|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – COVID has health implications far beyond the direct and immediate effects of contracting the disease. There is little conversation about the secondary effects of coronavirus. One of those effects is the added difficulty of seeing a doctor and having procedures for non-covid illnesses.
There was a time in the early days when the doctor’s office simply shut down like shopping malls. You could not go see your doctor. If you had COVID symptoms, you had to go to an ER. If you needed an important procedure, you were told you had to wait. Even to this day, it is not as easy to get in to see your doctor as it once was. The good news is that you have a few options. Here are three:
Try Non-prescription Alternatives
Pain is one of the main reasons people go to a doctor. This is especially true of men. The most likely outcome of seeing the doctor is that the medication will be prescribed.
Without a doctor, you cannot get those pain-relieving capsules. The good news is that CBD capsules can be just as effective on many types of pain. CBD is so effective, many pain specialists recommend it to their patients.
The best part is that CBD products can be obtained without a prescription. So if you are unable to make an appointment with your doctor for pain, there is a safe and accessible alternative you can try.
Try a Virtual Visit
In a recent World Health Organization survey, 90% of countries report disruption to essential health services since Covid. That should come as no surprise since for a lot of people, the best way to come in contact with someone who has the disease is to go and sit in a doctor’s office or hospital waiting room.
That has left a lot of opportunities for doctors conducting virtual visits for routine issues. These are real doctors who very likely take your insurance and can prescribe all the same tests and pharmaceuticals as your in-person physician. If your general practitioner does not do virtual visits, just know there are plenty who will.
Virtual visits should be consider as more than a luxury. Diabetics are just one of many types of people who are at high risk of contracting diseases that might not be a problem for the average person. Not only does diabetes make it easier to contract illness, it can also make the symptoms much worse than they otherwise would be. That is good enough reason for them to have an option to see a doctor without having to sit in a waiting room full of sick people. For many, virtual visits are a matter of health and safety.
Try Taking a Sick Day
Of all places, Vogue is one of the voices of reason when it comes to your health. They provide good reasons why you should just take a sick day when you are feeling sick.
The surprising thing is that such advice is even needed. Perhaps it is because of the rugged individualism on which the US prides itself. Perhaps it is because of the sad state of worker’s rights rendering many people without insurance. Whatever the reason, it can be a very hard thing to get sick people to just stay home.
Even when paid sick days are available, it is not easy to get people to just take advantage of one of those days. It could be that they are worried about suffering from something more serious at a later date. Using sick days now would mean they are not available later.
One of the most common illnesses is the common cold. There is a reason “common” is right there in the name. A cold can come on hard and fast. It can put you down in hours and be gone in about 24 hours. If you can’t see your doctor right away, the best thing you can do is just wait it out. Even a flu will often leave without a trace in 72 hours.
Forcing yourself to go into work when you are sick places everyone in the office in danger of getting your illness. People with underlying conditions might get it even worse than you. That is reason enough to call out.
When you can’t see your doctor, try safe alternatives to common issues. Try virtual visits when available. And try waiting it out for a day or three. These simple suggestions will cover most of the reasons you wanted to see the doctor in the first place.