Health & Medical Scares
138 guides
Browse PanicStation.org guides for stressful health-adjacent situations where you may be unsure what to do first.
These guides are designed to help you recognise when urgent help may be needed, think through what information to share, avoid delaying care, and find an appropriate next route such as emergency services, urgent care, a health provider, or specialist support.
PanicStation.org provides general information only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, triage, mental health advice, counselling, or emergency help.
a broken bone is visibly deformed or has broken through the skin a carbon monoxide alarm sounds and you feel sick or have a headache a chemical has splashed in your eye and it still burns after rinsing a deep cut is bleeding heavily and will not stop a finger or toe suddenly becomes cold, pale or blue and painful a nosebleed will not stop after firm pressure a seizure lasts several minutes or repeats without recovery a sudden red or purple rash or spots do not fade when pressed, especially with fever a test result is marked urgent or critically abnormal and no one has explained it an unfamiliar animal bites you and the skin is broken one leg suddenly becomes swollen, painful, or warm and you fear a blood clot someone develops sudden facial drooping or weakness on one side someone is choking and cannot breathe or speak someone may have overdosed and is difficult to wake someone may have swallowed a button battery and they seem fine so far vomiting or diarrhea is causing dehydration and you cannot keep fluids down you accidentally take someone else’s prescription medication you are coughing or having trouble breathing after inhaling strong cleaning fumes indoors you are immunocompromised or taking immune-suppressing medicine and develop a fever you are on blood thinners and develop a new headache or unexplained bruising you are pregnant and notice a sudden severe headache or vision changes you are pregnant or have a positive pregnancy test and develop pain or bleeding you cannot pass urine and feel increasing discomfort you cough up blood or see blood in your mucus you develop a fever that rises quickly and you feel unusually weak you develop a new painful blistering rash in a band on one side of your body you develop a new rash that is spreading quickly you develop a new severe headache shortly after giving birth you develop a new severe headache with nausea after a recent infection you develop a rapidly enlarging neck swelling that makes swallowing uncomfortable you develop a rapidly spreading red area with severe pain that seems out of proportion you develop a sudden high fever after returning from travel you develop a widespread, blistering, or peeling rash after starting a new medicine you develop a worsening cough or wheeze after breathing in smoke from a fire you develop facial or hand swelling with reduced or frothy urine you develop hives, facial swelling, throat tightness, or hoarseness after a possible allergen you develop new chest pain that gets worse when you breathe in you develop new chest pressure or discomfort, especially with arm, shoulder, or jaw pain you develop new confusion or severe drowsiness after taking a new medicine you develop new severe thirst, frequent urination, and unexpected weight loss you develop new weakness in both legs or worsening trouble walking over a few hours you develop new yellowing of your eyes or skin that comes on quickly you develop pelvic pain with fever and unusual discharge you develop severe muscle cramps and feel overheated in hot weather you develop severe vomiting and diarrhea after eating foraged mushrooms or an unknown plant you develop shaking chills and feel suddenly much sicker than a typical viral illness you develop sudden back pain with new leg numbness or weakness you develop sudden double vision or have trouble focusing your eyes you develop sudden ringing in your ear with dizziness or nausea you develop sudden spinning dizziness and have to lie down you develop sudden testicular pain or swelling you develop sudden, new shortness of breath you develop sudden, wave-like flank pain that makes it hard to get comfortable you develop swelling or rapid weight gain with shortness of breath, especially when lying down you experience sudden numbness or tingling in your face, arm, or leg that comes and goes you faint briefly and wake up feeling confused you feel faint and your heart races when you stand up you feel food stuck in your throat and you can breathe but swallowing is difficult you feel lightheaded and close to fainting but the symptoms keep returning you find a bat in your room while you were asleep and are unsure about contact you get a bite or sting and the swelling keeps increasing over hours you get a needle-stick injury from a discarded needle in a public place you get a new severe stiff neck without an obvious injury you get an unexpectedly high blood pressure reading and feel unwell you get an unexpectedly low blood pressure reading and feel weak or lightheaded you have a fever and your heart