If I was an Plumber, Secretary, Accountant........

 
Would you ask me Medical questions ????

And if I were to answer them.....would you believe me ?????

Medical questions need to be directed to a medical professional......not an open on-line forum.....

Just a suggestion......

frisco

I strongly second that! 

In fact, you're paying a surgeon thousands of dollars for their expertise, both in and out of the OR  -- why would you ask anyone else?

 Could you give me advice on my 401 K though? 

 
I'd have to refer you to someone for that......but I seen a guy un-clog a toilet before......

frisco

 But have you stayed at a Holiday Inn Express? 

 
Exactly.......

We have a few Dr. Googlists on this forum........

frisco

I'm newish here, but I'm not sure what to think of this.

I thought the forum was for asking questions and to share information if we have it - to SUPPORT each other. Honestly, this is the kind of thing I'd expect to see on one of the other forums where the bitter people hang out.

 I've really appreciated the information people have been willing to share and if they went over some invisible line and tried to diagnose someone, it was still helpful because it's more information than I had yesterday.

I hope people keep sharing, because I'm here to learn. I think the people on this forum are intelligent enough to ask a doctor for a diagnosis.

Seems like a sort of petty thing to make as a topic and it might make people who are already a little skittish not want to share.

JMO.

 
First....I probably wouldn't have posted this "Topic" if I felt it was "Petty"

Second......In two years on this forum..... I can assure you....not everybody is intelligent enough to ask a doctor for a diagnosis.

You can read into it how you like..... but I feel my post is very supportive......

Next time someone has a sharp abdominal pain......or they feel faint......or their temperature rises......and they think to call there doctor first vs. post the question on a public on-line forum for amateur opinions......than this post is very supportive and not petty.......

Your response is not out of line at all...... and I really do appreciate your views..... you would assume what your talking about is true....and it should be.... but it's not the case in any large group.

Support comes in many ways....It's not always white gloves and perfume.....

OH should be a supplementary aid in your quest for better health... not the whole thing.

Sorry if you got offended by my post.... you are new and doing your research like you should.... I hope I don't scare away the skittish...... But hope I have made a valid point.

frisco

While I agree that people experiencing abdominal pain, fevers and more "serious" symptoms like that should contact their doctor immediately, lumping all questions regarding "medical issues" is sooo super subjective. It really depends on the individual's own definition of a "medical" issue. For instance, I posted a question a couple of days ago about my fingertips being tingly. I got a lot of helpful responses in that post. By your standards, is that something I should have called my doctor about first and totally skipped the boards? What if it was likely a vitamin deficiency? (which I suspect it was, as I haven't had it in the past 2 days after I started taking B12 again). What qualifies as "medical advice" and who gets to define and determine that on these boards? 

As long as such topics are left up to the individual to decide for themselves, we're going to get those "OMG INTENSE PAIN IN MY ABDOMEN WHAT DO I DOOOOO" posts because -- let's face it -- some people are more... err... dependent than others. If I were experiencing abdominal pain and fevers you can bet your ass I'd be on the phone with my doctor, not posting on an online forum, constantly refreshing to see if I got any responses. Some people need more hand-holding than others, I guess. I think it's silly to post those serious questions here (it's like the equivalent of the message you get when you call the doctor -- "if this is an emergency, hang up and dial 9-1-1" -- right?) but I can't make other people abide by my own definitions of serious medical issues and i'm not sure MY definition of something minor is shared by other people. So. Yeah.. it's all subjective.

But I honestly agree with the motivation of your post. It's frustrating to see people wasting precious minutes or hours seeking medical advice on an online forum for something possibly serious when they could be getting it taken care of by qualified medical professionals.