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 don't think people have advised you to seek professional help because you're entitled to it but because the risk (loss of hearing) is too high. And because neither you nor your relatives or friends are in a position to properly judge what you have.

Also, you made your thread about bashing people who, in your opinion, waste NHS resources.

You could easily have asked if your friend and relative were over-reacting and if you should wait, instead of adding the judgemental comments.

I think I was the one who first used the word 'entitled', though I did qualify it. I used it in the context of what I think is a worrying trend of people not using the services they have paid for and that are meant for everyone, free at point of use, because of the prevailing narrative of an overstretched NHS.

As has been pointed out repeatedly, the NHS is not overstretched because of 'silly' people and their 'silly' ailments, it's overstretched because it's had its funding slashed to the bare bones by the Tories who want to introduce US-style medical aid.

There is, of course, an argument to be made about personal fair use of resources, but I think it's important to remember what you are in fact entitled to at the moment. I wouldn't not go to the doctor if I felt I needed to because of governmental budget allocation issues. While I have the right to use it, I'll do so when I feel it's necessary. With minor things where I am unsure, I would ask a pharmacist or my GP's trained receptionists first.

I have agonised in the past over whether I need an emergency GP appointment, for me or DS. How am I supposed to know?! I'm not a medical professional and I can't diagnose anything. It's such a bizarre state of affairs on occasion.

you're under reacting

I have a relative who is deaf for exactly this reason - ignored a slight ear infection for a few days.

I get middle ear infections with no discharge or any of the things you describe.

So the general gist is that I'm a martred, self riteous, boasting twat because I accessed the right level of healthcare for minor symptoms and was surprised others would consider those symptoms anything other than minor.
And because I also think that to access emergency appointments and ooh services for minor ailments wrong, when you can access routine medical appointments.
I actually take the point that some people have to wait weeks for a routine appointment, and in that time a minor ailment may get more serious, thus needing treatment from another source.
But in all probability, that'll just get me a further roasting.
I continue to think wasting NHS resources is wrong, I also can now see why it happens!

😂 op I don't think that I said upthread I agree with you to an extent . The extent part been I think stuff like ears are difficult to self diagnose and probably best get medical opinion as complications can obviously be severe . However in principle I agree with you as I have shown with the examples of my pulled leg muscle and having a cold were many people asked had I been to the doctor . ummm no they cleared up after a few days as expected

I continue to think wasting NHS resources is wrong

The problem is on the definition of wasting NHS resources, not whether it's right or wrong. :)

And
So the general gist is that I'm a martred, self riteous, boasting twat because I accessed the right level of healthcare for minor symptoms

If you say so. Although nobody said twat. But, no, not because of that. You said you will access what is probably the right level of healthcare towards the end of the thread. :)

Lweji -
Nope, I said in the OP I was going to access a routine appointment...... Which is appropriate for minor symptoms. Yes I have repeated it several times because people seem to be missing that bit and saying I'm refusing to go full stop, which I'm not.
Turning a deaf ear you might say?
Pun totally intended.

Yes, you said you'd ask a Dr for a routine appointment, but that's different from the example that you gave of "right level of healthcare" that you said you were in fact going to get now (nurse practitioner).

My point is that you haven't got your care yet and you don't know if it's appropriate because you haven't been looked at yet.

People disagreed with you on what is the "right level of healthcare".

Asking a medical professional of any kind about whether a worrying health issue is serious or not is not wasting NHS resources IMO. It's what they're there for.

Within reason, of course - I don't go, or encourage other people to go, to the GP for a scraped knee, cut finger or bruised elbow. Unless it suddenly swells up to elephantine proportions or something. But if I have a weird mole, or something looks horribly infected, or I've had a serious cough for more than 4 weeks, or if I'm really very worried about something, yes I'll go to the GP.

But I think blanket-asking the general public to self-diagnose their own medical issues and self-select for medical treatment is problematic. Without medical training, how are you supposed to know? With some things, GPs themselves can't tell and refer you to specialists. GPs in my experience tend to work off probabilities and sometimes get it wrong themselves, if you're than 1 in 1000 where it's something else (and someone has to be!).

