If you watch television, you’re certainly aware that most of today’s commercials are promoting cars, trucks and the latest and greatest drugs – both over the counter and prescription. When it comes to trying to convince us that no matter what may be wrong with us, some new medicine or gadget has just been released that will make us well – or so they say. When I see the majority of these ads on TV I’m reminded of a saying attributed to the 19th century showman, P.T. Barnum, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

It seems to me that these ads are designed to do three things: 1. Get you to ask your doctor to change a medicine that may be working well for you to the new “better” and more expensive medicine 2. Convince you that you need an OTC pain meds for every little ache or that using expensive hot and cold patches or the more costly battery operated stimulation packs will “cure” an aching back, arm, leg, etc. 3. Create a false sense of hope. Do you really believe that memory loss can be slowed or improved by buying something that hasn’t been evaluated by the FDA, but because it’s made from some parts of a jellyfish it will help you? Remember, all of this promotion isn’t to improve your health; it’s to improve the bottom line of the manufacturers making the products.

Have you noticed that some TV ads for new prescription drugs run for a full 60 seconds. The first 20 seconds shows happy people enjoying a wonderful, pain-free, symptom-free life, and the last 40 seconds are spent telling you that you could have a stroke, trouble breathing, see changes in sleep habits, and for some really scary side-effects, you might even have thoughts of suicide or die. And while this modern P.T. Barnum is telling you about these very scary side effects, the images you’re shown are actors enjoying a pain-free life filled with butterflies and unicorns.

Let’s start with a few common sense suggestions. Newer isn’t always better, but it’s usually more costly. Don’t believe the hype, and don’t expect your doctor to have experienced an epiphany caused by watching a commercial resulting in her suddenly prescribing some new drug to all her patients.

If you have occasional muscle strains, headache, or body aches, it’s probably treatable with rest. You can add an over the counter anti-inflammatory medicine like Aleve or one of the generic store brands like naproxen with identical contents at a much lower price.

If it’s a muscle strain or sprain, try R.I.C.E. That’s a treatment protocol of rest, ice, compression and elevation. Even a sore back from working in the garden or a muscle “tweak” from bending or lifting something often resolves on its own within a few days with just rest and a low cost OTC anti-inflammatory medicine.

Hopefully you do know that if  what you’re dealing with looks to be a serious problem, gets worse or fails to resolve itself in a few days that seeing your doctor or in emergency situations, calling 911, makes good sense.

In today’s world we want immediate gratification. We tend to believe that newer is better, and no matter what our health issue, we want that problem to be “fixed” and we want it done now. Remember, hype is just that – hype. Rely on your doctor, but if the course of treatment you’re currently using isn’t working, there may be another approach. But if what you’re doing is working, well, as the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Ron Kauffman is a consultant and expert speaker on issues of aging, Medicare and Obamacare.  Ron is the author of “Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease,” available as a Kindle book on Amazon.com. He may be contacted at 828-696-9799 or by email at drron561@gmail.com.