Re unqualified people giving medical opinions on Internet

what i find worrying on MN is the number of people who upbraid posters by declaring, is it an accident or an emergency, no.
then don't go to A&E.
with some shaming about wasting time, resources etc.
it is obvious that these people do not understand the concept of a possible medical emergency, only recognising acute trauma/injury as being an emergency.
having seen galloping medical emergency at close quarters, and trying to convince staff inside majors at A&E to take some effective action . . .
i find the MN don't-go-to-A&E brigade alarming.

I've posted before about shingles. I had it about 40 years ago but my husband has had it during the last few years. Several times.

Some years ago he had a staphyloccus infection in his left knee which resulted in his knee being cut open and cleaned out. May last year he had an implant in the same year. This year the staph has reared its ugly head again. Today he saw the infection specialist who said that the infection had gone but it could come again. He has to see her again in one month.

He also asked her about the red patch on his arm. Our GP thought it might be impetigo (which can be connected to staph) but she confirmed it was shingles. The red patch is almost permanent and she said that one could continue to get shingles. He cannot have the new jab until he is at least 6 months clear of shingles, but preferably one year.

He has been living with shingles for several months almost continually and also for some years. It is the pain that is worse than anything. It is continually there to a greater or lesser degree. He has tried several different treatments - medicine, some sort of shock therapy, faith healers and homegrown.

My point in writing the above is that sometimes we non experts do have some something important to impart. If one does not accept the information, fair enough. It is one's right not to. But you would be silly (or even stupid) not to look further into any symptoms that you may have. After all, knowledge is a good thing.

Well do you know vintageglass it was reading something on here that made me think about going to the doctor 18 months ago
I saw a ‘new to me’ doctor who wasn’t sure ! so thankfully put me on the 6 week cancer path I was diagnosed first with pre cancerous cells, had an op for them, which showed up stage 1 in another nearby area second op and thankfully now got a clean bill of health so far, going for my fifth check up next week fingers crossed
What I read on here pushed me into an appointment that I would probably have dithered about, as cancer hadn’t really entered my head
I think most intelligent people wouldn’t take advice as gospel but maybe make them think more about getting checked out

shoppinggirl

I saw a GP for my very swollen/painful leg. She gave me antibiotics. I managed to get another appt a week later as I was no better. The next doctor immediately diagnosed a DVT, followed by a scan and blood thinners. All rather worrying in hindsight!

😩

I saw a GP for my very swollen/painful leg. She gave me antibiotics. I managed to get another appt a week later as I was no better. The next doctor immediately diagnosed a DVT, followed by a scan and blood thinners. All rather worrying in hindsight!

Charleygirl5

Mt61 a DVT ie a deep vein thrombosis is the first thing which should have entered your GP's brain. At your husband's age it should have been top of the differential diagnosis list and would have been easy to get a partial diagnosis there by one simple thing he should have done.

Same dr that said my husbands hernia was just muscular 😩

Mt61 a DVT ie a deep vein thrombosis is the first thing which should have entered your GP's brain. At your husband's age it should have been top of the differential diagnosis list and would have been easy to get a partial diagnosis there by one simple thing he should have done.

Gp wouldn’t see my husband for two weeks for a pain in his calf, he said muscle pain. I looked up calf pain on YouTube (same kind of info you would find on here, they always put up a disclaimer- anyway info I found was correct, said it could be a blood clot- went off the urgent care- yes it was a blood clot. Had I had not looked it up on there, probably would have agreed with the Gp.

Have never been on Mumsnet, so can't comment on that, but I find the 'medical' threads on GN very useful and supportive, even if it's only giving the correct technical 'vocabulary' to use with the GP.

Medical opinions from random people on the internet can be taken with a pinch of salt.

However I have seen posters asking for opinions on minor medical matters like constipation, best kind of incontinence pads, sleeplessness and so on where they might not want to go to a GP and take up their time.

No one is obliged to follow medical advice offered on the internet.

I dont know about Mumsnet, but on this forum, I think we need to be grateful for the free advice we are given. Personally.

After 24 lots of surgeries leaving me with some 24 different health conditions, & being a nurse, I help where I can on several forums, particularly those who need tips on how to manage things.

