Staying healthy can be a daunting task. None of us wants bad news but we have to keep checking in with the body to make sure it's still functioning. Trying to figure out the best way to stay alive can be anxiety inducing. Not every headache and joint pain is cancer but.... sometimes it's something worse. Try to err on the side of caution, see a doctor, WebMD may be right once in a blue moon but it's not what you should rely on.
Redditor Oof_Padoof wanted to hear about all the best reasons why none of us should self diagnose through the world wide web and just get to the doctor by asking...
Doctors of Reddit, what is your worst case of "I googled my symptoms?"
27....
"Had a patient come in and tell us she is having vision issues that are new. Ok lets have a look........ oh, looks like you placed a contact over a contact...... 27 times." Darkdemonmachete
That was a horrible experience.
Giphy
"I had a UTI, because I had the symptoms and Googled it. Day of doctor appointment, it was just a regular check up. But I asked for a UTI test since I explained how I was feeling. Convo went like this:"
"could it be possible to request a UTI testing? I've been feeling the symptoms of burning when I pee and some discomfort-"
"how do you feel now? Any pain?"
"well no not at the -"
"well if you did have a UTI the symptoms wouldn't go away you are fine"
"2 or so days later I get a full blown kidney infection from a, who would have guessed, a UTI. sent out a complaint, forget that doctor. I always ask for a test if I am suspicious of anything and I have them document it if they say no from now on. That was a horrible experience." chile-con-limon
This confuses the heck out of me.
"This confuses the heck out of me. When I go to a doctor they specifically ask if I've done research about whatever, like they expect it. Awkward position cause if I have researched I feel like an idiot using Dr Google and having medical student syndrome, if I haven't researched I get the distinct impression nice disappointed the doc." FluroJacket
Back Issues...
"Not a doctor, but my friend once said a guy came with a backache and wanted to get operated coz he thought he had kidney failure." The_RageHound
The Leg Feels...
"Ever since we studied multiple sclerosis in Neuro, I'm convinced I have it, despite my only symptom being parestesis (funny feelz) in my legs at night." Interferonno2fan
Deja Vu...
Giphy
"Not a doctor, but throughout my childhood and teen years I had these weird episodes where I would suddenly have really bad Deja Vu and get very nauseous. For the next few hours afterward I would feel like I was in a fog and my memory would be shit. Eventually I googled my symptoms and learned they might be minor epileptic seizures."
"I went to a doctor and he laughed it off and told me it was probably just having panic attacks related to the normal emotions of being a teenager. I was so sure he was wrong that I opted to go get an EEG - turns out I have a mild form of epilepsy and google was totally right." mambo_number_69
You seem Heavier...
"Not a doctor, but the brother of the patient... and "worst" being on the money. My older sister diagnosed herself as having symptoms of systematic heart failure. Her new primary doctor agreed and gave her some basic guidelines of what to do, and had her visit her cardiologist. The cardiologist pooh-poohed her, saying there was probably nothing to worry about and scheduled a test in a few days just to be on the safe side."
"One of the things her primary had her looking out for was sudden weight gain, and when she woke up two days later suddenly 6 pounds heavier, we went straight to the emergency room, who ran tests, including an echocardiogram. Her injection fraction was 12, and they immediately sent her to the biggest hospital in the area, where they ended up saving her life from congestive heart failure. She had had at least two silent heart attacks due to the amount of damage they found." lostjaggi
Easy Fix.
"Not a doctor but I was having horrible debilitating headaches for awhile, googled my symptoms and they ranged from stress to brain cancer. Ended up being sinusitis." hangryguy
Not the Nipple...
"I had an insect bite basically next to my nipple. It was itching like crazy, and my usual bite cream said not to be used on nipples, so I decided to Google what else I could do to relieve it. Found out that apparently no one else has ever had an insect bite on their nipple, but that what looks like an insect bite on or right next to your nipple is almost certainly inflammatory breast cancer. Phoned up my GP (we used to be neighbors so I kind of knew him) and was in a right state because I thought I had this incredibly aggressive form of breast cancer. He listened to me for a minute, asked a couple of questions and then said, "It's an insect bite. Come back to me if it's still there in three weeks. Oh, and try deodorant on it."
"The deodorant calmed it right down, and it had gone by about five days afterwards." The_Sown_Rose
dUDE....
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"Not really related to this topic, but I am a medical student.. and recently got stye in my eye. Stye is usually self- diagnosable but I called up my cousin who is a doctor just to confirm... Anyways, when I was telling this incident to one of my friends, he started scolding me saying as a medical professional, I should set the example of going to the doctor and getting proper medicines and treatment and all I could say was, "dude, I'm becoming a doc, I know how doctors are" Doctors especially when they know you're a medical student tend to over diagnose or pretend as if we have "medical student syndrome". But anyways, got the meds and my eye's healing 😁." jamiejohn21
Serious answer:
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"I try to ask my patients if they have googled their symptoms. It gives me a lot of information about what they are worried about. I then try to stay humble about their findings, and try to not be a jerk about that. Trust is not built by telling people they are stupid. However, it is hard to keep a straight face when a 50-year old male walks in and says "I think I have caught the Down's syndrome", or when a young women thought she had testicular cancer." Santy924
Oh Jack. Is that you?
