Rhinovirus? Novovirus? Kopoutovirus?

[Barty]

Went to my GP earlier, after finally getting fed up with coughing, wheezing and panting for breath for almost a fortnight.

It's Rhinovirus, have you seen it on the news, millions have had it. Sorry, Barty, no antibiotics for you.

Gets home and Googles Rhinovirus......it causes the common cold and attacks through the nose......sneezing, runny noses, congestion....

Googles Novovirus......causes gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhoea....

So what causes chest problems like wheezing, coughing then? Are GP's so fed up with people presenting with anything that resembes a cough, cold, or diarrhoea that they just say "Its rhinovirus"????

I've got a new name for it.....KOPOUTOVIRUS....saves doctors loads of time examining anyonen to determine the cause, and the NHS millions on antibiotics.

[lambchops]

you've got manflu, you great big jessie.

[Rebelmc]

Went to my GP earlier, after finally getting fed up with coughing, wheezing and panting for breath for almost a fortnight.

It's Rhinovirus, have you seen it on the news, millions have had it. Sorry, Barty, no antibiotics for you.

Gets home and Googles Rhinovirus......it causes the common cold and attacks through the nose......sneezing, runny noses, congestion....

Googles Novovirus......causes gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhoea....

So what causes chest problems like wheezing, coughing then? Are GP's so fed up with people presenting with anything that resembes a cough, cold, or diarrhoea that they just say "Its rhinovirus"????

I've got a new name for it.....KOPOUTOVIRUS....saves doctors loads of time examining anyonen to determine the cause, and the NHS millions on antibiotics.

You should consider yourself lucky really, as it's been known for some years that antibiotics aren't some kind of panacea for all known illnesses, particularly viral infections like the common cold.

You should be congratulating your doctor for saving you the 7odd quid prescription fee for a bunch of pills that won't do you any good, and will reduce your natural immunity to the next bout of 'rhinovirus' that does the rounds.

[Barty]

You may well be right. But he didn't examine me, he didn't consider that my symptoms might not have properly matched those of rhino or novo, he didn't ask about anyone I am in contact with (mrs barty has a chest infection), he just heard in his mind "common cold" and was then anxious to get me out of his surgery as quickly as possible.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes I was told that whenever I felt ill with whatever, I should go straight down the docs for advice, as any sort of bug can affect blood sugar levels.

The point of my post was that there was none. Not that I'm a wuss who runs to the doc with the first sneeze. I did leave it almost a fortnight!

[Nickerbockers]

Well Barty I think you can count out Norovirus... unless you're unable to leave the toilet, for more reasons than one!!!!

You won't get antibiotics for a virus, have to just sit it out with a box of tissues and some Lemsip. You'll live mate...

[Barty]

Yes, Nickerbockers, Rebel, et al, I know antibiotics won't sort a virus - my point was the apparent haste with which my doctor arrived at a diagnosis, without using any of the normal diagnostic methods to get there, or considering any other possibilities.

[Suzee]

Barty - if you have a chest infection then antibiotics would help as it's probably a bacterial infection rather than a virus.
If you've had it a fortnight and it's still going strong on Monday then definitely go back to the GP. You may have the cold virus plus a chest infection. Guess it's tricky to diagnose when the GP is bombarded with so many people just with a cold.

[Barty]

Barty - if you have a chest infection then antibiotics would help....

But I don't know whether I have or not......because doc didn't check!!!! Thanks for helping me hammer home the point

[yay!gosydenham!]

What's wrong with not being able to breathe for a couple of weeks..? Pull yourself together, Barty, pull yourself together Hope you feel better soon. If it's any consolation I agree with you!.. and I sometimes feel it's almost policy to send you home and only give you something or do some tests, if you go back a second time. I had a doc once who didn't even look up from his desk! He had a floppy fringe so you couldn't see his eyes - if he had any! - and he'd either send you home like yours did or just print out a prescription without looking up or moving from behind his desk! I'm not with him anymore and it wasn't in Sydenham. Anyway, it does sound like the virus that's going round. It should clear up soon.... (Now there's another diagnosis without an examination to add to the list!)

[Rebelmc]

Barty - if you have a chest infection then antibiotics would help....

But I don't know whether I have or not......because doc didn't check!!!! Thanks for helping me hammer home the point

Of course, there's the other side of the same coin, you could've had the same experience a friend of mine had this week; took her daughter to the GP on Monday because she had been suffering similar symptoms to you for a few days, had a full examination, diagnosed with the virus that's going round but, just in case, got a prescription, not to be taken for five days.

True to form, the girl is now well and truly on the mend, antibiotics, as paid for by the NHS (and, by extension, you) will now be thrown away, unused.

Either you're an advocate for doctors using their experience to save you and the NHS much needed money, or they should ignore their educated instincts and prescribe drugs willy nilly, whilst chucking away money left, right and centre, whether they do any good or not; where do you stand on that?

[Barty]

Where I stand is that he didn't check to see whether I had a chest infection or not.

He made an assumption.....

Assumptions by doctors can lead to mis-diagnosis.....perhaps not critical for me, but for a child or an elderly patient could pose a problem.

Untreated minor chest infections can turn into pneumonia or bronchitis. These conditions can kill the elderly and drag on in a healthy person for weeks.