Disclosure: I received compensation for this post, but all opinions are 100% my own and may differ from yours. I will only endorse companies, products, and services like the Merck Manual Consumer app, that I believe, based on my own experiences, are worthy of endorsement.
Two days before Christmas I woke up early feeling sick. I felt nauseous and started vomiting. This is not common for me. In fact, I’m fifty-two and other than motion sickness, I never experience nausea or vomiting. I just don’t. Yet…
…Here I was two days before Christmas puking my guts out.
Then no sooner than I was done vomiting, diarrhea hit me. Yay me! I also had a low-grade temp, at just 100.2 degrees. So I grabbed my phone and the Merck Manual Consumer app I’d downloaded a few weeks ago.
I knew that unless a temperature was above 100 (it’s 100.8 to be exact) it really isn’t considered a fever. So at 100.2 degrees, I guess it was low-grade temp. I went ahead and took a dose of acetaminophen, just in case. I sure didn’t want my temperature to rise.
Merck Manual Consumer App
While I was laying in bed, since that’s all I felt like doing, I continued to search the Merck Manual Consumer app to see if I could figure out what could be causing my sudden sickness.
By the way, I’m always Googling symptoms. I’m not a hypochondriac, but between my son, my husband, my parents, and myself, it seems someone is always experiencing some symptom or another, an illness, or an injury or emergency.
Besides, I like being armed with as much information and questions possible when I see a doctor. My doctor suggested I quit looking for medical advice from Google, though. Although you may find sound advice and medical information on Google, there is just as much bad or false information, since anyone can give medical advice on the internet.
It’s super easy to download and use.
With the Merck app, your Apple or Android device will contain not only every one of the thousands of topics posted on The Manual’s website but all of their 800+ photos and illustrations. It also contains almost 200 animations and videos you can choose to download.
When an internet connection isn’t available, the new app provides online-only access to the other great features of our award-winning website, such as…
- Interactive health quizzes
- Drug and medicine information guide, including drug interactions and a pill identifier
- Medical news and TV covering important health topics
- Editorials written by The Manual’s editorial board and expert authors
There are two big reasons I love the Merck Manual Consumer app so much:
- Tons of medical information all written by medical experts. All the information you find is credible and easy to understand. All health information has been written, vetted, and updated by more than 350 medical professionals.
- Even if you have no internet or cell service, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips 24/7. This is a biggie. Because illnesses and injuries usually happen at inopportune times (like there’s ever a good time), like when there’s no internet access.
Peace of Mind with the Merck App
Back to my mysterious Christmas break illness… I deduced that I had the stomach flu (gastroenteritis). Luckily it was a 24-hour bug and thankfully by Christmas Eve night, I was feeling much better.
Unfortunately for my husband, though, he woke up Christmas morning with the same symptoms. I was feeling better but my husband spent the whole day sick in bed.
Tis the season, right?!
It was nice having the Merck Manual Consumer app handy to set my mind at peace knowing it was something minor.
We took every precaution to keep our son from contracting Gastroenteritis, too, and it paid off. He made it through his Christmas break from school illness-free.
I feel some peace knowing I have a plethora of medical information at my fingertips anytime I need it, especially as a parent. The Merck Manual is an amazing reference guide that I’ll always have with me. And the best part? It’s FREE with NO advertisements.
For Apple devices, get the app in the iTunes app store. For Android devices, go to Google Play.
For access to thousands of medical topics with images, videos and a constantly expanding set of resources, visit MerckManuals.com or MSDManuals.com and connect with Merck on social media:
For Consumers in the U.S. and its territories: Twitter and Facebook.
For Professionals in the U.S. and its territories: Twitter and Facebook.
Donna is a Content Creator, Marketer, Brand Ambassador, Social Media Consultant, former teacher, wife, and proud mom. Blog by Donna encompasses all that… she writes about family life and being a woman while weaving in articles about the brands and products she and her family love.