More and more young people are seeking medical attention for mild fever and runny nose.
Doctors are concerned about the development, which involves serious risks.
– We will not be enough to investigate, treat and follow up serious problems and diseases, says Marina Tuutma, president of the Swedish District Medical Association.
A survey that has been done on behalf of SVT shows that young people, aged 18 to 40, are increasingly seeking care unnecessarily for minor ailments such as fever, poor sleep or runny nose.
Three out of four randomly selected healthcare centers believe that it is the digital healthcare centers that have created an increased demand – and the majority think it is a problem, the survey shows.
– Self-care knowledge is very low among the young, but at the same time the propensity to use technology is very high, says Marina Tuutma in Nyhetsmorgon.
Limited healthcare resources
She talks about crowding out effects, something that occurs when the precious time of healthcare workers is wasted
– Healthcare resources are and always will be limited. We have a limited number of general practitioners and district nurses. If we are busy dealing with the large volume of self-inflicted problems, we will not have enough time to investigate, treat and follow up serious problems and diseases where care competence is necessary, says Marina Tuutma.
In order to deal with the problem, the healthcare system needs to inform the residents, she believes, and teach them how to act in case of minor ailments.
School teaching about self-care
Marina Tuutma also believes that parents have a great responsibility for teaching their children self-care – and that teaching in school should be improved.
– Something that is very important at a societal level is that you introduce health education in school that includes self-care, just like several other countries already have.
The District Medical Association believes that already from middle school students should be impressed with how and when they should seek care – and how they should treat injuries on their own.
– If I get a wound, what can I then need in the pharmacy at home to be able to manage it myself, says Marina Tuutma.
As a first step in case of illness, it is good to check the symptoms 1177.