Raise your hand if you’ve ever made the mistake of googling your symptoms and instantly assumed the worst. If you’ve managed to avoid that so far, that’s pretty impressive. For the rest of us, even the smallest unfamiliar sensation can send the imagination running wild.

Our bodies do all sorts of strange, unexpected things, and when something feels even slightly off, it’s easy to spiral, much like when your car makes a sound you’ve never heard before.

But in many cases, that fear is simply an overreaction. On Reddit, medical professionals pulled back the curtain on the most common issues people tend to panic about far more than they need to. Take a look below, and as always, trust a qualified doctor over a search bar when something truly worries you.

#1

Infants (newborns especially) commonly have an irregular breathing pattern. We get a lot of ER visits from new parents who are convinced something is wrong with their baby.

I would 110% rather tell parents “your kid is just fine” than the opposite, so I don’t mind at all when parents bring their kids in to be seen.

© Photo: tasty_unicorn_bacon

#2

Ear wax consults. I’ve said it once, I’ll have to say it a million times. Ear wax is NOT your enemy. It protects your ears – it has antibacterial and antifungal properties, and is adsorbent. Not a week goes by without a consult for blood in the ear due to a Q-tip, or a ruptured drum from puncturing it with a foreign object, or a thermal injury from ear candling. It is NOT DIRT.

© Photo: Dr_Fangorn

#3

“My newborn baby wants to feed every 2 or 3 hours”

Even before being a health professional I knew this was normal.

© Photo: anon

#4

After you eat beets everything comes out red. Looks like blood but really… It’s just the beets.

#5

Their daughter’s first period. Wayyyy more often than you would hope, we have mothers bring their young daughters in with complaints of “abdominal pain and blood in urine” ….didn’t you go through the exact same thing yourself at one point?

© Photo: mad_libbz

#6

EX-EMT here.

Arrived on the scene, guy says he thinks he is having a heart attack because his left arm is hurting. Vitals all looked great.

He was sore from exercising at the gym. He actually said “yeah but my left arm hurts worse than my right arm.” To which the paramedic (basically my boss) was like “Well did you work your left arm more than your right at the gym?”

“Uhh, actually yeah.”

“Well that’s probably why.”

2nd day on the job. As we were leaving he was like “yeah we get a lot of this. And half the time it’s right when you’re trying to eat dinner.”.

© Photo: CDC_

#7

This isn’t as exciting as the other comments, but it happens so often it’s hard not to mention! I am always surprised when patients are very worried about minor constipation. If having a bowel movement once every 2-3 days is normal for you, that’s okay! You are not “unhealthy”. There are some exceptions, especially in acute situations, but generally if you aren’t experiencing any discomfort then there is no reason to stress!

© Photo: macandcheezy

#8

Canker sores. So many foods, herbs, and medicines can cause them. They aren’t contagious, but look like herpes. If you’ve never had one they can make you panic.

© Photo: Pizzaisbae13

#9

A couple of years ago I had to get vaccinated for school. Afterward I keep feeling this wetness under the bandage, it’s really weird. It wouldn’t go away even an hour or so later, so I get slightly worried. Nothing like this had ever happened before and I’ve never heard about such a reaction, so it has to be something weird. Maybe the vaccine leaked out?

So I go back and ask the nurse is she can check it out. Here’s where it gets embarrassing. After she carefully peels off the bandage she informs me they used a non-alcohol based antiseptic that doesn’t dry as quickly.

Also, I’m a medical student.

© Photo: Mastni

#10

A lot of people come to the ER for a cough, scratchy throat or runny nose. I can be sympathetic about this, but I ask them when it started “Just this morning”. You probably have a cold, and at most should be in urgent care instead of the ER, but really should just be at home resting. Also a lot of people don’t realize that colds last on average about 2 weeks (not 3-5 days like most people seem to think). The first week is when you feel the worst, the 2nd week is when you feel better but your sinuses and airways are still clearing but you feel hella congested, then the cough and draining can continue well into the 3rd week and the scratchy throat is from the cough and sleeping with your mouth open.

#11

I always hear people complain about getting a flu shot. Saying “I don’t get the flu shot anymore because everytime i get it i end up getting sick right afterwards anyway!” And i must explain, yet again, that the vaccination they recieve is a severely depletex version of the virus, and the “sick ” feeling they get is their body recognizing and reacting to it, developing antibodies and inflammatory protiens in order to better react to the virus in the future. It FEELS just like being sick, because that’s what happens when you get sick. But you’re not sick, your body is just reacting AS IT SHOULD to the attenuated virus.

