When to See a Doctor

This page exists because the most dangerous thing about home-remedy content is not usually the remedy. It is the delay.

Somebody reads that a kitchen ingredient helps with a symptom, tries it for a fortnight, and by the time they see a doctor the situation has changed. Most of the time nothing comes of it. Occasionally a great deal does. The list below is our attempt to be clear about which situations belong in the second category.

Call an ambulance now

These need emergency care immediately, not an appointment:

• Chest pain, pressure or tightness — particularly with sweating, nausea, or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back.
• Difficulty breathing, or breathlessness at rest.
• Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, a drooping face, or sudden difficulty speaking or understanding speech. Note the time it started — that time affects what treatment is possible.
• Sudden severe headache, described as the worst you have had.
• Sudden loss of vision, or sudden double vision.
• A seizure, especially a first one.
• Bleeding that will not stop, or vomiting blood, or black tarry stools.
• Suspected poisoning or overdose, including a child swallowing medication.
• A serious burn, or a burn on the face, hands, feet or genitals.
• Severe allergic reaction — swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, widespread hives, difficulty breathing.
• Thoughts of harming yourself. Call Tele-MANAS on 14416.

See a doctor within a day or two

• Fever lasting more than three days, or fever with a stiff neck, rash, confusion or severe headache.
• Pain that is severe, or that is getting worse rather than better.
• Unexplained weight loss.
• A lump anywhere that is new, growing, or hard.
• A mole or skin patch that is changing in size, shape or colour, or that bleeds.
• Blood in urine or stool.
• Persistent vomiting or diarrhoea, especially with signs of dehydration — very little urine, dizziness on standing, a dry mouth.
• A cough lasting more than three weeks, or any cough with blood.
• Persistent fatigue that is not explained by sleep or workload.
• Any symptom that has lasted longer than you would expect and is not improving.

Children — lower your threshold

Children deteriorate faster than adults and describe symptoms less reliably. See a doctor promptly for:

• Fever in an infant under three months — this is always urgent.
• A child who is unusually drowsy, floppy, or difficult to wake.
• Fast or laboured breathing, or the skin pulling in between the ribs.
• Signs of dehydration — no wet nappy for many hours, no tears when crying, a sunken soft spot on the head.
• A rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass.
• Refusing to drink over an extended period.
• Any fever with a stiff neck, a severe headache, or a seizure.

Do not give honey to an infant under one year, and do not give adult medication or adult quantities of anything to a child.

During pregnancy

• Bleeding, or fluid loss.
• Severe or persistent headache, blurred vision, or sudden swelling of the face and hands.
• Severe abdominal pain.
• A noticeable reduction in the baby’s movements.
• Fever.
• Before taking anything new — including herbs, oils, and preparations widely described as safe. Several are not advised in pregnancy.

If you have a diagnosed condition

Conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, epilepsy, thyroid disorders and kidney disease are managed, over years, with treatment that is adjusted as things change. They are not resolved by a home measure, and nothing on this site suggests otherwise.

Three specific cautions:

• Do not stop or reduce prescribed medication because you feel better, or because you read about an alternative. Feeling well is frequently the treatment working.
• Tell your doctor about anything you add. Herbal preparations interact with anticoagulants, glucose-lowering medication, blood-pressure medication, immunosuppressants and thyroid medication, among others.
• Keep your review appointments even when nothing feels wrong. Several of these conditions do their damage quietly.

Mental health

We publish on sleep, stress and routine. We do not publish guidance for mental health conditions, because that needs an assessment we cannot provide.

Please speak to a qualified professional if you are experiencing persistent low mood, anxiety that interferes with daily life, panic attacks, changes in eating or sleeping that concern you, or thoughts of harming yourself.

Before you use any remedy

Ask yourself three questions:

1. Is this a symptom or a diagnosis? A comfort measure for a sore throat is one thing. A comfort measure for something you have not had assessed is a different thing.
2. Am I taking anything else? If yes, the interaction question needs answering first, by a pharmacist or doctor.
3. What would change my mind? Decide in advance how long you will try something and what would make you stop. “I will give this three days, and if the fever is still there I will see a doctor” is a plan. “I will keep going” is not.

What we cannot do

We cannot tell you whether your symptom is serious. We have not examined you, we do not know your history, and no article can substitute for that. If you are reading this page because you are worried about something specific, that worry is itself a reason to see a doctor.