Almost 50 million surgical procedures are performed every year in the US alone! As almost commonplace as many surgeries are, they can still be very nerve-wracking experiences.

When you go in for surgery, you’re giving up control and trusting your surgeon’s expertise. Those last few minutes before you go under anesthesia can be very scary! However, there are a few questions to ask before surgery that will assuage your fears and help you feel much more confident and comfortable. 

If you’re looking at having surgery soon, don’t worry! In this article, we’ll be covering all the questions you should ask in order to mentally prepare for surgery. Read on to learn how to put your fears to rest!

1. How Much Experience Do You Have With This Procedure? 

Studies have shown that the more experience a surgeon has with a specific procedure, the better the patient outcomes are. Asking this question will help you gauge your doctor’s experience level.

Bear in mind that some procedures are specifically tailored to their patients, and your surgeon might not have performed your exact surgery before. In that case, you can use this question to gauge your surgeon’s experience with similar procedures.

2. What Is Your Hospital’s Patient Safety Rating? 

With any procedure, your doctor and their hospital are both responsible for your safety. It’s worth asking about your hospital’s safety rating, and post-surgical rates of complications like sepsis or clots.

For more information, you can also look for any accreditation or awards that the hospital has received from trustworthy sources. 

3. Can You Describe the Procedure?

Understanding your upcoming surgery is one of the best methods of preparing for surgery. It can demystify the process and make it more palatable. 

Your doctor should be able to walk you through the procedure and address any questions you have about the specifics. You can also have them walk you through some medical animations to really help you conceptualize exactly what your operation will involve.  

Not only will this help you feel more comfortable before an operation, but it will also help you trust your surgeon’s knowledge.  

4. Why Do You Suggest I Have This Surgery? 

This is one of the most important questions to ask your surgeon, as it will help you understand the benefits and intended outcome of your upcoming surgery. You should feel compelled by your doctor’s answer and feel motivated by the promise of a better quality of life, reduced pain, or a longer lifespan.

You can also ask if there are non-surgical options, and find out why your doctor is encouraging surgery. If you’re not convinced, don’t be afraid to get a second opinion. You should always feel confident that you’re making the best choice for your body.

Use These Questions to Ask Before Surgery to Reduce Your Nerves

The next time you’re looking at surgery and find yourself nervous or wondering if it’s the best choice, return to this article. These questions to ask before surgery will help you trust your doctor, the hospital, and the procedure. Once you’re armed with knowledge, you can rest assured that this is the best treatment for your case.

If you enjoyed learning how to mentally prepare for surgery, we have lots of other health and lifestyle advice on our blog! Check it out for more! 

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Every Franc counts when you earn. Therefore, one must spend every Franc judiciously. Switzerland, the land of the best healthcare system, is responsible for choosing its residents’ quality of medical care. While you have to select the most suitable plan, you don’t need to worry as the tool available offers easy health insurance comparison in Switzerland. Here are tips on how to get the best individual health insurance plan. 

You may be a permanent citizen of Switzerland or a temporary resident; everyone must be under medical cover. If you are an expatriate, you are legally bound to take out at least the basic health insurance cover within three months after your arrival. If you fail to do so, the local authority will assign you a health insurance plan, which might be of a higher premium.

What is Individual Health Insurance System in Switzerland?

You can understand Health insurance in Switzerland like this: 

There is this basic insurance, which is mandatory. This insurance is your right, and no insurer can refuse to grant it to you. You are entitled to all the essential medical facilities under this cover, such as consultation from general practitioners, nursing services, psychiatric care, accidents and trauma treatment, ailments, and maternity. The price of this insurance cover is the same across insurers. Law does not permit to make profits on the basic health cover.

Then there is supplementary insurance, which you can add as a top-up on the basic insurance cover. You can select a plan that works best for you according to your affordability and needs. It is this insurance cover where you strike good deals and get discounts. 

How Do I Get the Best Price on Individual Supplementary Insurance Cover?

Unlike basic insurance, you have the flexibility to design the insurance cover, the deductible, the premium, the services you are entitled to, and hence your yearly expense on your medical needs. 

A supplementary insurance cover is a combination of two essential parts, a deductible and a premium amount. The lowest deductible that you can pay is CHF 300. It is mainly the deductible amount that decides the premium. The more the deductible amount, the lower is the premium. Let’s now see how to control premium effectively. 

Control the Deductible

Under what conditions should you increase the deductible and decrease the premium and vice versa?

