Why do people go to the doctor for the flu?!

You have opened a whole can of worms here............ the advice that the doctor has given is all common sense advice which EVERYONE can do at home. Only when serious symptoms arise (unable to keep any fluids in, serious signs of dehydration - not mild dehydration which you can fix yourself) or alarming symptoms should take you to your doctor. Fevers, coughs do not fall in the SERIOUS category. Most all childhood illnesses can be successfully managed at home without the assistance of a physician but the general population now thinks that every condition must be DIAGNOSED. I don't know where they get this opinion or if we, as health care people, have cultivated this thought process into people. No one seems to have any basic information on how to take care of yourself if you get ill - treat the fevers, cough medications (if over age 6), fluids, rest and this has not been passed down to our younger generation. A doctor is the only one who can fix any illnesses! This is not true. And, most young adults who come to see us in the ER have not tried one method to alleviate their fevers, menstrual cramps, sore throat, ear aches, sore toe, hangnail, etc. and then complain when their symptoms are not gone by the next day. I don't know what we need to do to get people basic information on how to take care of common colds, flu, sprains, small burns, etc. but, it is clogging up our ER's nationwide because no one knows how to take care of themselves when ill. This may need to be a required course in all high schools because I take care of college students who do not OWN either tylenol or motrin and come by ambulance because their menstrual cramps are worse this month so something serious must be going on. They do not OWN bandaids, ace wrap nor do they even call their parents and ask what they should do BEFORE seeking expensive medical care. And, they rarely go to Student Health which is available to all of them.

Thank you for getting on my podium about this frustrating trend in our general population today.

Lastly, for all who read this, if you have tried everything you can think of (after googling "how to treat the cold/flu" and you get progressively worse and worse after several days, THEN it would be time to see a doctor. There are no magic medicines to treat viral illnesses and on the average, they last 10-14 days whether you see a doctor or not.

Health care provider - ER

A doctor is the best person to judge from the symptoms and the body condition externally what type of infection has set in.

It may appear to be flu but it can be Typhoid, influenza, Malaria, etc.

A fever is just an indicator and a manifestation of a disease which the doctor is to judge.

Therefore, I am afraid, your wife is right and more rationale in this case.

If I have the flu I go to the doctor to get a stronger cough medicine with codeine. Codeine is also a cough suppressant. Not for any other reason.

OTOH, this week, I thought I had a cold that wasn't getting better. I finally went to the doctor and it was a sinus infection! I got strong antibiotics for it and am finally beginning to feel better. I have never had a sinus infection and didn't know what the symptoms were.

me

Finally someone on the same level as me, I have never taken my kids or myself to the doctor for anything trivial like this and it's a complete waste of time. All my friends and family run to the doctor for things they could easily get over the counter, and they don't work either.

I AGREE
When i was younger i used to go to the doc for the flu, but then i had to explain that there is NO point and we dont anymore