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I Googled my symptoms and almost admitted myself to the ICU
There are enough real challenges in life competing for attention, and every new day brings with it its own hurdles.
A couple of weeks ago, there was a blood donation exercise at work, and since I know how important donation of blood is, and having donated before, that afternoon I made my way to the place that had been set aside for collection, filled the form that I was handed, and then offered my right arm for a sample to be taken. A minute or so later, the medic that had attended to me informed me that I could not donate because I had showed a low blood count. I must have looked very alarmed because she offered to do the test again, just to be sure that there was no mistake. But the second test returned the same results.
I walked back to my desk in a daze, wondering what I was suffering from for my blood count to be “low” and whether that something was serious enough to kill me. I did what everyone with access to internet would do. I Googled my symptoms. But I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have because I almost admitted myself to the ICU because according to Dr Google, I had multiple illnesses that were at the terminal stage.
I was dying all this time yet I didn’t know it. In fact, I should have written my Will like yesterday and written my loved ones farewell letters. Not only that, unbeknownst to me, I should have been fulfilling items in a bucket list I am yet to write because I have been assuming that I will live to a ripe old age of ninety-something.
I must have mentioned here before that I have a very fertile imagination, therefore you can imagine what the rest of my day was like, tossing and turning the damning symptoms over and over in my head wondering exactly when I would drop dead. The anxiety must have been so pronounced, such that a colleague who had passed by to inquire about something work-related gave me one look and asked me whether I was okay.
When I told her what had transpired, she openly laughed at me and reassured me that mine was most probably a case of iron deficiency, which could be resolved by taking foods rich in iron. Of course, her effort to dispel my fears was wasted because she wasn’t a doctor, just a mere journalist…
Anyway, I miraculously managed to trudge through the day, and when I returned home late in the evening, I even managed to throw in some hours of sleep, and by morning, I was feeling more optimistic and thoughts about my imminent death had faded away. If you’re wondering, I am yet to go to hospital for a checkup, though I probably should, just to be on the safe side.
By the way, if you tend to seek health-related information on the internet, there is a name for you – cyberchondriac. This, according to, ahem, Google, are individuals who excessively worry about their health based on information found online, potentially escalating concerns about common symptoms. This, continues the search engine, can lead to a cycle of self-diagnosis and worry, causing unnecessary medical visits and anxiety. That’s it.
I refuse to turn into a cyberchondriac. I mean, there are enough real challenges in life competing for attention, and every new day brings with it its own hurdles, why go looking for more? This coming week, I plan to consult a doctor and get that long over-due check-up. It is time I got to the bottom of this low blood count thing. Please, have an anxiety-free Sunday.