To think many people overeact to minor illness and injury?

[Ihaveabloodyheadache]

Friday I woke up with some loss of hearing in one ear and a feeling that it's 'blocked' somehow. It's itchy inside and a bit red/swollen and a bit painful, with a 'wet' feeling inside to though no discharge, my balance has been knocked off a bit but nothing major and I feel under par and a bit snotty and grotty.
Considering it's gone on 3 days and got progressively worse, I'm going to give Dr a call later for a routine appointment. I'm not comfortable, but I've been to work and am coping with paracetamol and ibuprofen for now.
But according to a couple of friends and relatives, I'm courting absolute disaster by not either going to the local minor injury unit over the weekend, or demanding an emergency appointment this morning.
I'm not dying, I'm not in agony, I can wait.
Would anyone go to a minor injury unit for this or have an emergency appointment?
My personal opinion is that if everyone rushes to the on call services, or gets an emergency appointment for something like this it's hardly going to help an already struggling NHS is it? And it's not an emergency.
AIBU to think that people overreacting to minor problems like this are a strain on the NHS and people should be prepared to wait when it's not an emergency?

I agree with the OP. I'm always amazed at the amount of parents I know who take their children to the GP for every sore throat and sniffle and then get pissed off that they didn't get antibiotics.

Hmm... colleague overseas died from your symptoms. Got multiple organ failure because apparently it was a serious infection that needed antibiotics. He'd only been complaining about the earache for a week or so but it was enough.

Get yourself checked out

Accident and Emergency is clogged up due to chronic underfunding of the NHS, huge cuts to social care and people demanding a 24/7 GP service rather than taking sometime off work to go and get a GP issue sorted during GP opening hours.

Often the first sign of Leukemia/Lymphoma/Sepsis/Meningitis is 'flu like symptoms'. All of those conditions require prompt intervention if you/or your child wants to survive them and so the NHS/emergency services should be used in these situations. Often a GP can't tell without further tests and by the time you wait you could be dead.

Often the first sign of Leukemia/Lymphoma/Sepsis/Meningitis is 'flu like symptoms

But almost all flu like symptoms are because you have flu like symptoms, nothing more. If everyone with those symptoms demands emergency appts on the basis that they might but really probably don;t have something serious then the whole system falls apart.

Get down from your ivory tower and get your soggy ears to the Dr. Yabu

"Often the first sign of Leukemia/Lymphoma/Sepsis/Meningitis is 'flu like symptoms'. All of those conditions require prompt intervention if you/or your child wants to survive them and so the NHS/emergency services should be used in these situations. Often a GP can't tell without further tests and by the time you wait you could be dead."

Do I understand you correctly that you believe one should go to A&E because a bad cold could be something serious and because your GP might miss it?

I'm with the OP - I'd have to be really suffering to contemplate going to a doctor etc. And I'd have to think that the suffering wouldn't go away without it. Even then I'd be trying to convince myself that the excruciating agony wasn't quite as bad as the previous day!
Some people (my mother) panic over the smallest thing and others (like me) minimise it.
Have to say that I wouldn't be going on about how brave I was (not that I'm saying OP is, just noting a PP's comment), nor would I expect a medal. I just prefer to save my anxiety for the less obvious reasons in life (the ones others take in their stride)!

@Ihaveabloodyheadache - could you nip into your pharmacy and ask the pharmacist's advice? They might be able to suggest something - and might be able to advise on whether this can wait until you can get a routine appointment, or whether you'd be better to see your GP sooner (an emergency appointment).

I agree with op to an extent . I do think people make a massive fuss sometimes and run off to the doctors over nothing Infact there are signs up in my doctors surgery to say things like short term colds etc can be treated by visiting a pharmacy and taking the correct cold /flu medicine . Rather than take up a space at the doctors which is always booked up by about 20 minutes of the phones opening .

For example last week I pulled a muscle in my leg and was limping a bit. Quite a few people asked if I'd been to the doctors even though I'd told them I'd just pulled a muscle . as expected after a couple of days it was fine .

Same if any of us have colds "oh have you been to the doctor " what ever for ?!?!

Op I think you were silly not to seek help when you woke up with this particular problem. The problem you described in your op generally doesn't self resolve. It gets worse. If you wanted to find that out for free without bothering the NHS you could have asked on here or googled. Plus ear/balance issues do warrant a same day appointment.

I think you might find this problem won't go away as quickly as you think. IMO you ought to have microsuction which is the safest and quickest way to solve the problem. You might find that unavailable on the NHS. You will probably get sent away with drops which won't work and systemic antibiotics that won't be effective. And then you'll need to go back.

Honestly I think your op is highly illogical and you have taken leave of your senses in a misguided effort to single handedly save the NHS.

Fine to have a general discussion about pressure on the NHS but you are linking this to your specific and current ear problem and telling everyone about how tough you are and how you, unlike others, have a high pain threshold.
If we were having this discussion in real life I would have lost patience with you long ago.

