For example, I have had a moderate to severe headache continuously since the 22nd of October. I went to the doctor on day 8, and had blood taken, was put on an antibiotic, and was referred to a neurologist which I still have not seen yet. The antibiotic didn’t work and nothing wrong came back from my blood, but a few days later, I had a strange incident.
On Sunday November 5, after being perfectly fine besides the pain in my head for an entire weekend, I started feeling light-headed and fuzzy, like everything was happening in slow motion. My throat was hurting and I was shaking like a leaf. My mother, who was terrified, rushed me up to our local CVS and I met with the clinic. The nurse, who was very polite, took my blood pressure and had my mother and I explain what was going on.
She seemed worried, as anyone would be after hearing that a girl in her late teens had been dealing with a constant headache, for at that point, fifteen days straight. However, she sadly informed us that she couldn’t do anything about it besides give me a strep and flue test.
I came back positive for strep throat and was put on Penicillin VK 500 milligrams for ten days with a warning that I should go to the emergency room should I have another weak spell. Shortly after that, I developed a fever and the headache still persisted despite trying absolutely everything. That Wednesday, November 8, my mother took me to my actual doctor where I had an EKG performed and came with surprising results of an irregular heartbeat that sent us to a local cardiologist.
I’m fine, despite still having a headache, and I do have a point throughout this entire story. Why are minute clinics so limited? I know for fact I looked terrifying. I was shaking and pale as a ghost, yet all the clinic could do was check my blood pressure, temperature, and see if I had strep or the flue? What if it had been more serious?
Why do people rely on the clinics so much? At my doctors I was able to actually get proper care and testing along with possible solutions that actually made since. Yes the clinics are cheaper, but it is it really worth it? What if my situation had actually been worse and the nurse found out I was suffering more than just strep for the most part and she was unable to do more than what she did?
Some people I know never go to their doctors at all and when they do get sick, they go to the clinics. With the clinics being so limited in what
they can do for you, it’s dangerous for people to just rely on them for medical help. Just because the clinics exist, does not mean that people can just refuse to see an actual doctor. Eventually the clinics aren’t going to have an answer to whatever ailment you may have and you are going to need to go somewhere else besides the emergency room. Clinics are good for minor illnesses but going to the doctor cannot be avoided simply by having a clinic nearby.
So please, make sure you have a doctor available that can see you when your health starts declining!
