Can you take pain relief before seeing a Doctor? Yes you can!
Often when an urgent visit to a doctor is needed, the problem or condition can be very uncomfortable. This could include an injury to yourself or your child; or an illness during which you experience a sore throat or headache, or a high fever, making you feel absolutely miserable.
It is understandable that you hesitate to “mask” the symptoms, and strong medications can indeed risk this; BUT it is always safe, acceptable and desirable to take the recommended dose of Paracetamol before you come to see us.
Just remember to tell our triage nurse what dose you have already taken; or given to your child and the time it was taken. If possible, keep a note of the temperature you recorded before the medicine was given and give our nurse this information.
Serious conditions will still be reliably diagnosed and the whole experience of being assessed, waiting to see the doctor and then moving about during a thorough examination, will be much less painful and stressful e.g. a sprained ankle or thumb needs to be pulled in various ways to assess the damaged ligament to find out if the joint is still stable; a small feverish child needs their ears checked and will be frightened if the ear is very painful.
Even if the problem turns out to serious and you are told you should be “nil by mouth”; because you may need surgery, taking Paracetamol will not delay your treatment.
Please stick to the recommended dose and do not take it more frequently than every 4 hours.
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
🧩😏 Riddle me this, Neighbours…
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Do you think you know the answer?
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
-
52.9% Human-centred experience and communication
-
14.6% Critical thinking
-
29.8% Resilience and adaptability
-
2.7% Other - I will share below!
Loading…