TL;DR flu shots don’t make you sick.

#12

I had a patient who we put on blood pressure medication. When I checked his blood pressure it was 124/78. He started freaking out that it was not right, that it’s usually over 140. I then proceeded to explain to him that’s why we put him on blood pressure medication and how it works.

#13

A lot of 45 year old patients come in concerned that they are having trouble reading not realizing that everyone needs reading glasses eventually. That usually makes them feel old.

© Photo: Lemon_rock

#14

Some people, including myself, randomly get a sharp pain when breathing in (typically on the left side of the chest). It’s really scary at first but it only lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes at most and episodes can happen daily, weekly, or monthly. It’s called precordial catch syndrome and is completely harmless aside from the few seconds of pain.

© Photo: RchamOnYT

#15

Recently had a diabetic patient complain that her blood sugar was dangerously low…checked it once and it was 148. Checked it again because she was determined to convince me it was too low and she needed soda and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Level was the same.

Good, normal blood glucose parameters for a diabetic patient are 80-149.

#16

I work in lab. People freak out if there’s a bruise. Somehow this bruise can only ever be my fault. Maybe I went through the vein. Maybe I used too large of a needle. Maybe I jammed it in too quickly. It’s never your fault because you bled around my needle or were on blood thinners and no amount of post-draw pressure could prevent the bruise.

It’s a bruise. It goes away.

© Photo: NonReligiousPopette

#17

Kids and fevers. People worry about febrile (fever) seizures if the fever is too high but it’s not how high it gets, it’s how fast it gets there. Please give your kid some Tylenol (Acetaminophen) or Motrin (Ibuprofen) before coming to the ER, we believe you that your kid has had a fever of 103F (39.4C), I don’t actually need to see it. Fevers can also last anywhere from 2-7 days so rotating meds will help little ones feel better.

© Photo: p_i_see_you

#18

Getting more aches and pains as they age. So many people are on medicine for minor issues. I know there are a lot of people out there that need them for chronic problems, but the amount of people who lay in bed complaining of pain 10/10 in their back astounds me. The best thing for getting rid of back pain (in most cases) is to get up and get moving.

And I’m talking about the ones that have no signs or symptoms of discomfort. They can move, they don’t guard or have facial grimacing. They just need those percocet every 4 hours, and if you encourage getting out of bed they look at you like you just kicked a puppy. Most people get aches and pains as they age, some people just really don’t handle it well.

© Photo: Travelingnurse

#19

Headaches. Yes, it COULD be an aneurysm, tumor, or stroke. But it could just be a simple HEADACHE! Try some Ibuprofen and water before deciding you are on your deathbed!!!

© Photo: jfa_16

#20

Had a young man come to the ED saying he noticed his heart beating really fast for the last three days. I asked if he had changed anything in his diet or was taking any supplements.
“Yes. Actually I started taking this pre-workout supplement three days ago.”
A quick google search showed me that this stuff was giving him about 500mg of caffeine in each serving.

Lesson 1: if something new is bothering you, think about what changed right before your problem started.
Lesson 2: read ingredients.
Lesson 3: 500mg of caffeine is WAY too much.

#21

I saw a patient who was convinced a tumor was growing on the back of their head. After examination it was just their external occipital protuberance, a normal bump on the back of the skull. It must’ve been the first time they actually felt the back of their skull.

#22

Indigestion.

Oh, your tummy started hurting a little after you scarfed down a bunch of McDonalds? Exactly which part of this strikes you as an *emergency*?

#23

I’ve had a few black families bring their child into my dental office worried that their gums are dark and possibly infected. No, that’s normal pigmentation…like your skin.

© Photo: ToothJanitor

#24

Lots of people tend to get nervous when they can’t eat for several days during an acute illness. “Everything I eat I vomit.” Stop eating. You can survive for a long time without food. Let your body heal itself and then introduce bland basic food slowly. When you vomit you are throwing off your pH balance and loosing water. So if you keep vomiting when you eat, stop eating. The most important thing to do is keep drinking. Sip small amounts of water continiously. If you can’t keep liquid down then you need to go to the emergency room / a&e asap but don’t worry about food.

#25

Allergies to meds. I can’t count the number of pts I’ve ask “Are there any medications you’re allergic to?” and they can’t answer it. They either don’t know the difference between an allergy and a side effect, or don’t know the name of the medication they’re allergic to, and don’t bother to wear a medical alert bracelet or anything. It’s almost like they don’t care.