"I had a grade school kid tell me he had a brain tumor. Turns out he put a dried bean in his ear and forgot about it."
"Edit: Okay, wow. Well, to answer a few questions, the kid was 9 or 10, so no stupider than your average 9 or 10 year old. He didn't really have a reason why, but they'd been using beans for some counting thing in math at school. I don't know what kind of bean it was- small and red. It came out with tweezers. This was years ago and he has probably forgotten all about it, unless his mom reminds him periodically (I would.)" jcb42x
Surprise!!
"Paramedic student here. Last week we had a call for an imminent delivery. Pt started having abdominal pain that would last a little bit and stop. And about 2-3 min later would start again. She googled her symptoms and everything she found was saying she was in labor. She called her husband and he told her to call 911. We walked in as the baby was crowning. She had no idea she was pregnant." jesus-christ-of-ems
"Do you even know what gestational means?"
"Not a doctor, but I had a coworker come into the office with this one. He was having nausea, fatigue, frequent urination and decided to WebMD that crap. We're chatting in the office one day and he says something like "Yeah, I've been feeling like poop lately, and it sounds like gestational diabetes but I can't find any cases of men getting it." I just slowly lowered my head into my hand and asked him "Do you even know what gestational means?" He did not." dalgeekdalgeek
The Crackle...
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"Not a doctor but when my fiance said he was having chest pains and when he breathed, it crackled, I googled and all of the symptoms lead to serious illnesses such a collapsed lung. Thought nothing of it, diagnosed it ourselves as an allergy and didn't go to a doctor till later in the day. It was in fact a fully deflated collapsed lung." charli1409
Feel the Crave....
"Not a doctor but worked at a hospital for a while. One of our doctors came back to the nurses station laughing because someone was fully convinced they were diabetic because they were "craving" water and webmd said that makes them diabetic. Turns out they are just human and require it to live." kiesertomasi
Impressive.
"Actually am a doctor, but this story is from medical school:"
"I had a patient who correctly diagnosed herself with mastitis, although she was very worried that she had inflammatory carcinoma of the breasts. To be fair, they can look similar."
"Another time, I had a patient correctly diagnose a lump in her breast as a fibroadenoma. I was very impressed." Reddit
So Many Groin Issues...
"This is in the occupational health field and we had a young gentleman come in who was pretty sure he had a groin hernia according to his Google search. He said he'd been lifting produce crates and experienced sharp, overwhelming pain in his groin. The doctor came back out after seeing him and was clearly fighting laughter by the time he got to the desk. Turns out the kid had Chlamydia which had caused things to become swollen and just happened to get symptomatic while he was at work." OmnoraMayday
Don't Leave.
"In 2013 i was feeling awful. Shaking, puking/dry heaving, shaking, excruciating and debilitating pain. Went to the ER had blood work done that I never knew what it said and the doctor told me it was a gallbladder attack, gave me pain meds and sent me home. Three days later I was even worse. Couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, the only relief I felt was when I was in scalding hot bath."
"I finally went back to the ER and they did more blood work and told me my gallbladder was septic and my pancreatic enzymes were 6500 and rising (they should have only been 100-150) and I was dying. I was admitted and when they did my gallbladder removal, my gallbladder was solid black and had 80 stones and a tar like substance from sepsis. Come to find out the first time I went to the ER my enzymes were 2000, I should never have been allowed to leave the hospital." AngelFears1676
Brain Matters.....
Giphy
"Not a doctor but I deal with migraines. I would not be surprised if someone experienced a migraine for the first time, googled their symptoms while they still had the clarity to do so, and went to the ER thinking they are having a stroke." spaghatta111
While the web can be a great resource, it's best to go a real medical professional for any diagnoses.
Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
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"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
Giphy
"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
Giphy
"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.
While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.
Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.
Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.
For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.
Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:
"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"
The Tiny Issue Of Water...
"Absolutely not."
"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649
Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...
"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."
"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."
"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."
"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep
The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...
"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."
"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3
Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen
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What Do You Mean Allow?
"I have no choice."
"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412
"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show
Hug GIF by The BarkPost
Giphy
Who Needs An Alarm Clock?
"I let my two cats sleep with me."
"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."
"And so do I."
"We've all developed a lil routine."
"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_
Whose Bed Is It Anyway?
"Yes."
"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."
"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor
"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."
"Would not come out."
"Got some food and some water in dishes."
"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."
"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."
"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."
"She was too busy eating."
"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."
"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."
"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."
"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."
"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."
"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."
"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."
"She would not go."
"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."
"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588
sleepy kitten GIF
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Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...
"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."
"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."
"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle
Saying No Just Isn't An Option...
"'Let'."
"Lol."
"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren
Felines Only!
"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz
Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official
Giphy
Is That My Hair On That Pillow?
"My dog is perfect."
"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."
"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."
"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester
It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.
Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...