Is your shopping basket telling you to book a doctor’s appointment?
Take a look at the contents of your pharmacy shopping basket. Are there symptom controlling medications in there such as pain killers or indigestion remedies that you are using more and more regularly? This could well be a sign to stop self treating and go and see your doctor.
A recent study just published in JMIR Public health and Surveillance used 6 years worth of loyalty card data from Boots and Tesco relating to 273 women, 153 of whom had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 120 who had not.
The shopping data showed that for the women who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, their purchases of pain and indigestion medications began increasing up to 8 months before they were formally diagnosed. Dr James Flanage, the lead author of the study, from Imperial's surgery and cancer department noted "This suggests that long before women have recognised their symptoms as alarming enough to go to the GP, they may be treating them at home."
Over the Counter Medications are fine for short term, occasional use…
This provides food for thought for all of us. Over the counter remedies are invaluable for the odd niggle, helping us past hangovers, the occasional headache or heavy meals. They also help to get us back to the demands of every day life a little sooner at the tail end of a routine infection.
…But look out for increased or more frequent need
On the flip side, if temporary symptom relief means that we delay seeking a more holistic medical review, this could result in more sinister causes going undetected. And when it comes to surviving cancer, the earlier it is detected the better the chances of survival. For example, in the case of ovarian cancer, if diagnosed at the earliest stage, 93% of people lived five years or more. This compares to just 13% of those diagnosed at the latest stage.
The conclusion - keep track of your symptoms and if you notice a continuous trend of needing pharmaceutical relief for any given symptom, please book in a precautionary appointment before continuing to self manage. Read on for our list of 'every day' symptoms that you might be tempted to self manage, but should not be ignored if they persist:
8 Symptoms your doctor would want to know about
Weight Loss - whilst many of us would be quite delighted to suddenly find ourselves a few pounds lighter, an unexplained weight loss of 10 pounds of more should be reported to your doctor.
Fatigue - if you are feeling tired all the time, it is entirely sensible to look at your diet and stress levels, and some people might turn to supplements if they feel their diet is lacking - but do talk to your doctor also who may suggest some blood tests to rule out any other possible causes
Pain - regular need for painkillers is not 'normal'. If you find yourself regularly using painkillers, please talk to your doctor. They will want to ascertain the root cause of your pain, so as to find a definitive solution. It is also worth noting that anti-inflammatories such as aspirin and ibuprofen can be irritant to the gut, whilst paracetamol can put a strain on your liver. There is even a condition called analgesia induced headaches, which is when regular use of pain relief actually causes headaches rather than fixes them.
Bowel or Bladder Function Changes that last more than a week should be reported to the doctor for investigation.
Persistent Cough or Hoarseness that outlasts an obvious respiratory infection (i.e. a cold, flu etc.) warrants further investigation
Indigestion or bloating - per the Gaviscon example quoted in the study above
Bleeding Unusual bleeding should always be investigated. This includes coughing up blood, blood in your stool or urine, abnormal vaginal bleeding, or a blood discharge from a woman's nipple.
Swollen lymph nodes are a normal part of your body’s natural immune response to many infections, but if they last more more than 3-4 weeks do seek medical advice.