#26

Pain response to surgery. It doesn’t matter how well you prepare some patients, they will always act shocked that they need analgesics (pain meds) after their procedure. Everyone wants to act tough (I’m looking at you men aged 25-55) but having your chest cracked open is no picnic and chest tubes hurt like hell. It’s normal and you’re not pathetic for crying.

#27

Subconjunctival haemorrhage. It’s basically when a small blood vessel bursts in your eye and the white goes partially or completely red. It looks super dramatic but if it’s painless and doesn’t affect your vision then it’s harmless and will eventually go away by itself.

Also, the leaflets in medication often cause a bit of panic. I’ve had patients who got a sore stomach after taking their antibiotics and were convinced it was liver failure, or that their tiny rash was definitely the beginnings of toxic epidermal necrolysis.

On the other hand there are things that people are less concerned about than they should be, and coming from a pharmaceutical point of view one of the biggies is paracetamol (aka acetaminophen, aka Tylenol). It’s very safe if you stick to the max dose, but I have lost count of the number of my patients who have taken like 20 tabs in 24h because they had toothache or a sore head. Straight to hospital for all sorts of blood tests!

#28

30% of people have methane-producing bacteria in their bowels. These are the people who can light their farts on fire.

#29

Lipomas. Common, harmless and show up almost anywhere as small lumps. The most common place i see them is on backs and in the inguinal region. They are just a group of fat cells. Atypical lipomas can turn into liposarcomas but this is extremely rare.

#30

Concussion symptoms can last a long time and everyone is different on how they react to them. Just because your friend had a concussion and was doing his return to play stuff in a week and a half doesn’t mean you’re going to recover the same way. Also just because you didn’t black out or lose consciousness doesn’t mean you aren’t concussed, it just means you have 1 less symptom for us to check.

Edit: I’m really glad that this has caused such a discussion with so many experiences/inputs. This has been a topic that I’ve been passionate about for a while. I’ve done an undergrad research project on it and hopefully I can get on board with some of the bigger research studies going on so we can reduce the concussion rate in young athletes and prevent a lot of the long term effects. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, educate your kids, athletes etc. Talk to your Athletic Trainers at school (if you have one, that’s another thing I’m trying to work on for the future) to talk to your kids and coaches. You would much rather be safe and have them sit out for a game or two than have them sidelined for life.

#31

Myoclonic jerks: that sudden muscle spasm, especially when you are falling asleep and suddenly your whole body jerks. Absolutely normal as part of your brain realizes you are about to fall asleep and wakes you up.

#32

All the things that happen right after having a baby. Yes, you will be bleeding for, on average, a week, with some spotting for up to 6 weeks. No, the cramping doesn’t stop when the baby comes out. Your gigantic uterus (dubbed a baby bag by a patient) needs to work it’s way back to being the size of a fist. Babies cry. You will not go back to your pre-baby body by the time you are discharged, bring sweatpants and flip flops, especially cause you’re gonna be puffy from the fluids. Breastfeeding doesn’t magically happen, you gotta do work. Also, it hurts at first, but that goes away.

#33

The xiphoid process is the little bit of cartilage/bone right in the centre of the chest towards the bottom of the breastbone, and around fortyish years of age it starts to harden and protrude (usually in men)

Lots of the guys come to the ER thinking it’s cancer.

#34

Therapist here. Depression. I can’t tell you how many people think a depressive disorder is the end of the world and that once they cross the magical line of being diagnosed they’re going to be miserable forever because now it’s “official”. There’s nothing to be ashamed about. Depression is a lot of things but it’s never a flaw of character. I can’t tell you how much time is spent in early sessions with a client where they want nothing more but for me to write them some kind of note to the psych saying “he was having a bad day when you diagnosed, he’s happy really!”.

#35

Regular heart beat isn’t.
Speeding up when breathing in and slowing down when breathing out is utterly normal.
Palpitations aren’t anything unusual or bad. Sometimes it’s just easier to consciously feel the heart at work, usually at night, then people freak themselves out over it, which makes it worse… not a heart attack.
Extra-systoles are also pretty common and while there are illnesses that produce more of them, totally healthy people have them from time to time too. It feels like the heart is skipping half a beat, followed by an extra strong thump.

#36

Before I ever went to nursing school I went to the doctor for this strange, firm nodule in my right groin, near my bikini line. It had been there for awhile and I was paranoid… What if it was cancer or something?