I really don't understand how a thread about my view that it's unreasonable to access ooh medical care, or emergency medical care, for minor symptoms, has turned into me getting a bashing for refusing to go to the doctor. I'm not refusing to go, I'm not ignoring the issue. I have self treated, as you are advised to do with minor ailments, and waited. This has not worked, therefore I am seeking a routine appointment as I need a medical appointment, but not right now, it can wait because the symptoms are minor.
I have booked an appointment, with the nurse practitioner, for Thursday. The receptionist listened to my symptoms and has advised should they get worse to call back, and that it's something that the nurse practitioner can treat, and therefore has booked the appointment.
{Dons flame retardant suit}
I have accessed the correct service for my ailment.
To go to an ooh or emergency appointment with minor symptoms is putting an already stretched service under more pressure, yes cuts have led to services being stretched, totally agree, but the attitude of I'm entitled to do it, so I will, instead of using common sense and accessing the appropriate service, is adding to the pressure.
My symptoms are an example of a minor ailment, (not me 'moaning' or whining, being a martyr or anything like that) that I have used to illustrate my point.
People using services inappropriately because of a sense of entitlement is wrong, they should be used appropriately so everyone gets the chance to use them.

Your op sets out all the details of your symptoms before making any comment on NHS shortages. It seems to be all about your ear. Odd to be surprised that people comment on this.

Ihaveabloodyheadache, I think you're completely missing the point people are trying to say here. Most people would probably agree with you regarding really minor illnesses, but how do you decide as a non medical professional what that is!? That's why people are inclined to go to OOH care. From the symptoms your described in your original post, a lot of people would chose to go to seek medical advice about this out of hours, not because of a sense of self entitlement but you have listed a number of reasons (even if you are saying not that red, not that inflamed etc, you are still saying there is some redness and inflammation) that would have reason for concern! And as a lot of people are saying ears are often treated as a priority and the majority of us can't get appointments at our GP's for a number of weeks (regardless of the reason).

Can you really not see why someone in your situation would not accept the medical support we are fortunate enough to have as a country?!

Would anyone go to a minor injury unit for this or have an emergency appointment? And this is the reason people are advising you get help, as you have directly asked a question on your op

Fine to have a general discussion about pressure on the NHS but you are linking this to your specific and current ear problem and telling everyone about how tough you are and how you, unlike others, have a high pain threshold.
If we were having this discussion in real life I would have lost patience with you long ago.

Bringmesinshite -
Haven't anywhere boasted about having a high pain threshold, or indeed anything in fact. A pp asked if I had any concept of others having a different pain threshold, I do understand and said I did. That isn't boasting about anything.

This thread is odd.

You are ill enough to inform multiple friends and family members of your illness. They act concerned because they care, and advise you to seek medical help. You book an appointment.

For some reason, this sequence of events makes you the sole defender of the NHS, and everyone else a resource wasting idiot?

havent read the full thread but i had the same exact thing a few years ago.

Ended up with a perforated eardrum and severe pain. it took weeks to heal. ive also lost some low frequency hearing in that ear. it was all because i was having a hard time at work and too scared to have time out for an appointment.

slow clap for your stoicism.

OP you have been self righteous and intransigent.

That said, I hope your ear problem is resolved soon.

Happy to bore you with all my aches and pains and how I treated them at home.
Happy to have a discussion about the hard pressed NHS.
You merged them in your op.

OP I agree, a whole lot can be treated at home, I wouldn't go for a broken finger or toe etc, because I would be wasting time and resources.

Secondly since moving to the US, healthcare is expensive,DH cut the palm of his hand deeply with a kitchen knife, I treated it for him at home otherwise it would have been $1000 at the ER.

"I have booked an appointment, with the nurse practitioner, for Thursday. The receptionist listened to my symptoms and has advised should they get worse to call back, and that it's something that the nurse practitioner can treat, and therefore has booked the appointment."

That sounds very sensible and responsible to me.

I don't understand the hard time the OP is receiving. We all know the NHS is overstretched, and we all know that we are being constantly told not to burden A&E with problems that could be seen by the GP, or to burden the GP with problems that could be seen by the nurse practitioner or pharmacist. Yes, it's just possible the OP has something life-threatening but frankly it sounds unlikely and indeed there are a whole load of symptoms that could potentially be life-threatening but usually aren't. Are we supposed to insist on emergency appointments every time we have a symptom that in one in 1,000 cases might be life-threatening? Good way to run the NHS into the ground.

I still feel bad about the time, as an over-anxious mum, I took my then six year old to A&E with tummy pains that I'd convinced myself might be appendicitis.

Also in terms of wasting resources. I didn't deliberately avoid the gp i was just having a hard time at work and was worried about time out.

had i just taken the time off or had an out of hours appt it would have saved the nhs money.

by the time i had been seen it had gone through to my middle ear and perforated my eardrum. it took two courses of antibiotics to get rid of it and follow up appts to check on it. then i noticed hearing issues and had an appt at an audiologist for hearing tests.

that was one heck of an expense for the nhs.

leaving it can sometimes make it more expensive.

The op has been getting a hard time because at the start of this thread, they spent many posts explaining how they didn't need to see a doctor and those that do are just a drain on the NHS.
Glad you have been sensible, op , and I hope you feel better.
Come back and have a discussion about the NHS when you don't lace it with how heroic you are and how rubbish other people are.