rate feels unusually fast at rest you have a fever with a stiff neck or sensitivity to light you have a joint that is suddenly hot, swollen, and painful you have a new episode of unusual sensations and confusion and worry it could be a seizure you have a new severe headache with a droopy eyelid or unequal pupils you have a painful erection that has lasted several hours and will not go away you have a painful, rapidly worsening sore throat and trouble swallowing you have a serious burn with blistered, white, or charred skin you have a sudden, severe, and unusual headache you have been in the cold and cannot stop shivering or feel confused you have diabetes and a foot blister or wound that is worsening or looks infected you have facial swelling from a tooth problem that is spreading you have heavy postpartum bleeding and feel lightheaded or faint you have new abdominal bloating and vomiting after recent surgery you have new urinary pain and see blood in your urine you have severe constipation with increasing abdominal swelling and nausea you have steadily worsening pain in the lower right side of your abdomen you have sudden abdominal pain that is new and worsening you have sudden back or side pain with fever and urinary symptoms you have sudden chest pain after a long trip or prolonged immobility you have sudden heavy vaginal bleeding and feel dizzy you have sudden loss of vision in one eye or a curtain-like shadow you have sudden pelvic pain and abnormal vaginal bleeding you have sudden severe chest pain or heartburn after swallowing a pill you have sudden severe ear pain with fever and swelling behind the ear you have sudden severe eye pain with redness or halos around lights you have sudden severe pain in your upper abdomen with nausea that will not settle you have sudden watery diarrhea after starting antibiotics and feel increasingly unwell you have sudden worsening pain, redness, or discharge after a recent procedure or dental work you hit your eye and now have worsening pain or blurred vision you hit your head and now have a worsening headache, nausea, or unusual sleepiness you inhaled water during a near-drowning and are now coughing or breathless you miss a dose of important medicine and symptoms are starting you notice a new breast redness or swelling with fever that develops quickly you notice a new groin bulge with increasing pain and nausea you notice a new irregular heartbeat or skipped beats and feel unsettled you notice a new lump or swelling that appeared suddenly and is growing you notice a painful swelling near your eye or nose that is spreading you notice a rash with fever and are unsure if it is serious you notice a tick bite and a rash that is spreading or getting bigger you notice increasing redness, pain, or swelling around an IV or injection site you notice new numbness in the groin area or trouble controlling your bladder or bowels you notice new slurred speech or difficulty getting words out you notice purple spots or bruising that appear suddenly without injury you notice spreading redness or red streaks around a cut you notice sudden vision changes like flashing lights, blind spots, or blurred vision you realise you may have mixed up two similar-looking medicines you realise you may have taken two medicines that should not be combined you receive an electric shock and feel unwell or have burns you start a new medicine and feel faint, unusually restless, or severely sweaty you start having repeated nosebleeds or bleeding gums without a clear cause you suddenly become unsteady, unusually clumsy, or unable to walk normally you suddenly lose hearing in one ear or your hearing drops sharply you suspect you have a serious reaction after a vaccine or injection you suspect you swallowed a caustic household product and your mouth or throat is burning you think you have taken too much paracetamol or acetaminophen from multiple products you think you swallowed a fish bone or sharp food and throat pain is worsening you think you took a double dose of a prescription medicine by mistake you vomit blood or pass black, tarry, or bloody stools your arm becomes swollen or heavy after an IV, line, or injection your asthma suddenly worsens and your rescue inhaler is not helping your blood sugar or ketones are very high and you feel sick your blood sugar reading is low and keeps dropping despite eating your child may have swallowed a medicine or unknown substance but seems fine so far your fever returns after you seemed to be improving your glucose monitor or insulin device alarms and you are not sure what it means your heart suddenly starts racing or pounding while you are at rest your infant under three months has a fever or is unusually sleepy your lips or fingertips turn blue or a pulse oximeter shows unexpectedly low oxygen your smartwatch flags an unusually low heart rate and you feel faint your stools turn very pale while your urine becomes very dark your temperature is unusually low while you are ill and you feel confused or disoriented your urinary catheter has stopped draining and you feel bladder pressure building