When to Call Your Physician or Home Health Nurse

Obviously nobody wants to go to the doctor more than they need to. So sometimes we get sick or have symptoms of an illness and we wait it out or diagnose it ourselves, basically we sit through the storm. This is okay to do sometimes, but certainly not all the time; but the question is, how do we know the difference? We don’t need to call the doctor for every common cold, sore throat, or the cough that’s been around a little longer than we wanted. However, it is important to call our physicians or home health nurses if our sickness or symptoms are out of the ordinary.

You definitely need to call your physician or home health nurse if you are experiencing completely new symptoms or the ones you were already suffering from has increased in severity. However, our bodies are always changing and it may be hard to identify if something is out of the ordinary that we need to talk about. Here are a few symptoms that may be overlooked at first, but are absolutely worth looking into.

Fatigue

Although it is common to feel tired after a long day of work or a busy day, if you are feeling an overwhelming amount of exhaustion but your lifestyle hasn’t changed this is something you should talk to your doctor about. Long lasting fatigue can be a number of different things- find out what’s causing yours.

Overactive Heartburn

It’s totally normal to feel a little heartburn after a rich meal and take an antacid. However, if you are needing to take them once a week then it’s something to call your physician about. Stomach acids that continuously gurgle up can cause scarring and other internal problems.

Blurry Vision

It’s common that our eyesight starts to go as we age, but if there is sudden blurriness, this can be an indicator of diabetes, high blood pressure, or even cataracts. Getting an eye exam and getting to the root of the problem will only be beneficial.

Constant Achiness/Throbbing

Taking a pain relief medicine to get rid of a stiff neck from sleeping is normal, but if your body’s aching all over and often this could be a sign of infection or other illnesses. Talk to your doctor if your pain seems uncaused and often.

These are just a few examples of symptoms that can be often overlooked, there are many different areas that could change. If symptoms you’re experiencing have increased, are new, or if you’re just unsure or uncomfortable, call your physician or home health nurse. They will be able to help you figure out what is wrong with you and the best route to take care of it.