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Here's what the colour of your snot really means

Yes, it’s disgusting, but that gooey stuff coming from your nose is trying to tell you something.

VERY FEW PEOPLE talk about these things, but let’s break that taboo.

About nine months ago, after I got a very bad cold, the mucus in my nose turned green. This was normal, I thought, because I was sick.

But now, nearly a year later, it’s still green.

After realising I’d also been coming down with many more colds than usual, I finally went to a doctor. He put a scope up my nose and concluded that I’d been suffering from a chronic, low-grade sinus infection that whole time. And I didn’t even know it.

The mucus in your nose serves many functions. Its colour can tell you and your doctor a lot about what’s going on in your body — especially when it’s been an abnormal shade for a long time.

Here are a few of those things, sourced mainly from this Cleveland Clinic infographic and the Centers for Disease Control. You should know, however, that snot colour is not enough to diagnose anything outright. Still, it offers a unique glimpse into your body’s strange ways of telling you that something’s up.

Skye Gould / Tech Insider Skye Gould / Tech Insider / Tech Insider

Clear mucus is totally normal. The body naturally produces about 1.5 quarts of it every day — enough to fill a Breyer’s ice cream container. It keeps your nasal passages lubricated and germ-free by acting as a moisturising barrier against dehydration and foreign objects, including bacteria and viruses. But if the amount drastically increases, it could mean that you’re suffering from allergies or the start of a cold or flu.

Skye Gould / Tech Insider Skye Gould / Tech Insider / Tech Insider

White mucus could mean a bunch of different things. Most often it means that your nasal passages are irritated and swollen, restricting mucus flow and causing it to dry out. This could be due to a nasal infection or a cold. But dairy products, allergies, and eating dehydrating foods such as coffee, tea, and alcohol can also turn your mucus white. Acid reflux or dry conditions may also be the culprit.

Skye Gould / Tech Insider Skye Gould / Tech Insider / Tech Insider

When you have an infection, whether it be a bacteria or virus, your immune system’s white blood cells rush to the site to fight and destroy the pathogenic invader. After they’ve done their job and die, they’re flushed out of your body with your mucus, and in the process can dye it yellow. Yellow mucus doesn’t mean that you need antibiotics, but it means your body is fighting something; possibly a cold. At this point, you may want to wait it out and see if things don’t improve after 10 to 14 days.

Skye Gould / Tech Insider Skye Gould / Tech Insider / Tech Insider

Your mucus can turn green from the even larger build up of dead white blood cells. This potentially means that your body is using many reinforcements to fight the infection, and perhaps it’s losing the battle. This is especially true if your mucus has been green for a few weeks or longer. If that’s the case, you should see your doctor; especially if you have a fever or feel nauseated.

Skye Gould / Tech Insider Skye Gould / Tech Insider / Tech Insider

Bloody mucus signals that there’s a lot going on in your nasal passages, including dryness and irritation, and the tissues have become damaged. This results from any number of things, including allergies, infection, and lots of blowing or rubbing. Physical trauma — like walking into a wall, face-first — can also turn your snot red.

Skye Gould / Tech Insider Skye Gould / Tech Insider / Tech Insider

When blood from your nasal lining dries, it can mix with the mucus and turn brown. But brown mucus isn’t always because of blood. It could also be dirt, dust, discoloration from cigarette smoke, snuff, or a spice. If you’re coughing up brown mucus, though, you should see a doctor because this could be a sign of bronchitis.

kye Gould / Tech Insider kye Gould / Tech Insider / Tech Insider

Black mucus can materialise after inhaling dirt or dust; or after smoking cigarettes or marijuana. But it can also signal a serious fungal infection, especially if you have a compromised immune system. If your mucus is black for no obvious reason, you should see a doctor. This is especially true if you have a fever, chills, or have difficulty breathing.

- Julia Calderone and Skye Gould.

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    Mute Johnny Mads
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:09 PM

    An issue as equally bad as covid if not worse, yet gets a fraction of the headlines. Priorities are just baffling in this country sometimes. I hope anyone suffering gets the help they need. Awareness was just getting good pre-covid but seems to have got lost in the last 12 months.

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    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:11 PM

    @Johnny Mads: interesting comment note your account didn’t exist…..

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    Mute Johnny Mads
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:12 PM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: what you mean..?

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    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:37 PM

    @Johnny Mads:
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    Mute Johnny Mads
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:39 PM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: Are you referring to my decision to keep my personal identity private? What’s your point?

