Everyone's Health

Time heals (usually)

But if an ailment gets out of hand, know the signs and call the doctor

H. Jackson Jr.

Your doctor prescribes a medicine for your condition. But it doesn't help. Neither does the second. After a month of trying, the third works fine and you feel better.

While you're thinking you got a miracle medicine, it's just as likely your body healed itself during the weeks you played checkers with pill bottles.

“The body has a lot of healing mechanisms,” said Dr. Mark Mengel, professor of family medicine at St. Louis University. “When you cut yourself, the body heals quickly. Your body has an immune system that's very good at fighting germs and viruses.

“And your body is always regenerating cells, so about every seven years, you have a new body. Most colds we get, cuts or abrasions, sprains and strains, heal themselves pretty quickly.”

Physicians know that the majority of visits to their offices involve colds or aches that will go away in a relatively short time.

“The majority of problems – colds, respiratory infections – can heal themselves within a week or two,” said Dr. Thomas Johnson, a family medicine physician with SLUCare. “Overuse injuries, a sprained ankle or low-back pain may take more time. The vast majority of those get better within a month.”

Also, some illnesses clear up simply because you treat your body right. For example, dehydration is the culprit behind a number of conditions.

Dr. Mark Gregory, an internal-medicine instructor at Washington University School of Medicine, noted that a simple thing to do when you get symptoms of an illness is to make sure you're drinking enough water. Dehydration mimics so many bad conditions that knocking down several glasses of water a day could relieve the symptoms in a short time.

But if you can't keep water down, it's time for a visit to the physician's office, he said.

TO CALL OR NOT TO CALL

While many minor illnesses may fix themselves, doctors have libraries of horror stories of people who waited too long to see a doctor. Following are a few tips from physicians on how to tell when your illness has crossed the line:

See the doctor when you aren't sure: If you suddenly have symptoms that you normally don't get during an illness, see your doctor, especially if they arrive in clusters of stomach pains, diarrhea, drainage from the ears or other places, headaches, nausea, dizziness. Those symptoms can be a bad case of the flu or they could be food poisoning or forecast a heart attack or stroke.

Fever: When a fever hits 101 degrees and isn't better in the morning, see your physician. A long fever can harm the brain. Err on the side of caution.

Something doesn't get better: Illnesses or wounds that don't get a little better each day or even get worse signal an infection, undiagnosed diabetes or even skin cancer.

Wheezing, shortness of breath: Call the doctor, especially if it's a new condition. If it's bad and you're struggling as if you're having an asthma attack, go to an emergency room. This can be a heart attack, panic attack, pneumonia or other serious condition.

Headaches: While science still doesn't know what causes headaches, they're quite successful in treating symptoms. If you're used to a tension headache now and then that you can handle with aspirin and relaxation, don't sweat it. If the headache is incapacitating and you're not in treatment for migraines, see your doctor. Dizziness, nausea, vomiting or pain in one spot on your head could be an isolated migraine, the beginning of a problem with migraines or a minor stroke.

Earaches: You won't like this. Contact your doctor if it's so bad you can't hold your head up or go to work. Earaches are notorious for being symptoms of more serious problems. They also can be caused by foreign objects, insects and water. Let your doctor decide if you need to wait it out.

Face pain: This is another symptom of a number of different problems. It can be sinuses or a stroke. Your experience will tell you if you need a decongestant or whether something strange is happening.

Muscle or skeletal injuries: Minor injuries will heal with ice, rest, aspirin or ibuprofen and patience. They don't heal well if you put them back to work too soon. If something's broken, it will hurt too much to use. Let the pain be your guide.

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