Numbness In Left Arm - Over A Day Now?

[brittanyborg]

Hey Guys,

I've been having a lot of issues lately but last night I began experiencing extreme numbness in my left arm, I went to bed hoping it would subside however it was still there when I woke up and has persisted non-stop throughout the day. I made the mistake of googling it and everything that came up was heart attack or stroke when it pertains to numbness particularly in the left arm. I have no chest pain or other symptoms except being very fatigued.

I'm really worried, can anyone offer any advice?

[Kirk]

I would call your physician right away or go to the ER to be on the safe side.

[The Intolerable Kid]

+1 on seeking medical assistance. Take some of that children's chewable aspirin and see your Doctor asap.

[Nowuccas]

From http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/health/health-advice/are-you-a-cyber-chondriacr/news-story/07c2aefb9143336b58208e9f6b3b8915#itm=newscomau%7Ch ome%7Cnca-homepage-topstories%7C5%7Clink%7Chomepage%7Chomepage&itmt=1470667882737

"We’re all guilty of doing it. We start to feel a bit ill, have a niggling cough or have broken out in a rash. Yet, rather than go to the doctors we pick up our phone and tap into Dr Google’s office.
While for some of us it can be relatively harmless, for others it’s not the case.
In fact, it’s where the term ‘cyberchondria’ stems from, with researchers finding that, for some individuals, searching for medical information on the Internet is associated with an exacerbation of health anxiety.
Rather than thinking they have a common cold, these individuals are more inclined to think they have cancer.

Yet with search results often producing inaccurate diagnosis, it’s an easy trap for many to fall into.
In a recent study, Harvard researchers analysed 23 online symptom checkers and found that they produced an accurate diagnosis as the first result just 34% of the time.
So why do we keep doing it to ourselves?

Dr Nathan Pinskier is a spokesperson on ehealth for The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He says that people self diagnose because of the ease of access to the Internet and information.
“The Internet is accessible 24/7, there are no boundaries and you can find out about anything you want to,” he says.
Because of this Dr Pinskier says that it’s all too easy to run the risk of accessing information that’s incorrect, and this is where the problem lays.
“For people who have an understanding of health and are health literate, the Internet can be a useful way of gaining an insight into conditions,” he says.

“Conversely, if you come from a poor level of health literacy then you may misinterpret the information.”
Dr Pinskier also notes that there’s the danger of ending up on one of the many sites that provide deliberately inaccurate or misleading information.
“The information that is provided is not always current state and is not supported by health care professionals, so may lead you down incorrect pathways,” he says.
While Dr Pinskier acknowledges that the Internet can be useful for information gathering when a diagnosis has already been made, he says that if you’re doing a broad scan to make a general diagnosis yourself then it can be risky.
“Understandably, if you have a particular symptom and look up a particular site which results in a diagnosis that sounds serious, then it’s going to create anxiety,” he says.
“As a consumer you won’t necessarily have the context to understand as to where that diagnosis stands in the spectrum.”

So what advice does Dr Pinskier offer?

“If you already have a diagnosis and you’re in a treatment program with supportive health care providers, but you want to find out additional information or additional treatment options, the internet can be really useful,” he says.
On the flipside, however, if you have no diagnosis and are concerned about symptoms or an ongoing health issue, he recommends you speak with a healthcare professional.
Of googling in general, he says, “I think it’s okay to do it occasionally and we all do it from time to time, but as a health professional I can advise that we learnt in medicine that common things occur commonly and rare things are rare.”

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Chances are that it's not something serious, but it's prudent to take buffered aspirin as directed and seek medical attention.

[Kirk]

Please let us know how you made out.

[tlonist]

How'd you make out?

This can also be neurological (pinched nerve, overuse injury, etc.) and is more likely the case if you are young.

[Dahila]

muscle injury , in my neck caused numbing in arm