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:44 PM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: that just means his account settings are set to private. His comment isn’t wrong. Even here the attitude among many commenters is that there is no way Covid-19 could possibly have affected mental health. Others have openly ridiculed people for expressing how their health has been affected. One guy continues to post mental health helpline numbers and under his comment he is continuously berated for doing so.

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    Mute Seán O'Loughlin
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    Jan 9th 2021, 9:40 PM

    @Brian Ó Dálaigh: I very nearly quit my job and had a nervous breakdown due to Covid. Its taken an immense toll on me mentally. But back to the article, mental health is seriously underfunded here and it’s about time we made it an issue the government has to stand up and take notice of. A family member of mine has presented as suicidal at A&E twice Oct/Nov 2020 and was sent home both times. There is no serious immediate help for suicidal people in this country. She wanted to be admitted before she cracked completely and ended her life… But apparently unless you actually try to commit suicide they don’t want to know.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:01 PM

    @Seán O’Loughlin: I’m only too aware of how little attention or funding is given to mental health in this country. I’ve been suicidal on a number of occasions during this pandemic. I’ve battled with depression for 20 years and about 18 years ago nearly did go the whole way. Our mental health services and their underfunding and poor awareness are a direct reflection of our society – the majority of people don’t care until it affects them or someone close to them. Some commenters here seem to think that no attention should be paid to mental health at all until this virus is eradicated. Yet, better mental health provisions would – I believe – lead to improvements in adhering to covid advice. I agree with you – it needs a massive overhaul, and not just for the pandemic.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:11 PM

    Just as an additional point of note: at this time this article has garnered 12,000 views. An article written later about Wes Hoolahan has over 16,000 views. There’s more interest in a 38-year old footballer than society’s collective mental wellbeing.

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    Mute C
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:28 PM

    @Brian Ó Dálaigh: Well done Seán and Brian for speaking so openly and honestly. That can’t be easy and takes bravery.

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    Mute Tommy Roche
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:32 PM

    @Brian Ó Dálaigh: Maybe people stressed to the hilt by Covid would rather read anything right now than an article pointing out yet another negative effect of this pandemic, particularly when it relates to mental health. They know how it affects mental health because they are living through it.

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    Mute Seán O'Loughlin
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    Jan 9th 2021, 11:02 PM

    @C: I think rather than it taking bravery it’s just really the norm for me, I’ve been through my fair share of mental health problems and don’t believe in not speaking about it. I firmly believe we need to open up more about these things.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jan 9th 2021, 11:13 PM

    @Tommy Roche: maybe you’re talking nonsense. You’re one of the commenters I have seen downplay the seriousness of mental health. As someone who has been seriously impacted by this crisis in terms of my own mental health (and reflected by pretty much every mental health organisation in the country) these articles actually benefit those who are suffering as it shows they are not alone. That feeling of being alone is one factor in poor mental health. Every article that has mental health issues – even prior to Covid – has always had poor reader interaction. Our pathetic mental health services are simply a reflection of the lack of interest from the Irish public. The vast majority of Irish people simply don’t care if someone commits suicide. If they did, they would vote appropriately.

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    Mute Keith Richardson
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:42 AM

    @Johnny Mads: this is going to be the true legacy of this pandemic. Fear and anxiety is easy to engender, but takes years to unwind. The fact that hospitals have been jammers every January/Feb for the last “ever” amount of years, seems to have slipped Paul Reid’s mind. The interaction between people was high in the summer, but cases didn’t rise, yet now they are….. seasonality of respiratory issues is what we are seeing, and possible odd numbers reporting….all reporting is “with” but not “from”. Surely that’s more relevant.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:59 AM

    @Tommy Roche: you attacked me directly over my experience with mental health before and went on to put words in my mouth I never uttered. And now here we have you using derogatory language. A differing opinion is fine. Putting people down is a different story altogether and is an area in which you excel.

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    Mute mark connolly
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:23 PM

    Its an issue that has been spiraling out of control the last year or more and it almost seems to be ignored. I fully recognize that what is happening with the virus is important and should take priority, however there is other serious health issues going on behind the scenes and going to get worse unless its brought to light.
    The absolute horror stories ive heard in recent months of whats happening to not only people in isolated areas, but even behind closed doors in some other places is not a joke. These draconian lockdowns are destroying lives in many ways and make no mistake its going to get worse in the fallout. Its an issue that really needs to be addressed

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    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
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    Jan 9th 2021, 8:40 PM

    @mark connolly: Mark, you are correct, it’s not the virus that’s caused this, it’s been a problem for years

    What are the HSE doing with the 18 billion per year budget? Seriously for a country our side that budget should go a lot further

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    Mute Joe Moore
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    Jan 9th 2021, 9:13 PM

    @mark connolly: The HSE couldn’t give a toss! A bunch of crooks who only care about themselves. No one can prove that statement wrong.

