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VVirus season means lots of sniffles, coughs and fevers, most of which can be treated at home. But when should you drag yourself out of bed to see a doctor?

“Going to the doctor every time you’re sick is honestly not the best use of a person’s time,” says Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, vice president of office-based care at One Medical, a healthcare provider. membership-based primaries. “Sometimes when you’re sick the best thing you can do is stay home, rest and recover.”

The first way to assess your symptoms is to use the home tools available to you. You can test yourself from home for the flu and COVID-19 with a rapid sample. If your tests are negative, it is likely that you have a cold for which, unfortunately, modern medicine does not have an effective treatment. Plenty of rest, a humidifier to relieve congestion, and warm soup are some of your best strategies for feeling better.

If the test is positive, contact your doctor so you can get the appropriate treatment, which is sometimes a prescription for a COVID-19 antiviral. Paxlovide or Tamiflu for the flu. If you can communicate with your doctor virtually, you may not have to go to a crowded doctor’s office or emergency room where you could spread infection, and you could have a prescription delivered directly to your doctor. your home.

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Generally, doctors say it’s important to contact your primary care doctor if you have symptoms that last longer than you think, such as a cough caused by a cold that doesn’t go away. With viral infections like the flu and COVID-19, “if your symptoms last more than a week, that’s a good sign that you should see a doctor,” says Dr. Daron Gersch, CentraCare emergency medical director in central Minnesota and a board member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

A high fever that persists would be another red flag that you should not endure the situation at home. “With a cold, you might have a fever of 99°F or 100°F,” says Gersch. “Our threshold in the medical profession between a mild fever and a significant fever is generally 100.5°F; once this is exceeded, we consider it more significant and probably worth alerting a healthcare professional.

You may also need professional expertise if you develop a new symptom that you don’t usually experience, such as back pain, chest pain, dizziness or shortness of breath. “For example, some people have headaches regularly and know how to manage them themselves,” says Bhuyan. “But if you never have a headache and suddenly experience one, it could be a sign of an underlying condition, so you shouldn’t ignore it.”

Keep track of the progress of your symptoms, especially with respiratory illnesses. “With viral infections, sometimes people start to get better and feel pretty good, and all of a sudden they feel bad again,” Gersch says. “It’s a good sign to come see a doctor.” A viral infection can put a strain on the immune system, then something else comes along to take advantage of the weakened immune system and you can get sick again. A cold, flu, or COVID-19 infection can progress to pneumonia or bronchitis, which requires more intensive medical care.

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Another reason to see a doctor is if you experience severe pain in a specific area, such as your back, ears, or eyes, for example, which could signal a more serious condition. Changes in mood and sleep are also worth reporting to your doctor, says David Hatfield, chief medical officer of Village Medical, a national network of primary care practices and clinics.

“If you’re feeling bad enough that you feel the need to call a doctor, to me it’s probably a good idea to be seen or at least have a virtual consultation with a doctor,” says Dr. William Fox , president of the American College of Physicians. .

Telehealth and virtual visits have streamlined the process of determining when you need to go to the doctor or hospital. COVID-19 has proven that some healthcare questions and issues can be better handled virtually, including initial triage and questions people have about new or ongoing symptoms. “We’re seeing a lot of virtual visits for cold and flu symptoms,” says Gersch. “We’ve seen a dramatic shift where people with milder symptoms are calling just to make sure they’re doing the right thing. They just want to know if they should stay home or what they should do to prevent their family members from also getting sick.

Patients tend to get the most out of these sessions when they already have a relationship with their primary care doctor, Fox says, since the doctor is familiar with their health and medical conditions. “Virtual visits are best used as part of a longitudinal relationship with a primary care physician where trust between doctor and patient has already been established, as opposed to a relationship with someone you have never met before,” he said.

More and more doctors are offering such virtual options, and many subscription health services offer unlimited virtual access to providers, 24/7, for an annual subscription. “People are becoming more comfortable with virtual tours and finding them more convenient,” Fox says. After the pandemic, many insurers began reimbursing these subscription-based visits, which helped establish them as a viable and increasingly effective way to provide health care, especially when it comes to these Daily questions to find out if something you feel. worth the detour. “We always encourage our patients to call us first so we can help them manage their care and decide whether they need a virtual visit, an urgent care visit, or a visit with their primary care provider,” says Hatfield.

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