Last month, while working an urgent care shift, I caught a bug from one of my patients which progressed very quickly from a viral upper respiratory illness to a bacterial infection. Because I was so congested, the infection also seeded in my upper airways, and I developed bronchitis. Whenever bronchitis sets in, I am in for a world of hurt, because the coughing jags are so violent that I almost pass out from them since I can’t get a breath in.

In an effort to keep social media world happy, I posted my health status just so people would know why I sort of backed off from social interaction during that time. I felt horrible, and my voice was reduced to a strange, congested baritone mumble.

What irritated me was that several people jumped onto social media with health advice. I understand that people were concerned and trying to be helpful. However, there were two facts which kept floating through my head, and which left me scratching my head over how people thought it was appropriate to post advice.

FACT #1: I never asked for any advice from anyone. I was merely posting facts about my condition.

FACT #2: I am a board-certified family practice physician who works regularly in the urgent care setting. Don’t you think I would KNOW how to take care of myself? Why would anyone offer unsolicited health advice to a physician?

I couldn’t help but be bothered by the influx of posts suggesting things like, “drink tea with honey”, or “take zinc”. As an urgent care doctor, I am just as likely to give general, common sense advice about upper respiratory infections as I am to give prescriptions for medications and order in-office nebulizer treatments. I know all about zinc, tea with honey, vitamin C, salt water gargles, etc.

Besides, I ended up needing a course of antibiotics, two prescription inhalers, two prescription cough medications, and three over-the-counter decongestants. No amount of tea with honey, zinc, or salt gargles would have fought off the infection and reactive bronchitis I had developed. One person on Facebook hounded me via Messenger, and when I said I couldn’t chat, sent me a bizarre set of instructions for a concoction which included red wine. I became irritated and berated him for giving me health advice, whereupon he took the opportunity to insult me for no good reason. His disrespect was so blatant that I blocked him. I don’t need that kind of hostility in my life.

Sorry, but I think it is presumptuous and insulting to attempt to give health advice to doctors. In the age of Google, so many people fall under the assumption that they are suddenly experts when it comes to just about everything. Don’t trust everything you read on Google!

When I really think about it, I doubt that people would give automotive advice to an auto mechanic, or financial advice to their CPA’s. So why insult someone with 7 years of medical training and 14 years of experience as a practicing physician?

I believe I have made my point.