When you’re not feeling well, it can be hard to tell whether you need to go to the hospital or can recover at home. If you aren’t sure which option is best for your situation, it’s a good idea to do some research and think carefully about what might be best in the long run. For example, which will have the best outcomes: staying home and resting or getting checked into a hospital as soon as possible? For minor coughs and colds, OTC medication to lower low-grade fevers and reduce throat pain can be the best option, but more severe symptoms and ailments can warrant a trip to the ER or your physician.
This article will explain five ways to determine if you need to visit a hospital when ill so that you don’t make the wrong decision in an emergency.
Chest Pain
If you have chest pain, it’s essential to be aware of its potential causes. Chest pain can be caused by several things, including heart disease, anxiety, and acid reflux. However, it can also be a sign of a heart attack. If you get chest pain that lasts longer than a few minutes or worsens over time, you may have a heart attack. It’s important to know that heart attacks can happen to anyone, regardless of age or gender. If you get chest pain that lasts more than a few minutes or worsens over time, you should go to the emergency room. While there, you will likely have coronary angiography, where they take images of your heart. This will help the doctors determine the cause of your pain.
Difficulty Breathing
Difficulty breathing can be a symptom of many illnesses, including asthma, a pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, and heart attack. It can also be caused by a few standard things: anxiety, fatigue, and dehydration. If you’re having difficulty breathing due to an illness, you must get to the hospital as soon as possible. If you have difficulty breathing, you should go to the emergency room. They will likely do a comprehensive blood test and check your oxygen levels. You may need to stay in the hospital for a couple of days, depending on the results of your tests.
You Have a Fever Over 102 Degrees
Fever is one of the body’s ways of fighting infection, but a fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit can be harmful. You can probably recover at home if you have a fever and no other symptoms. However, you should go to the emergency room if you have a fever over 102 degrees and have other symptoms such as a headache, vomiting, or diarrhea. These symptoms can signify meningitis, a dangerous infection of the fluid surrounding your brain and spinal cord. If you have a fever over 102 degrees and have any of these symptoms, you should go to the emergency room immediately. If you don’t have other symptoms but still have a fever, you should seek medical attention sooner rather than later if the fever lasts longer than 24 hours.Â
You Are Vomiting Continuously
If you are vomiting continuously, you should go to the emergency room. You can only vomit so much before you become dehydrated and stop being able to keep anything down. Common winter bugs that cause vomiting for 24-48 hours will typically lass quickly without further treatment. But suppose you are vomiting continuously and have other symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, headache, and fever. In that case, you may have any number of illnesses, including meningitis, a bacterial infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Some bacterial diseases are contagious, so if you have any of these symptoms, you should go to an ER immediately so that you don’t infect anyone else. If you are vomiting continuously and have no other symptoms, you could have a stomach or intestinal parasite, an ulcer, or a virus such as food poisoning. Urgent care is available for those with excessive vomiting and stomach pain to get the tests and treatment you need.
Unexplained Weight Loss
If you are suddenly losing weight, you should see your primary care physician immediately. It can be caused by many things, such as disease, stress, and eating disorders. Many diseases, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, and intestinal diseases, can cause unexplained weight loss. Many conditions that cause sudden weight loss are easily treated if diagnosed early. Your doctor can then run some tests to determine the cause of your weight loss and get some answers for you.
Changes in Bowel Movements
If you suddenly start experiencing changes in bowel movements, you can have any number of medical conditions such as Crohn’s disease, IBS, C-Diff infection, Celiac Disease, or collector cancers. In the US, it is estimated there are over 106,000 new cases of colon cancer and over 44,000 rectal cancer per year. Symptoms to look out for include persistent diarrhea, constipation, bleeding from your anus, bloody stools, and an increase in the frequency of bowel movements.
Side Effects From New Medication
If you take a new medication and experience a side effect that is significant and alarming, you should go to the emergency room. Many drugs have side effects, but some can also be very serious if you are not prepared for them. For example, antibiotics can cause severe diarrhea if you don’t take them as directed. If you take a new medication and experience a severe side effect, you should go to the emergency room. The doctor will likely stop the medication and prescribe another one.
Conclusion
If you aren’t sure if you need to visit a hospital when ill, you can use the information in this article to help you make the right decision. If you get any of the above symptoms and they persist, you should go to the emergency room. You don’t want to risk getting worse or dying from a treatable illness. When you go to the hospital, tell the doctor what symptoms you are experiencing and when they started so they can diagnose you as quickly as possible.
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