He felt it and then asked me if there were any others. (He must have been amused at this point.) I said, “Actually, I can feel another on the other side, too.” It turns out, I had located my inguinal lymph nodes. They were perfectly normal, but most people don’t notice them unless they happen to be thin and can feel them under the skin.

#37

Blepharospasm or eye twitch, it’s usually due to caffeine, stress, fatigue, etc very rarely indicates something more complicated but I had patients wondering if they are having a stroke.

#38

I work in ophthalmology, and the award goes to floaters, the little black spots that you sometimes see floating around your vision.

In rare cases of a ton of them appearing suddenly they may be symptomatic of a more serious issue like a retinal tear or retinal detachment, but 99% of the time they are COMPLETELY benign. And people FREAK. **OUT** when they see them. I had a lady insist on seeing the doctor as an emergency for floaters and she was basically histrionic in the waiting room because she was afraid of going blind between her arrival time and her eye exam with the doctor. I once told another borderline-hysterical woman that I had had floaters my entire life, and she stops crying, stares at me wide-eyed, and says, “You DO? Oh my GOD, how do you LIVE?”

(manly grimace) I just take it day by day…try to keep putting one foot in front of the other…

#39

Had a patient come in to be checked for the plague because he was running a fever, bit didn’t treat it with anything and was now fine. The concern was that they lived in the mountains and around squirrels.

#40

Astigmatism. I have patients coming in telling me in the same revered, hushed tones that they’d say ‘cancer’ that the reason they can’t see well is because they have a bad “stigmatism / stigmata / stickaticka / stigma”… My spiel, “A-stigmatism is a technical word that describes how your eye focuses light. You can replace words like near-sighted, far-sighted, and astigmatism with just ‘out of focus’. It’s not a disease: a camera, a telescope, and an eye can have an astigmatism”.

#41

The bump along your c-spine/neck region. One vertebra has a bump the protrudes more than the others, and anyone falling on their back/neck thinks they broke their neck when they feel it.

#42

Nearly everybody that fills out a form before speaking to me thinks he bruises easier than others…wich COULD be a sign for different deseases but nearly never is…

#43

Foot cramps. If you’re all alone when you first get one you may think this is the end.

#44

The flu. Please don’t call 9-1-1 for the flu unless it’s absolutely necessary. Most of the time there’s nothing that can be done to help you and you’re putting everyone in the ER at risk. Call your doctor and see if they even want to make an appointment with you. Most of the time they don’t because you’ll put their patients at risk as well. 99% of the time the best thing to do is rest and hydrate.

#45

I’m a Dermatologist. People freak out about seborrheic keratoses. 90% of the time when someone comes in with “new changing mole concerning for melanoma” it is one of them.

Family doctors get so little dermatology training that many have no clue what they are, and so they refer their patients to me for these. It’s nice to give reassurance, but it’s just getting ridiculous at this point.

#46

Moles. I’m not a doctor but 6 years as an Army Medic I saw more people come in for “weird mole” than nearly everything else, except common illnesses. Hey Doc this mole looks weird. “Why yes it does Specialist. It’s probably cancer riddled with herpies. Now stop laying in tanning beds for hours before it actually does become a problem.”.

#47

Morning sickness.

Now, let me say, I am a male. But, in my line of work (Paramedic), I see lots of serious incidents downplayed by patients, and lots of minor things blown out of proportion.

Routinely, first time mothers to be think morning sickness is the end of the world. They they call for help every other day for a few months until it passes. Some do need some help, but the majority blow it way out of proportion. If I had to gander a guess, the younger the first time mother to be, the more dramatic.

#48

This kinda freaks out the alcoholics who are now sober. The human creates its own alcohol (ethanol) as a normal intermediary byproduct of metabolism. It is extremely small in concentration maxing out at 0.004 in the BAC measurement scale. The body’s gut bacteria can also produce a tiny amount of ethanol during digestion depending on your gut bacteria and diet. This also gets absorbed and metabolized pretty quickly and in very low amounts.

That being said, there is alcohol in your body. You’re not 0.00000000% alcohol free.

#49

You would be suprised if you found out how many people that gets an head MRI because they felt a little dizzy the other day, and they freak out about it and think they have a brain tumor.

We actually had a lady that had a referral along the lines of:
Passed out in the shower. I wish to do an MRI.

I feel like GPs a powerless against certain types of patients.

from Bored Panda /doctors-share-normal-things-people-freak-out-about/
via IFTTT source site : boredpanda