11. Acute bacterial sinusitis
You may have acute sinusitis—which affects 1 in 8 adults per year, according to Healthline—but there’s a good chance that you don’t have the type that requires antibiotics.
“The vast majority of sinusitis, which is inflammation of the sinuses thus resulting in nasal discharge, face pain, and pressure, is viral in nature,” says Dana Neutze, MD, PhD, UNC School of Medicine Assistant Professor, Family Medicine.
“We suspect it is bacterial only if symptoms have persisted for at least 10 days.”
Until then, sinusitis can be treated with saline sprays and Neti pots, over-the-counter decongestants, humidifiers, and R&R. So don’t beg your doctor for a prescription.
“Taking antibiotics for viral sinusitis does nothing for the condition,” adds Dr. Neutze, “but can cause diarrhea, a secondary infection [caused by a bacteria] called Clostridium difficile, or leads to resistance of bacteria to antibiotics in the future.”
12. Chronic kidney disease
While chronic kidney disease (CKD) may not cause any symptoms early on, you might get tested for it if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or a family history of kidney issues.
Eventually, you may experience swelling in your legs, feet, and face, along with dry skin, increased or decreased urine production, nausea, and trouble concentrating.
The issue with CKD is possible overdiagnosis, due to new guidelines that were designed for early intervention.
According to the BMJ, many people’s condition never progresses to full-fledged, symptomatic kidney disease – meaning that they should never have had that early diagnosis to begin with.
While not going into kidney failure is a good thing, the diagnosis itself may lead to unnecessary stress, tests, and treatments.
13. The flu
To be fair, you may actually have the flu: That’s the case for between 9.3 and 49 million people each year, according to CDC estimates.
But there’s a good chance that you instead have a flu-like illness, plus a cough or sore throat.
Whether or not it’s the actual flu can be determined with a nose swab at your doctor’s office.
hat’s important during the first 48 hours if you want an anti-viral like Tamiflu to ease your symptoms and shorten the duration of the illness.
If it’s not the flu, you could have parainfluenza, RSV, or simply a really bad cold.
And a big FYI: No matter how hideous your symptoms are from a stomach bug, that’s not the flu – it’s a gastrointestinal infection.
This article first appeared on RD.com.
