Serious question Counters.
Unfortunately a relative of mine has a lot of joint issues and she has been a lot worse yesterday, and I was wondering would I need to call the ambulance for that or is that not a good reason to call an ambulance as she can barely walk with the pain now? #medical
@wf66 I'd check with her doctor, of course, to see what they recommend... but if the joint pain has suddenly exceeded its normal levels and gone beyond anything you or she have seen before, I would offer to take her to the ER to get checked out. Sudden massive increases in joint pain can be indicative of some very bad things indeed.
@lenaoflune Would ER take her quickly without a doctor’s referral or will she have to be stuck in the waiting room for hours. Also what do you mean by sudden massive increases in joint pain can be something bad? Are you implying that it may get worse or?
@wf66 So, for instance, a massive spike in joint pain can be caused by kidney issues or by an autoimmune flare. If it's rheumatoid arthritis, not getting that under control can cause joint damage. I'm not a doctor, but I have several family members with autoimmune diseases and pain going from a consistent 3-5 that suddenly jumps to 9 or 10 is something their doctors said warrants attention.
As for the ER, it depends on your ER? I'd call the doctor first because they can call ahead sometimes.