4 ms·

It is almost never a good idea for the general population to read a list of symptoms to watch out for. Many of those are so subjective that just posting it her

It is almost never a good idea for the general population to read a list of symptoms to watch out for. Many of those are so subjective that just posting it here is almost guaranteed to lead to people freaking out and seeking unnecessary treatment.

0xbadcafebee 3y ago
If you have underlying conditions which could be worsened by the physical damage from COVID, you should absolutely talk to your doctor. Just like "freaking out" can cause unnecessary doctor trips, telling people they're seeking unnecessary treatment can cause negative health outcomes. There are many minority communities (most of which have almost no representation on HN, but anyway) have a myriad of different factors preventing them from going to or listening to doctors. Ultimately you can't control if someone "freaks out" or not. But you can share information that someone might use to protect their health.
- ifyoubuildit 3y ago
  > most of which have almost no representation on HN How did you learn this?
  - hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
    They didn't, they made it up.
- sarchertech 3y ago
  Sharing a list of subjective symptoms to “watch out for” so people can “protect their health” isn’t helping anyone. There’s a difference between telling people to talk to their doctor if they have concerns and posting a list of symptoms which is likely to create concern where none of existed. Most of the mentioned symptoms are highly correlated with stress and anxiety. Listing them and encouraging people to pay attention to them is almost certainly doing more harm than good. There is also no widely recognized evidence based treatment for any of this. Advising people to seek treatment is likely going to be completely unhelpful, or worse encourage people to go down some quack rabbit hole and start mega dosing vitamins. Also I’d appreciate if you didn’t imply that cautioning people against posting this kind of medical advice was somehow anti-minority. I can guarantee you that no serious medical professional or minority health advocates are happy to see people posting these symptom lists on forums.
garganzol 3y ago
I completely agree, but the current public health system haven't caught up yet. A minimal amount of awareness may save someone's life and wellbeing.

0xbadcafebee 3y ago

If you have underlying conditions which could be worsened by the physical damage from COVID, you should absolutely talk to your doctor. Just like "freaking out" can cause unnecessary doctor trips, telling people they're seeking unnecessary treatment can cause negative health outcomes. There are many minority communities (most of which have almost no representation on HN, but anyway) have a myriad of different factors preventing them from going to or listening to doctors. Ultimately you can't control if someone "freaks out" or not. But you can share information that someone might use to protect their health.

ifyoubuildit 3y ago
> most of which have almost no representation on HN How did you learn this?
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
  They didn't, they made it up.
sarchertech 3y ago
Sharing a list of subjective symptoms to “watch out for” so people can “protect their health” isn’t helping anyone. There’s a difference between telling people to talk to their doctor if they have concerns and posting a list of symptoms which is likely to create concern where none of existed. Most of the mentioned symptoms are highly correlated with stress and anxiety. Listing them and encouraging people to pay attention to them is almost certainly doing more harm than good. There is also no widely recognized evidence based treatment for any of this. Advising people to seek treatment is likely going to be completely unhelpful, or worse encourage people to go down some quack rabbit hole and start mega dosing vitamins. Also I’d appreciate if you didn’t imply that cautioning people against posting this kind of medical advice was somehow anti-minority. I can guarantee you that no serious medical professional or minority health advocates are happy to see people posting these symptom lists on forums.

garganzol 3y ago

I completely agree, but the current public health system haven't caught up yet. A minimal amount of awareness may save someone's life and wellbeing.