Your body is an amazing creation with built-in mechanisms which helps you fight any abnormality that you encounter. It also sends out signals which manifests itself in what we call symptoms. Some symptoms have a very direct link to a particular cause but in a large number of cases you would not be able to diagnose the real problem. It is okay for you to use common medication to address the symptoms however this does not apply to anything which is unusual , severe, unexplained and you feel uncertain.
Today a large amount of information is available on the internet, which may be good for your knowledge and education. It is good for you to search the internet for what are the symptoms for some serious illnesses. These are important for you to know even if you are not a patient But will be handy knowledge in case you have to assist someone else who is having the symptoms.
However everybody is unique and when you look look up the internet you can only indicate the main symptom but not your medical history, other physical aspects of your body which are very important for a correct diagnosis. In many cases such as heart issue, a stroke, internal bleeding et cetera you could lose valuable time trying to find the possible cause and remedy.
If symptoms are unusual and severe you may want to directly go to the hospital emergency.
At the emergency they can identify the problem and also do further tests etc and start the right treatment .
One of the very important inputs for a doctor in addition to your current symptoms is your past medical history and also the family history. When you approach a doctor she will be able to correlate your current physical situation and symptoms with any ailment, surgery, procedure, medication that you may be on. In a lot of cases we are prone to diseases that are prevalent in the family and those that our parents, siblings and grandparents may have had. While it. Is not always the case that you would have similar illnesses but you are vulnerability increases if there is a family history. This is true for many illnesses like diabetes, heart issues, cancer, allergies et cetera.
Will you have some symptoms of visiting a doctor , you would not be able to collect all this information. It will be important to have your personal medical history including test reports discharge reports, current medication handy. For example If you have had a cardiac issue in the past you are ECG may have a permanent change. For the doctor to compare your most recent ECG with the previous one would show him if you have had any recent episodes.
As you grow some people may have more than one ailment And it will be good for the doctor you are meeting to know about them enable her to correlate with your symptoms
Further Reading
All of us travel for vacation, family functions or for work. One of the things that keeps us worried is what happens if I get sick while travelling. Many times you feel just unwell because of jet lag, change in weather, different food and sometimes even due to factors like high altitude etc. It will be good for you to find out if there are any specific issues that may be related to the place of travel like mosquitoes, altitude, water quality . There are enough advisories available on travel sites.
It is always recommended that you carry a brief report on your medical history, list of current medicationsincluding their generic names. Also take with you summary of your teat reports, copy of ECG or any other significant report. As the doctor is unaware of your history all this information will be important for him. If need be connect the doctor with you are family GP or treating physician in your city. This consultation is very useful to select the line of treatment when you’re travelling. If you are travelling overseas do carry with you a foreign travel Medical Insurance.
Carry with you normal medications for treating common illnesses such as fever diarrhoea headache sprain et cetera. If you are on regular medication carry extra medication beyond your days of travel just in case your travel gets extended. In most places you would not be able to buy prescription drugs and this you have prescriptions from acknowledged source.
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