."
"I think in general people don't proffer a lot of information when it comes to things like alcohol consumption or number of sexual partners or even the numbers of over-the-counter alternative medicines that they take," Gehring said.
Gehring said he sees it all the time. In one situation, a patient who was about to undergo surgery lied about the amount of alcohol she drank every day.
"She was withholding that information," he said. "She was a little bit embarassed about it, but in fact, it could have resulted in her death."
Health
People also often lie about how much they smoke. Gehring said if he doesn't know that information, he may not check things like pulmonary function.
And what's the harm if a patient said they diet and exercise when they don't?
"I might subject them to a bunch of tests, expensive tests and invasive tests," Gehring said.
And patients who lie about taking their medication regularly? They risk getting sicker and a doctor might prescibe them even more drugs if they don't know the truth.
"Before you know it, they may be on three or four medications when they only needed to take the one or two," he said.
People often lie because they're embarassed. They don't want to be judged by their doctor. That's why it's important to find a doctor that you're comfortable with.
