# When do you decide it's time to go to the doctor? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515 "2011-03-21T21:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/21 "2011-03-22T16:33:18Z")
For respiratory illness, I’ll go to the doctor when: [ul] [li]I have discolored nasal discharge throughout the day (not just right when you wake up, because that’s oxidation), indicating an infection.[/li][li]If I start to wheeze, indicating I’m going towards bronchitis or asthma.[/li][li]If my symptoms can’t be managed with OTC products and it is interfering with my ability to sleep.[/li][li]If I’m not significantly improving after four or five days, or if I improve then start coughing (I tend to get bronchitis after the cold resolves).[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/22 "2011-03-22T17:40:50Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > When I need prescription drugs. I go yearly for new scripts of my daily medications. Otherwise I go when the spouse bugs me or when I think it’s serious AND something a doctor can treat. I come from a medically inclined family(aunt’s a nurse, mother is a phlebotomist and 'medic, I myself am a former EMT) so I usually know enough to know if it’s serious or not. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/23 "2011-03-22T17:53:28Z")
When my car doesn’t work like it should, I take it to my mechanic. When my body doesn’t work like it should, I take it to my doctor. My mechanic usually fixes the problem where my doctor usually doesn’t, and the doctor charges more too. But a human body is a lot more complicated and I can’t buy a new one. I’m old enough to recognize a cold or a simple bruise or a scrape and that there is no point in going to a doctor for that. Otherwise I go in and have him take a look at the plumbing. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/24 "2011-03-22T18:35:40Z")
If it isn’t better, or if it’s worse, in three days. On Day 3, I call for an appointment. Or I know it’s something I can’t treat myself, like stitches or when I need a nebulizer treatment for my asthma. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/25 "2011-03-22T19:43:54Z")
If I can’t fix it myself after reading about it on the internet, I’m probably going to die. No, I suppose I _will_ go to the doctor if it’s likely to require a prescription, but first I’ll see if I can’t wait it out. So far, so good! ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/26 "2011-03-22T19:46:06Z")
Pretty much if it doesn’t get better in three-six days, or I have alarming symptoms. I went to the doctor pronto when I got swine flu, and we went within a week for my eldest, when he began acting funny and it turned out to be Type 1 diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/27 "2011-03-22T20:06:06Z")
I used to have the 7 day rule, until last December '09. I came down with what I thought was cold/flu. All the usual symptoms including a cough. The cough went away on day two (very weird for me), but at the time I didn’t think too much about it. I kept feeling worse, until two days later, at about 4pm on New Year’s Eve. That’s when I asked (for the first time in 47 years) to be driven to the ER. I had massive, double, bacterial pneumonia. I was in the hospital (also a first) for 11 days, had a PIC line with IV antibiotics and oxygen at home for another two weeks. Very scary. I have paid much closer attention to “colds” since then :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/28 "2011-03-22T21:14:25Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > When my car doesn’t work like it should, I take it to my mechanic. > > When my body doesn’t work like it should, I take it to my doctor. Given some of the problems I’ve had from my body just flat out not being put together right, I should’ve invoked the lemon law on it. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/29 "2011-03-22T21:14:28Z")
With cold and sinusy stuff, I go if I think I need a prescription. The thing I am currently fighting started with a seriously sore throat, fever and sleeping for hours on end. Since that can mean bacterial strep throat, I went in. (Sadly, it was viral which means I am still suffering.) Then I developed pink eye to go with it. Need a script for the good eye drops so back I went again. (Then I accidentally squeezed the entire tube into my eye causing me to have to go back to get a refill. At least my doctor got a laugh out of it.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/30 "2011-03-23T11:27:59Z")
I used to just always go if I felt sick (rather than just allergies). Now I wait until I think I need an antibiotic, using my neti pot to shew away getting clogged up. I would also probably go if I broke something. When it comes to throwing up, though, I now mostly tough it out. All the doctor ever does is give me medicine that doesn’t work, and the problem fixes itself. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515/31 "2011-03-23T19:14:25Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > When I’m getting worse each day instead of getting better. > > When I suspect (from my past experience with staph infections, bronchitis, strep throat, etc.) that this is something I can’t get over on my own but need antibiotics. This. I had mild knee pain (patella tendonitis, I diagnosed myself) for a few months last year…then it started getting worse and worse until I was hobbling about out of bed in the morning. Time to go to the doctor, who was an asshole but prescribed PT, which helped. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-you-decide-its-time-to-go-to-the-doctor/575515.md?page=1)