NHS online checker

Ive just used the NHS online symptom checker and im a bit worried about the results but before i jump in the car i need to know if anyone else has used it and if its any good? Is it accurate?

Quick replies appreciated

Thanks

If it tells you to go to the walk in centre, then do what it says. It's going to be more accurate than people on here guessing.

If it tells you to go to the walk in centre, then do what it says. It's going to be more accurate than people on here guessing.

It told me to go to A&E Whilst waiting on replies i rang 111 and gave them my symptoms and they said i need to go the A & E within 4 hours but thats a no go as ive got kids with no one available to look after them so i think ill just have to try and get in my GPs.

I used it a few years ago and it told me to go to GP straight away and gave me the impression that I had kidney and liver problems from the way the questions were structured (I then rather stupidly compounded this by looking at some other online medical sites). It turned out that I had strained a small muscle at the base of my back and it got better in a couple of weeks. Now I personally ignore anything medical online as these sites are more likely to scare you to death than be of any use in my opinion. If I were you I would go to the doctor and tell him/her my symptoms and go from there it's probably (hopefully) nowhere near as bad as you imagine. Good luck .

Don't use WebMD.

Everything is cancer. I had a headache once - brain tumour. A sore throat was apparently a symptom of throat cancer.

Well im a little bummed out.

Ive got to go and have tests for heart disease

Thanks for your help guys and Moosey, i dont know what that site is you used, is it the proper NHS one?

---------- Post added 29-10-2014 at 18:45 ----------

I used it a few years ago and it told me to go to GP straight away and gave me the impression that I had kidney and liver problems from the way the questions were structured (I then rather stupidly compounded this by looking at some other online medical sites). It turned out that I had strained a small muscle at the base of my back and it got better in a couple of weeks. Now I personally ignore anything medical online as these sites are more likely to scare you to death than be of any use in my opinion. If I were you I would go to the doctor and tell him/her my symptoms and go from there it's probably (hopefully) nowhere near as bad as you imagine. Good luck .

Thanks for the good luck

---------- Post added 30-10-2014 at 10:47 ----------

Ive got a question for you good people. Ive been given a spray from the Doc. Glyceryl trinitrate for when i get pain but the problem is that hurts just as much. Its like the worst pins and needles ive ever had but in my mouth. Is this normal?

You really do need to discuss your symptoms and the treatment with your gp. He/she knows about your case and is the best qualified person to advise you.

https://www.nhs.uk/symptomcheckers/pages/symptoms.aspx

I admit that really made me

GTN spray stings like hell and gives you the mother of all headaches from the sudden drop in blood pressure if you take too much, but it's a very fast acting treatment for angina, which is used as a quick diagnostic tool in conjunction with an ECG to work out whether pains in your chest are anything to do with a cardiac issue or whether they are the result of something else.

What you really need to know in this instance is that anything which has the potential to be a brain injury, spinal injury, chest pain or breathing problem is by definition a medical emergency, so there isn't a site or helpline on the planet which will tell you anything other than 'go and get it seen to immediately'. That doesn't imply that it actually IS an emergency, but if they start trying to provide a differential diagnosis then there's a chance that they will miss some things which they really shouldn't be missing, so all advice is to present yourself to a doctor so that the tests can be done.

I hope it's nothing serious (but the small risk of it being serious makes it worth going to get checked out anyway)

Don't use WebMD.

 

Everything is cancer. I had a headache once - brain tumour. A sore throat was apparently a symptom of throat cancer.

Reminds me of the Lee Evans sketch, started off with a minor thing and by the time he had finished the site told him he should be dead, lol... Seriously though, most patients these days come for visits after looking on Google, and as i tell them, it is probably one of the worst things to do, because Google always seem to take the worst case scenario and put it at the top of the search therefore scaring the living hell out of people, even though they might be coming for the simplest of examinations...

GTN spray stings like hell and gives you the mother of all headaches from the sudden drop in blood pressure if you take too much, but it's a very fast acting treatment for angina, which is used as a quick diagnostic tool in conjunction with an ECG to work out whether pains in your chest are anything to do with a cardiac issue or whether they are the result of something else.

 

Current NICE guidelines actually state:

1.2.1.4 Do not use people's response to glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) to make a diagnosis.

ECG findings can confirm the presence of an issue such as an infarct but only bloods can provide definitive ruleout