A lot of people don’t like going to the doctor. There’s always that expectation that we’ll go in feeling well, but once we leave, it’ll be with a full prognosis of what’s going wrong with us. Doctors are trained to find out what’s going well (or not so well) for people, and rather than being prepared for that, a lot of people sometimes wish they’d never gone to the physician in the first place. Often, as with most things in life, getting ahead of a potential “health issue” can help with possible treatment later. Preventive care can help a person stay healthy, get quick treatment when it’s needed, while also helping to save on overall costs.
The overall goal is to avoid having to visit an emergency room or an after-hours and urgent care location at all hours of the night. To that end, stay on the lookout for these signs that a visit to a doctor might be needed.
1. You’re experiencing a high fever.
Let’s say it’s the middle of winter in New York City. Howling winds are pushing you back and forth between skyscrapers, the frigid air keeps you bundled up, and the snow is pelting you from all directions. As the cold temperatures continue to fall to even colder levels, you’re burning up. You leave work because of a high fever, sweating through your sweater despite the freezing temperatures.
A high fever is an indicator that you might need to see a physician. Normally a person’s body temperature is between 97 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit. If a person’s temperature reaches 100 degrees or higher, they should seek out medical attention.
2. Chest pains occur regularly.
Sudden chest pain is something that should be addressed immediately with a doctor. Middle-aged people and senior citizens suffer from such pain a bit more regularly than younger individuals. When this occurs, it can be an indicator of cardiac incidents, such as heart attacks. When this happens, a trip to the physician is needed to prevent serious ailments like heart attacks from occurring.
3. Your cold lasts a long time.
Colds are frustrating but can normally be handled without the help of a physician. Purchasing over the counter medicine helps to tackle common cold symptoms like stuffy noses, runny noses, scratchy throats, and even blocked ears. Once a proper amount of home treatment has taken place, such colds can be knocked out within a week or so.
If for some reason a cold lasts much longer than that, say for a month, it’s time to contact a doctor. There’s a good chance that what you’re experiencing is much more than a common cold.
4. You begin experiencing hearing loss.
If a person begins to have difficulty hearing, this is an indicator that he or she will need to visit a physician. People need to experience unobstructed hearing in order to move throughout their days. In this case, an auditory loss is not an ailment that can just be shrugged off, as a mild medical condition. For hearing loss, a person can visit any number of family hearing centers to seek assistance in dealing with this condition. If you find that your hearing loss is a result of aging and, you’ll want to find a hearing aid specialist who can help you find a hearing aid that will help you hear more clearly on a daily basis. by taking care of your hearing health you can catch symptoms of auditory problems early and avoid missing out on activities of daily living just because you can’t hear what people are saying.
5. You begin to experience signs of Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects approximately 5 million Americans of all ages, as of 2019. More than 5.8 million Americans over the age of 65 were living with the disease. Alzheimer’s is a progressive condition that can destroy memory and other mental functions. It’s a difficult disease that individuals and their loved ones have to deal with, and once the early signs of the condition happen, it’s best to get an affected person to the physician as soon as possible.
The Alzheimer’s stages include memory loss, poor judgment leading to bad decisions, loss of spontaneity and sense of initiative, taking longer to complete normal daily tasks, repeating questions, trouble handling money and paying bills, wandering and getting lost, losing things or misplacing them in odd places, mood and personality changes, and increased anxiety and/or aggression. Once these signs begin to show themselves, it is crucial that a person visit their doctor. While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there are effective treatments that can stave off the onset of dementia and help to battle memory loss. If you or a loved one are experiencing memory loss that’s more acute than the type usually associated with the normal aging process, consider getting counseling by heading over to your doctor’s office sooner rather than later.
