When you start feeling sick, the first thing you should do is get some rest, or take it easy. Don’t over exert yourself, and spend your time exercising or doing hard tasks that might use up all of your energy. Your immune system will begin to fight off an infection, and require energy to do so. When you are sick, you should get rest by staying home from school or work, and try resting or sleeping, if at all possible.
Treat your symptoms with over the counter medicines as these are the first line of treatment against symptoms such as headache, nausea, sore throat, coughing, nasal drainage, runny nose, eye pain, burning sensation while urinating (a classic symptom of a UTI), and itching down there (a common symptom of a vaginal yeast infection). Ensure that you are giving your body ample hydration by drinking a great deal of water. Avoid very hot and very cold environments.
Nutrition plays an important role in promoting health and assisting your immune system with the fight against a bacterial or viral infection. The last thing you want to do is eat a very heavy, super rich meal filled with lots of meat, dairy and carbohydrates. You should instead, choose healthy foods that promote your health such as fruits, vegetables and try limiting your consumption of alcohol while you are feeling bad, especially if you are taking over the counter medicines that you should not drink alcohol with.
If you are having body aches and other symptoms for more than 5-7 days or your symptoms worsen over time, you should see a doctor. SmartDocMD makes it very easy to affordably see a doctor online. You don’t need an expensive subscription; you do not even need insurance. We treat patients with non-emergency symptoms such as cold symptoms, upper respiratory infections, sore throat, cough, pink eye infections, urinary tract infections, and even vaginal yeast infections.
If you’d like to speak to a doctor online about your illness and symptoms, please start by filling out our quick online patient interview that will ask questions about the symptoms that you’ve been experiencing and how long. From there, we will offer ways to seek treatment. If you’d like to see a virtual doctor throughout system, you can easily pay the $30 virtual doctor visit fee and speak to a doctor online. Our doctors can offer an online doctor’s note and provide you with a prescription if needed.