The world-wide-web can be a wonderful thing. We can research so many things, do all our shopping online, keep up with friends and family, and of course, one of my favorites, look up my symptoms when something doesn’t feel right.
Because I dislike being the center of attention during a medical emergency, I will do all I can to avoid it, if at all possible.
Let me just say that nearly bit me in the behind this week.
Sunday afternoon, I went to an outdoor event. It was a very hot afternoon, and I knew that my vantage point would have to be in the full sun to get the best pictures possible, somewhere that did not offer any shade. So I walked to the spot with a hat on, bottle of water in my hand and waited for it to begin.
Thirty minutes later, I was still waiting in the hot sun to take my pictures. At this point, I’m hot, sweaty, getting lightheaded and dizzy. Even though I had water, I knew I was getting too hot. Someone else had arrived nearby where I was standing and informed me the event hadn’t started yet. At that point, I decided I better get in the shade because I was starting to feel weak. The last thing I wanted to do was pass out in front of anyone.
After standing in the shade for about five minutes and drinking what was now very hot water, I started to feel better. I was told by someone near me to expect the people soon, that everything was in motion. I moved closer to my vantage spot and stood behind a “baby” tree in hopes of getting some shade. Once it was time for the pictures, I went right back up to the wide-open sunny spot and took my pictures for the next 10 to 15 minutes.
I was beginning to get extremely weak again, but there was a large crowd near me. Of course, my pride jumped in. I walked back to the shady spot to cool off and googled my symptoms. Everything was lining up to heat exhaustion, which can be dangerous and can lead to a heatstroke.
I knew I was in a bad way, and honestly, I was scared. I did not want to cause a scene and distract anyone from the event. I figured if I could make it to my car, I could turn on the air conditioner, cool down and everything would be OK. There was only one problem with that – I had to get to my car, where most of the walk would be in the full sun.
I took baby steps and I tried to plan my walk to hit every shaded spot on the way. Once I knew I was past all shade, I told myself I could see my car and prayed that I didn’t pass out. I did make it to my car, praise God, but I was so weak and lightheaded that I thought I would either get sick or faint. I had already finished my water.
I knew there were some emergency personnel there that I could have sent a text message to, and they would have come running. But then I worried an ambulance would be called and cause a distraction, so I continued to suffer in silence sitting in my car. Finally, after waiting a little bit with the air conditioner running wide-open and feeling a little bit stronger, but still having rubbery arms and feeling lightheaded, I drove myself home. I know now that was not very smart, but my thought was if I could just get home, I could lay down and cool off.
Of course, when I googled my symptoms, it did mention going to the hospital where they can pump fluids into you and work on getting your body cooled down quickly, but I just knew I didn’t need it. I read about it, so I knew what to do.
In hindsight, all I can say is, “Susan, you were stupid!” I knew I was in bad shape and needed help, but you know the internet said drink water, find a cool spot and you would be fine. Wrong! I did make it home, but I could not walk steadily for a couple of hours. I did what I could to cool off, drank fluids, laid down and took a cold shower when I had a tad bit of strength. It took a couple of days to recover fully. However, I know now I needed real medical treatment, not the internet.
Self-medicating may be OK in some instances, but this instance was definitely the wrong decision. Doctors (including physician assistants, nurse practitioners and even nurses) spend many years in medical school to be considered optional thanks to the internet. The internet cannot “see” you or truly evaluate the symptoms.
Also, unlike the informational highway, our doctors care about us. They want us to get better. They are truly in it to save lives. We need to see them for medical advice, not the internet.
Indeed, self-diagnosing is not always the best thing. -
Susan Amundson is
news/features editor of The Columbian-Progress. She may be reached at (601) 736-2611 or
samundson@columbianprogress.com.