If you are fit as a fiddle and do not require medical help frequently, raise the deductible to reduce the recurrent price of the premium. The highest deductible that you can opt for is CHF 2,500 approximately. 

Cash in on Your Age

With health insurers, this is a global practice that the younger you are, the better insurance premium costs you enjoy. It applies to the Switzerland insurance market as well. Insurance companies see young, disease-free customers as a profit proposition and hence lucrative insurance costs. The mantra, thus, is to take out supplementary insurance as early as you can. 

Draw Benefit from the Canton’s Laws

Every canton in Switzerland has its regulations around the deduction of premium. After you have calibrated the premium versus the deductible you are comfortable paying, find out the deductions permitted in your canton and lower the price of your individual insurance. This is your privilege, as it is for almost 25%–30% of the residents who benefit from canton-specific laws.

Switch Insurers to Get the Best Individual Insurance Price 

You have all the opportunity and legal right to explore insurers for discounts and features they offer at a designated time in a calendar year and get the best price for your individual health insurance. Insurers are bound to communicate the premium to you by the end of September. You can choose to stick to the insurer or move to another one for a better deal. You must complete this process of intimating the insurer for termination of the insurance and signing up with the new insurer by the end of December. 

Split or Combine Basic and Supplementary Insurance to Get Best Price

You have another lever to get the best insurance price in the market. This lever works by exploiting the option to merge or split your basic and supplementary insurance. Here is how you can perform this comparison  [Website in French ->  —evaluate the overall price of your individual insurance; if a single insurance provider gives you both the basic and the supplementary insurance versus two different providers letting you enjoy a better deal. 

Exclude Accident Cover to Lower the Price of Your Individual Insurance 

Here is another tip to reduce the price of your insurance. If you are employed for a minimum of eight hours a week, you do not need to pay for occupational and nonoccupational accidents. Your employer bears this expense. 

Pay Lump Sum to Get the Best Insurance Price

The payment terms you decide with your insurance provider impact the price of your insurance. You can choose to pay 100% in advance or pay semiannually instead of annually. The benefit you draw from such payment terms is discounts that most insurers extend to the customers. 

There are plenty of modes to control the price of your health insurance. Invest a little bit of time evaluating the options for better savings on your individual health insurance plan.

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When you hear the word addiction, your mind will most likely think about drugs and alcohol addiction. You tend to downplay other addictions, such as the internet, social media, and gaming addictions. You ignore the early signs of addiction to these things because you see them as harmless activities.

Yet you’re wrong, as studies show that social media is more addictive than smoking. Also, like drug and alcohol addiction, compulsive social media and internet usage have many adverse effects. The internet and social media addiction lead to depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.

To help you avoid these problems, here are the five early signs of addiction you shouldn’t ignore.

1. Relationship Problems

Maybe lately you’ve been avoiding other people and preferring being alone browsing the web or play video games. You even feel irritated when people close to you want to spend time with you. So, if you’ve noticed this behavior, it’s one of the early signs of addictions, and you need to take action.

The reason is that soon people close to you will also start avoiding you and you’ll become lonely. That’s why you should seek professional help by visiting facilities such as Oakvine Recovery Center. You want to get guidance on how you can overcome your internet or gaming addiction.

2. Neglecting Important Things

Maybe you have a school or job project that you need to do, but you keep procrastinating on it. You just can’t push yourself to do this work, and you waste all your time on social media or gaming. The cause of this problem is because you’re becoming addicted to social media or gaming.

So, you need to act now and seek addiction treatment before things get worse.

3. Sudden Weight Gain or Loss

One of the physical signs of addiction is sudden weight gain or loss. For instance, if you spend all your time on social media or gaming, you’ll gain weight fast. So, when you notice this sign, it’s time to do something, for instance, start exercising.

4. Mood Swings

Have you noticed that lately, you tend to get irritated quickly, even by small things? Then this is one of the early addiction signs. The reason is that your brain is not functioning properly, and that’s why you’re experiencing mood swings.

5. Insomnia

You should also consider you might have an addiction problem if you’ve been struggling to sleep. The reason is that even late at night, all your brain wants is the stimulus that comes from social media or gaming. That’s why you’re struggling with insomnia, and this will lead to other major health issues such as depression and heart attack.

Learn the Early Signs of Addiction of Know When to Seek Professional Help

Knowing the early signs of addiction will guide you to know when to seek professional help. At this early stage, it’s easy to recover and avoid the adverse effects of addictions. So, don’t downplay any of the above addiction signs.

For more Health and Wellness tips, please see our other blogs.

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