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    Mute Tessa Madden
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:34 AM

    @mark connolly: I wholeheartedly agree here, we had a baby in September and the whole experience was tainted start to finish with the draconian lockdown measures. I was left to fend for myself and a helpless newborn for 5 days after an emergency c section and in order to get a hug from my husband had to carry a bag if my own urine with me outside to a dirty car park. My mental health has suffered quite a bit and I was told by the mental health team in the maternity hospital either go on meds or get help somewhere else, because they are seeing anyone due to covid. My baby is nearly 4.5 months old and I am due back to work in less than 3 months. Maternity care has been forgot about in the middle of all of this we are so grateful for our son but we will never get this time back again

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    Mute Honeybee
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    Jan 9th 2021, 9:12 PM

    The sad truth though is that far too many of those in mental crisis are not presenting in ED’s, they are however presenting on the pages of RIP.ie and the numbers are frightening. So many families are suffering trauma in this lockdown with no support , even when it goes horribly wrong, family and community are forbidden to physically be there , virtual hugs when families are unable to stand and solitary figures in church pews and cemeteries. Mental health services were a disaster before the lockdown, now they are in dire straits, so many will not survive this pandemic, the numbers will sit with those who died of covid 19, an uncomfortable reminder of those who were failed.

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    Mute Franny Ando
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:54 PM

    @Honeybee: 100%correct. Even when someone who is desperately in need of help. Who has a letter from their G.P arrives at Mental Health facility it definitely doesn’t guarantee help. Unfortunately this is another who ended up on R.I.P even though they did everything right. The system failed them in ways that can’t be forgiven.

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    Mute ChronicAnxiety
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:26 PM

    “Care in the community” has become care in the emergency department, mental health care should not be provided in emergency departments, it reflects the lack of access for patients for proper mental healthcare.

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    Mute Alan Rothwell
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    Jan 9th 2021, 9:54 PM

    God help anyone having a mental health emergency nowadays. Ambulances waiting EIGHT hours to handover patients in Clonmel today!

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    Mute Ross
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:35 AM

    Mental health crisis in Ireland is a much bigger issue than covid. Covid is being sorted… Mental health has been ignored and is continued to be ignored.. Only if you have a lot of money can you get proper professional mental help.. Not just trainees that tell you stuff you’ve known yourself for years

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    Mute Kathryn O Reilly
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:49 PM

    This virus is showing us just how sick society really is

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    Mute Franny Ando
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    Jan 10th 2021, 2:05 AM

    @Kathryn O Reilly: You only have to see some of the comments on this thread and the case numbers every night to realise how true this is. Some very sad and argumentative comments.

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    Mute Tony Ember
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    Jan 9th 2021, 11:32 PM

    Where are the staff? Why are there so many empty positions? Hse is such an incredible failure, as are the govs that have failed to govern it for decades. We have doctors in the most senior gov position presiding over health and they have done nothing. They never will. There are too many people in the health service who are institutionalised. There are doctors who lie about clinical evidence and diagnosis about terminal illness because they “don’t like to give a diagnosis they can’t do anything about” (neurological consultant)

    There are also many hard working doctors and staff that act with integrity and professionalism that have little to offer and they have to keep quiet about the corrupt and incompetent doctors otherwise they will lose their jobs.

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    Mute Tony Ember
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    Jan 9th 2021, 11:33 PM

    @Tony Ember:
    Hse is run like a mafia cult and anybody who speaks up is deliberately mistreated as a firm of punishment. The hse itself is in need of a mental health review. In one case of a patient with a terminal illness who spoke of having multiple suicidal episodes was informed that since he wasn’t suicidal on that day he wouldn’t get any help. He lives despite the torturous abuse he has recieved by some doctors.

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    Mute Urgencia
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    Jan 9th 2021, 11:34 PM

    Community based so-called mental health services amount to a 10-15 minute appointment with a student or trainee practitioner once every 4-6 weeks.

    If you are someone who works, and you can’t make their 10-4pm work schedule, good luck getting help.

    However, if you or your family is wealthy, you have lots of options in the private system.

    The doctors who would see you in the ER regularly break the Hippocratic oath and turn away people, effectively doing harm.

    Let’s just admit the truth, family members barely give an f, let alone the student doctors and doctors leeching money from the hse.

    Booom. Out!

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    Mute Annette Mc
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    Jan 10th 2021, 7:51 AM

    @Golden Steph: there are many excellent community mental health care services with fully licensed and accredited professionals. However, government funding into these services has been completely depleted for several years and these services are struggling to stay open too.

