Regular ailment or something more serious? How to tell when you should call a doctor

Is that runny nose the first sign of a winter cold? Or have you caught Covid? We talk to experts about how to tell the difference between seasonal bugs and serious illness

It's not always a case of hypochrondria - so it's good to know when to speak with your medical professionals.

There has never been a time when we’ve paid such attention to our health. But how can we tell the difference between everyday aches and pains and more serious symptoms? Between ailments that can be treated with home remedies and ones that require a trip to the doctor?

It can be difficult to know where to draw the line, says Dr Diarmuid Quinlan, a GP with a practice in Glanmire, Cork. “There are lots of self-limiting conditions such as earaches and coughs that resolve themselves in days or weeks, but there are rare occasions when those same symptoms are signs of something more serious,” he says. “It’s hard to differentiate between the two.”