When to go to the doctor for a fever, cold or cough?

In recent years there have been some changes in our relationship with our family doctor and our usual health centre. If going to the doctor's office used to be the first step, nowadays we are finding other alternatives. Especially after the covid-19 pandemic many people became used to having online consultations and delaying their face-to-face visit to the doctor.

As you can imagine, delaying appointments with your family doctor can lead to even more serious health problems and complications. That's why it's vital to know when to go to the doctor for a fever; when to go to the doctor for a cold or when to go to the doctor for a cough. To help you with this decision, in this article we will discuss the signs to look out for when it comes to making a decision.

Types of consultation: face-to-face, telephone, online, urgent and non-urgent.

As we said before, nowadays and thanks to technology, we have at our disposal different ways of communicating to get in touch with a healthcare professional. First of all, we will have to evaluate the symptoms and the situation of each person to determine which type of consultation is the most appropriate.

In the face-to-face consultation, i.e. the traditional consultation, the doctor will be able to observe our appearance and possible visible signs of illness through our eyes, skin, etc. He or she will also be able to auscultate us and check how well our lungs and heart are functioning. This first contact will be useful in determining a diagnosis or a possible referral to a specialist.

However, on some occasions it will not be necessary to go to the health centre, and we can opt for a telephone or videoconference consultation. This is very useful when we want to consult about the evolution of a previous ailment, or in the case of patients with reduced mobility.

On the other hand, consultations are divided into urgent and non-urgent consultations, and there is often a debate about this. How do we determine when we have an urgency or not? Who can say whether our consultation is an emergency? In this regard, physician Fernando Fabiani points out that "something urgent is something that 'cannot wait'. When we doctors think of emergencies, we think of situations that either put patients' lives at risk (a heart attack, a serious accident...) or generate a discomfort that is difficult to bear and whose attention, therefore, cannot be delayed". If you are interested in the debate on unnecessary emergency department visits and the current data in Spain, you can take a look at this article.

Taking the latter into account, urgent consultations will require a visit to the emergency room of a hospital, while non-urgent consultations can be attended to in an outpatient clinic or healthcare centre. Non-urgent consultations will be attended in most cases by means of a scheduled appointment, either in person or online.

But what happens if my consultation is not urgent? In this case, it is necessary to go one step further to determine when it is really necessary to visit a professional. Here are some examples.

When to go to the doctor for a fever

In both children and adults, fever is a warning sign. It tells us that something is wrong with our body's normal functioning, but at the same time, it is often a necessary process for healing. So when should we go to the doctor?

When the thermometer reads 38º or more, we are talking about a fever. Normally, as patients, we usually buy non-prescription antipyretics to lower the temperature and alleviate the symptoms. However, if this fever persists beyond 48 hours, or if it is accompanied by more severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing or skin rashes, it is advisable to consult your family doctor.

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When to go to the doctor for a cold

The common cold is one of the most common illnesses among children and adults and, consequently, one of the most common reasons for consulting a doctor. A runny nose, headache, sore throat and nasal congestion are the most common symptoms, but fever and cough may also occur.

When should you consult a doctor? Since these processes usually last about seven days on average, it is advisable to see a doctor if this situation is prolonged over time and other symptoms such as diarrhoea or vomiting appear. You may also need to consult the doctor if the other symptoms worsen, or if the fever does not go away, in which case you may have a flu.

When to go to the doctor for a cough

A cough can appear as a symptom of a cold and accompany us for several days and nights. It is probably one of the most annoying symptoms, especially at bedtime. In addition to herbal teas and over-the-counter syrups, you should consult a doctor if a cough persists for three weeks or more.

You should also see a doctor if you hear a whistling sound when coughing or breathing, if you are coughing up blood, or if you are taking medication for another illness.

As you can see, if in doubt, it is always advisable to consult your general practitioner. But it is also necessary to have certain criteria so as not to saturate the emergency department with consultations that are not serious. Nowadays we have more means at our disposal to contact a professional, such as videoconferencing, mobile applications or telephone consultations. Let's make a  responsible use of these means and trust the judgement of our doctors.

Remember, you can compare all of our Caser Expat health Insurance products by clicking on the following link: compare health insurance and consult the complete medical directory here.