It isn't medical advice, it is help to someone who might have suddenly found themselves with a stoma or an especially nasty disease called Sjogrens Syndrome - I am after all an expert patient, and can give lived experience, whereas half the medical professionals who deal with some of these things, can't!

I have contributed a lot to the Hip and Knee thread but I did have 40 years of experience with professional qualifications and advising somebody to buy a pair of elasticated laces for shoes is not exactly life changing.

If the symptoms sounded like bone was grinding on bone and therefore grade 4 I would advise a visit to a GP because leaving it can cause more damage.

Oreo

They do it cos the OP asks for their opinions.End of.
Nobody has to take replies as gospel, but posters try and be helpful.

This!

Maybe lobby Keir Harmer for a better service ?

They ask because, erm cause they can’t get a gp appointment for at least two weeks or don’t want to spend nine hrs at A & E (like we did last month)

Wheniwasyourage

There are conditions which are annoying or painful but certainly not dangerous. For example recently there has been a thread about plantar fasciitis, for which there seems to be no cure but time. As I have been suffering from it lately, I have found some of the suggestions very helpful in making me more comfortable while I wait for it to get better.

If I was suffering from more sinister symptoms, I would get some reassurance from people saying that yes, I should consult my GP (if/when I could get an appointment) and I think that often that is the advice that people on GN give.

When I had plantar fasciitis my doctor just told me to ‘ wear trainers’. Months later I went to a Scholl shop, purchased some of their insoles and walked out a new pain free woman. He also told me my sore eyes were blepharitis and I had to stop wearing make up. Which I did for ages ( in those days I didn’t leave the house without make up). It turned out to be red eye from spending so much time on the works computer. When they updated it my eyes were ok. Sometimes GP’s can get it wrong.

Theexwife

It surprises me that on here if someone says they are a lawyer, Doctor or other any profession it is accepted as true and advice given is taken as correct.

I think there is a point where you have to accept people are what they say they are. There will always be others on GN who also have legaal or medical knowledge and would quickly recognise if someone was purporting to be what they are not and offering incorrect advice.

Vintagejazz

Well my original post was based on threads I've seen on Mumsnet. No I haven't personally had a bad experience but have seen so many people on MN and some other forums giving ill informed medical advice and presenting it as fact that I thought it was an issue worth discussion.

Perhaps what happens on Mumsnet should stay on Mumsnet?
If I was interested in it, I'd subscribe to it.

There are conditions which are annoying or painful but certainly not dangerous. For example recently there has been a thread about plantar fasciitis, for which there seems to be no cure but time. As I have been suffering from it lately, I have found some of the suggestions very helpful in making me more comfortable while I wait for it to get better.

If I was suffering from more sinister symptoms, I would get some reassurance from people saying that yes, I should consult my GP (if/when I could get an appointment) and I think that often that is the advice that people on GN give.

When my husband was first diagnosed with cancer I joined a support group on Facebook. We were always very strict about not giving advice that we were not qualified to offer. What we could do was share ideas that had helped us cope with side effects of treatment, offer reassurance that some of these side effects were quite normal and suffered by a lot of patients, and advise people to contact the team treating them if their problems sounded serious.

Well my original post was based on threads I've seen on Mumsnet. No I haven't personally had a bad experience but have seen so many people on MN and some other forums giving ill informed medical advice and presenting it as fact that I thought it was an issue worth discussion.

RosiesMaw2

It’s taking uninformed anecdotal opinions as medical fact that is really irresponsible.

🎯

Vintagejazz

RosiesMaw2

It’s taking uninformed anecdotal opinions as medical fact that is really irresponsible.

I agree. But they're often presented as medical fact on Mumsnet. I think people are more circumspect on GN and will say "those symptoms are similar to ones my husband had when he was diagnosed with x. Maybe you should ask your doctor for tests", whereas on Mumsnet you will often get posters confidently telling an OP that they definitely have x and should go to A&E NOW.

Well I can’t comment on!Mumsnet and don’t really see the relevance of bringing it in.
However you do seem quite hung up on this OP, I wonder if you have had a bad experience.

When you live alone, it's handy to be able to ask people what they think.

If I had someone here, I'd show them and say "what do you think of this?"

It's just the same, yo my mind.