There's a balance between common sense and asking for expertise is what I'm trying to say. It's not always easy to find it.

Lweji: "My point is that you haven't got your care yet and you don't know if it's appropriate because you haven't been looked at yet."

Well, yes, because how is the OP supposed to know whether she has a completely trivial problem that is easily dealt with or one that is, to use Goldfish's example, going to leave her deaf? The truth is she can't but the chances are that her ailment is going to fall into the former category rather than the latter.

If every time someone had a probably-minor but potentially-serious medical problem insisted on an emergency appointment, the system would collapse under the strain.

hackmum

That is why I used "probably" in a reply about the right level of care. It probably is, but the OP can't say it for sure.

If every time someone had a probably-minor but potentially-serious medical problem insisted on an emergency appointment, the system would collapse under the strain

Actually, there is a problem with the current system.

The issue is not so much whether it's minor or serious, but whether it needs looked at sooner rather than later.

If I'm feeling ill now, there should be enough same day appointments, and not depend on calling in before 7 am or something like that. At best, be given an appointment within a couple of days. It's ridiculous that we'd have to wait 2 weeks in some places for a routine appointment.

And I will point out again that I'm not someone who rushes down to the doctor at all.

On a slight side note, if OP had called 111 they would have given advice on what to do, they are trained to decide whether you need further care or not as a matter of emergency so all of this is pretty irrelevant really as a call to them would stop the time wasters! Or is that a waste of NHS resources as well OP?!

But OP, my argument would be that I went to a walk-in centre because I had a rash and it turned out to be shingles which needed antiviral tablets within 72 hours of the rash appearing. I also had to stay off work until the blisters went down. Frankly yes, it could have been a washing powder allergy but it wasn't and would have been much worse untreated.

Why not get your pharmacist's advice, @Ihaveabloodyheadache? They are a good source of advice for minor ailments.

No I don't think 111 is a waste of a resource, it's a valuable tool for those who need it. But again, if it's used inappropriately then that resource is being wasted. Which is entirely my point.
It's OK jumping up and down about cuts to services etc, but a bit hypocritical to do that and then not follow the guidelines of self treat minor ailments first before going to an emergency appointment or ooh service, thus putting more pressure on the service.
Not suggesting this is what you're doing by the way.

And as for me seeing an NP and not a doctor, I would think the receptionist knows that by the description of my symptoms, the best provider for me to see. NP's have different levela, some can diagnose and prescribe certain minor ailments, or indeed major ones, some can't. If the nurse cannot deal with the issue, she will refer it to a doctor to do so. Which is how it should be, the NP dealing with things within their remit, leaving the doc to deal with more serious problems

Actually the receptionist may very well not know, they don't have to have clinical training and are not medical experts. I have been in to see a nurse before and advised I should have seen a doctor and vice versa.

Depends on the person I guess. Sore throat or temperature and I get an appointment within 48hrs. Same with cuts/wounds that look red and unhappy. So yes I take up emergency appointments but there are reasons why
But people might look at me and go why is she going to the GP for a sore throat?

Op probably just don't tell people about it if they are ott but yeah go see a Dr when you can as you said you will.

I walked around for about a week losing hearing in one ear that sounded like I was under water. When I finally went to the Dr apparently I had a hight temp (didn't feel it). Was just a prelude to a bad cold wich hit me the next day.

"just a flesh wound " - for Monty Python fans.

A receptionist is NOT able to say whether what you have is serious or not . They have no more knowledge than you or me.

They are working from scripts. Your description didn't give any reason to trigger a same day appointment script so that's what you got.

Please do NOT rely on a receptionist at a surgery to have an idea on how serious or not your condition is.

My mother used to be like this about doctors appointments - until she nearly died from pneumonia that she insisted was "just a chest infection".

You probably don't have pneumonia OP but if you're ill (and you are) and your symptoms aren't improving then seek medical help. There are no prizes or awards for soldiering on and being stoic, and an easily resolved problem can turn into something more serious if you don't get it sorted.

The receptionists at our GP's are pretty good at triage, is what I meant. They're trained to do it. We're told to go through them.