to think that if you consider a medical problem to be URGENT you find someone else to consult about it other than Mumsnet?

[nameymcnamechange]

Gawd knows I love Mumsnet and I think it is populated by fab people.

But if you were seriously worried about someone in your family, why would you post here for advice? Wouldn't you phone your doctor straight away?

We're mostly a bunch of amateurs on this site and we can't see the patient...

Aibu?

I never understand why people are so reluctant to phone up for medical advice I'm on first name terms with NHS direct

because sometimes you need to check your not going crazy and not going to feel like a wally on phone to GP!

well i was very annoyed, i asked if a purple foot was normal and people said i was turning into a smurf.
i belived them and turned out that i needed my foot cut off :p

Sorry, the issue I had specifically was how to get her to keep her hand under the water.

You could type on MN but not click on the NHS site? Really?

Ok, then, yes ask random strangers instead of professionals and then sulk when you don't get the advice you want.

Sometimes, you get quicker responses here than on NHS direct tbh.

But I do see your point. MN is good for reassurance, but I am a heavy user of NHSdirect. If my child was vomiting blood or some such, I wouldn't come here. I'd be too distracted by the relationships board.

i am sorry but if i said to you 'put cream on the burn' would you of listened

No, because I was asking for advice on how to keep her hand under the water

YABU. Sometimes you need to be told that you need to see a doctor. Haven't you heard of spookycharlotte?

It is like an AIBU to be seriously worried?

I have posted for advice when I am not sure about something...for example when I suspected my DS had mastoiditis, and it turned out he did, but it had been so rubbished by the GP that I didn't have the confidence to blatantly disagree with her!

But I live very remotely so couldn't easily get a 2nd opinion, which is what I would have done had I been less than 2 ferry rides and 6 hours from the nearest A&E.

And, to be fair, NHS 24 would have been feck all use as the standard questions wouldn't have diagnosed him because he was a seriously (and serious!) unusual case.

me too cranky I'd be checking "threads I'm on" whilst waiting for replies

The risk you get is conflicting advice and then time wasting whilst you try to assess who is right. You also get a lot of well meaning people trying to reassure you with anecdotal evidence that all is probably ok and when in fact you are the one person it is not going to turn out ok for if you don't get the fuck to A&E

I'd use both at once! Phoned NHS direct a couple of years ago when everyone in my family had different but strange symptoms after eating Tuna.

By the time someone from NHS direct called me back i had discovered it was an histamine poisoning and had given everyone piriton

The person on the phone confirmed my diagnosis and treatment and told me what to look for next.

If I'd been on Mumsnet I expect I would have got the same advice as by googling the symptoms

Belt and braces

sorry, meant to also add that a bone specialist MNer gave brilliant advice which really backed me up when I eventually pushed it and he had emergency surgery.

You could keep it under water much more easily with two hands, but that's by the by- I'm sorry you were so upset, FWIW.

In general, yes, it irritates the pants off me seeing people posting urgent medical queries here.

"You could type on MN but not click on the NHS site? Really?"

I could click on the NHS site, but I couldn't navigate it to the advice I needed one handed. Do you understand the difference between clicking on a sit and navigating it techlovingdad?

I said "seriously" worried in my op, not a general chat about health which I know we all need from time to time. Also, when our kids have minor illnesses, its great to come and have your hand held on Mumsnet.

But why are people confusing Mumsnet for professional advice?

Perhaps people were impatient with you fz because you were Mumsnetting when your dd needed your full attention, given that it was an emergency that warranted hospital admission - ?

I posted a couple of weeks ago when DS swallowed lego - it wasn't immediately life threatening but I wasn't sure if it necessitated a trip to A&E.

Searched NHS direct and nothing on swallowed objects, phoned and was told someone would call within 4 hours. Within 10 minutes on MN I had the advice that all would be fine.

I suspect the folk at MN have had more experiences of swallowed lego then the average 24 year old A&E dr and I don't think anyone has ever posted to say DH has just stopped breathing what do I do.

Until they do YABU.

I was physically able to keep an 18 mo child's hand under water with one hand BOF - I'm quite a lot bigger than her.

It was more a case of trying not to upset her.

But carry on - hold the pitchforks a bit higher if you fancy.

Yes, thank you very much, I have heard of Spooky Charlotte. She wasn't seeking URGENT medical advice though, was she?

Whatever nancydrewrocked

For some minor things it's difficult to get a perspective on them, and MN is good for testing the water.

But for more serious things, I can't understand why people would take decisions based on an internet forum.

One particular thread I remember was a woman who was wondering whether to stop the medication prescribed to her DD by her Dr, and was going to based on what posters said.

Nobody knew the DDs medical history, or had her medical notes in front of them, and the OP was taking their opinions of what she'd written as medical advice

spookycharlotte is a good example.

I don't think many people consult MN until after the official routes tbh or they do it alongside and then mainly for support.

Or put the afficted part in the loo and keep flushing. The novelty distracts the child and helps elicit co-operation (very good for feet of small boys).

MN is possibly (probably) quicker than NHS Direct, who also cannot eyeball the patient. It does seem strange to me that people do not go straight to medics, but perhaps reassurance that it is indeed an urgent situation (especially with something that's crept up, rather than flared up) is all that is sought.

I haven't heard of spooky charlotte can someone enlighten me (the name rings a bell though)