Staying healthy is crucial to living a happy life. In the midst of the pandemic, it was far more difficult to see a physician in person for most issues. The online version of seeing a doctor known as telemedicine admirably stepped up to cover healthcare gaps during troubled times. Telemedicine has been around for some time, but only recently has it become more available to folks like you and me. With that availability comes the question: should you see a doctor online? The answer is yes—for certain conditions. Telemedicine doctors excel at providing consultations, helping to manage chronic conditions, treat common ailments, and providing some aspects of urgent care. What they can’t do is treat emergency conditions (call 911 or go to the emergency room for those) and certain other conditions that may require extensive hands-on examinations. Telemedicine is a fantastic and convenient service that will make you feel less uncertain about doing a virtual doctor’s visit. Seeing a doctor virtually is more convenient for some especially if you’re still weary/at-risk of going out or just need to get a prescription refilled. Aside from those positive aspects, here’s a quick look at some of the more chronic and advanced conditions virtual doctors can help manage and treat.
Hypertension
Hypertension is a significant problem for Americans, with more than 45% of us experiencing some form of the condition. It’s so common that doctors recommend getting it checked regularly (at least yearly if you’re high-risk or over 40). The word “hypertension” itself just means high blood pressure, which is a treatable condition. It’s usually caused by lack of exercise, poor diet, excessive coffee intake, and underlying health issues. Blood pressure is dynamic, changing, and fluctuating throughout your day. When it remains consistently high, that’s when you know you have hypertension. Primary Hypertension is gradual and develops over time. Secondary Hypertension is usually caused by something like old age, smoking, sleep apnea, kidney disease, and obesity. Hypertension can cause serious issues if left untreated. In a telemedicine environment, you’ll be speaking with a board-certified doctor about your hypertension and possible treatments. Doctors may recommend lowering your salt intake, changing your diet, losing weight, and increasing physical activity to reduce blood pressure. They may also prescribe medication, enzyme inhibitors, receptor blockers, or a diuretic (water pill) to help attenuate the condition.
Diabetes
Diabetes is another common condition where telemedicine can help. Weight loss, nausea, blurred vision, and tingling in your fingers or toes are all symptoms of diabetes and should be checked out promptly. Some other signs are fatigue, dehydration, and excessive urination. There are two types of diabetes. Both conditions center around issues with a hormone that regulates blood sugar called insulin. Type 1 diabetes occurs when your body can’t produce insulin at all. It’s usually caused by the immune system attacking the cells that produce insulin within your pancreas. It can be hereditary or run in families. Treatments usually involve administering insulin, keeping a healthy diet, and exercising regularly. Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance. Your body will make the insulin, but it won’t use it properly or effectively. In this scenario, insulin can’t perform its duties of moving glucose from your bloodstream to your cells for energy. Type 2 diabetes is more common and can be managed with insulin-increasing medication, diet, and exercise. There’s a strong link between type 2 diabetes and obesity as well. Virtual doctors can help treat and manage this condition, with recent studies demonstrating that telehealth services can help patients significantly improve their blood glucose control over the standard control methods.
Asthma
Among the many conditions virtual doctors can treat, asthma may be one of the most common. Asthma inflames your airways, causing them to narrow. This usually results in wheezing, coughing, tightness in your chest, and other respiratory issues. Depending on the time of year, some things may trigger asthma more than usual. Asthma can be stressful and quite uncomfortable. Usually, inhalers and steroids are used to treat asthma. Board-certified doctors from telemedicine sites like https://everydaydoctor.com/ can treat this condition and also help you better understand it. In telemedicine, a costly asthma treatment becomes a cost-effective, travel-free way to receive a consultation and prescription from a board-certified doctor to help treat the condition. Most of the time, inhaler refills are the purpose of a doctor’s visit for asthma. With a virtual doctor, you don’t even have to make a physical appointment to receive the crucial medicine and additional treatment.
Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections, also known as UTIs, are a common problem that telemedicine can help treat. A strong need to frequently urinate is one of the primary symptoms of a UTI. Abdominal pain, a burning sensation while urinating, and foul-smelling urine are additional symptoms that should not be ignored. A UTI could be a side effect of diabetes or pregnancy. But more often, it’s caused by poor hygiene, kidney stones, and myriad other causes, and makes for a painful experience if left untreated. Seeing an online doctor about a UTI is discreet and private. Since they can’t do a urinalysis, the doctor will ask a series of pointed, incredibly specific questions to determine if you have a UTI. If so, they’re likely to prescribe antibiotics to treat the issue. If it seems much more severe than a standard UTI, they might also recommend seeing a physician in person.
Mental Health
Mental health is a serious issue in America today. It’s often overlooked in our daily lives—and especially when we look toward taking care of ourselves. Per Scientific American, at least one in six Americans deals with serious mental health issues on a daily basis. If you’re experiencing anxiety, panic disorder, depression, or any other issues and need to talk to someone, telemedicine can help there, too. Using the same telemedicine services as you would for physical ailments, you can get in touch with a teletherapist who’ll be able to speak with you at length and provide viable treatments and/or prescriptions to address a variety of mental health conditions.