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    Mute Brenda Roche
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    Jan 10th 2021, 11:39 AM

    @Golden Steph: what an awful and unnecessary comment.

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    Mute Sinead Merrigan
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:00 AM

    Mental health care in Ireland is atrotcious and we rely on charities to pick up the pieces but it’s becoming obvious that some charities are misspending money. This was made clear with the recent Pieta debacle that arose and has been brewing for a while.

    The issue of mental health in Ireland is that it has always been so underfunded and ignored by consecutive governments for decades. If they are short somewhere they always turn to the mental health budget to fill in the gaps and while this solves the immediate issues it adds to the long term issues of the population. Mental health isn’t just the acute generic understanding of someone depressed or suicidal but also the cumulative effect that long term illnesses can have on a person and also the cumulative effect of caring for person who has a long term or chronic illness.

    ED staff see the acute symptoms of depression and suicide but don’t have the tools or the time to deal with it. Much of the time they cannot get a psych referral and more often than not the person will be released once they are medically fit with a referral for services sometimes weeks down the line.

    One hopes the current pandemic will really wake up the government and successive governments to meaningful improvements in the health service. Much of that will be a severe reduction of middle and top level management and reinvesting those savings into medical and psychological services. We are already seeing an increase need in psychological services as a result of the pandemic and this will grow considerably over the next year as the pandemic winds down into manageable levels.

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    Mute Urgencia
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:26 AM

    @Sinead Merrigan: and if the sick person in the meantime kills or injures themselves or others…..oh well…hippocratic oath isn’t worth the paper it’s written on

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    Mute Sinead Merrigan
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:31 AM

    @Urgencia: It’s awful but the doctors hands are tied at least in the emergency department. The ED is simply triage and not there to treat chronic long term issues. Band aid on the bullet wound and people need to acknowledge that. No doctor wants to release a patient that is at risk but the resources are not there to keep the patient in the emergency department.

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    Mute Urgencia
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:51 AM

    @Sinead Merrigan: still a violation of the oath

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    Mute Sinead Merrigan
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    Jan 10th 2021, 1:32 AM

    @Urgencia: how so? They have medically stabilised the person and gave referred to mental health services/psych services

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    Mute Urgencia
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    Jan 10th 2021, 2:28 AM

    @Sinead Merrigan: wrong, they release psychotic people into the community citing lack of beds on a regular basis. Clearly a violation of their oath and duty.

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    Mute Simon Carroll
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    Jan 10th 2021, 8:36 AM

    @Urgencia: Irish doctors and actually most medically school’s / colleges / Hospitals and doctors around the world don’t and have not taken the Hippocratic Oath for many years, these days it’s more of a actors line in a cheesey Hospital drama

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    Mute Kathryn O Reilly
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    Jan 9th 2021, 10:51 PM

    This virus is revealing just how ill society really is.

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    Mute Urgencia
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    Jan 9th 2021, 11:38 PM

    Too many doctors in the family trees of politicians for this situation to change.

    The mentally ill don’t represent a big enough voting block to be considered by the blood sucking political class

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    Mute Reina-of-the-wfh-gig
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    Jan 10th 2021, 10:18 AM

    Sad state of affairs, worsened by Covid.
    Members of my family have first-hand experience, trying to access services during Covid. Not even with 3 referrals from GPs, we could get a psychiatrist to assess them.
    It was only the 3rd time AnE and with a letter I wrote to the triage nurse detailing what this person was going through that they got admitted.
    It was 6 weeks of hell at home. It didn’t need to get that bad. If this person had been seen on time, the first time they presented symptom we would’ve avoided a hospital stay.
    I was about to try the private route with them, but the waiting times were going to be similar.
    To be honest, private hospitals are not much better.
    It’s all well the walk and chat. That’s very simplistic.
    Charities shouldn’t be doing the work of hospitals.

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    Mute Sarah Bowles
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    Jan 10th 2021, 2:13 AM

    I was a witness to this personally as a patient in A&E over the Christmas period. Every single person from patient to doctor are suffering from exhaustion. What is it going to take for a change because all I could do was tell that father that his son would be ok. No one wins if we continue how he are right now.

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    Mute Karen Scanlon
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:57 PM

    My 16 year old daughter took an over dose December 1st, we spent 10 hours in A&E then released. Not a work from anyone since, though we were promised we would hear ASAP!!! The mind boggles. She doing ok-ish but no body gives a crap! I get they are under pressure, but c’mon!!

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    Mute Urgencia
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    Jan 10th 2021, 12:59 AM

    Physic heal thyself

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