One thing I never anticipated when I became a parent was how I would turn from a sane woman into mother/doctor/nurse/giver of medicine. My husband has a serious on-going health problem but babies, toddlers and children’s health is something I knew nothing about – until I had children and was suddenly required to be an expert in every little thing!
Touch wood, my children are healthy. They’ve had sniffles, winter coughs and chicken pox, but nothing more serious than that. The problem is that you never really know if it’s serious or not at the time.
So how do you identify what’s wrong without rushing to the Doctor every week? I think I’m lucky to have been a parent in the digital age. Thanks to my trusty smart phone I’ve never been more than a click away from chatting to friends via text, putting a shout out on Twitter or checking symptoms online.
We have a brilliant Surgery down the road from us but not everyone can get appointments when they need them. My poor mum has to book a routine appointment 6 weeks in advance which I find terrifying. Which is why LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor is such a useful resource. They know that that not everyone can get appointments when they need them, or may be uncomfortable speaking face to face with a Doctor. So they offer an online doctor as an alternative to get medical advice and prescriptions. This is brilliant if you need a prescription or vaccination. Perhaps if your son or daughter is off travelling and they need malaria tablets at short notice (i.e. they had forgotten to arrange them in advance!).
They can quickly give you advice based on your needs or symptoms so this could be a great way to save time as let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to chat to a Doctor online, rather than sitting in a waiting room surrounded by ill people.
I know that I’m not alone in looking online. In fact, a whopping 81% of us search our symptoms according to LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor. There’s even a fancy name for it, cyberchondria.
Disclosure – this is a collaborative post
What a great service. I’m lucky in my Drs we can speak to one every day but I know others are not as fortunate and to avail of a service like that is invaluable x
You hear some real horror stories of people unable to get appointments when they need them, this service can be so useful.
I love this – it’s exactly what I do when self-diagnosing. But funnily enough, when I have self-diagnosed and I go to the doctors – most of the time they agree with me!
I’m almost scared to google my symptoms but sometimes I find it reassuring!