Woman scrolling TikTok spotted video on familiar health issue—she rushed to hospital after watching it
There must have been several times when you stumbled upon an important piece of information on social media and were super grateful. It could have been news, a new policy, a hack or even health-related signs and symptoms. A social media and brand marketer, Kate Winick, revealed that she was notified about a serious health issue she was facing only while she scrolled TikTok. The woman mentioned in a LinkedIn post that she was browsing the videos and came across something regarding a health problem. The content felt too familiar and the woman realized she needed to make a trip to the hospital soon after.
“The algorithm served up a video of a labor and delivery nurse doing a trend about horrible pregnancy symptoms and how they're basically all normal... until a patient comes in with itchy palms and feet and they immediately admit her for emergency care,” Winick noted. As soon as she spotted the itching symptom, something clicked and she realized she’d been having the same issue for a year. “The itching was so severe, I was sleeping maybe two or three hours a night and going through a box of medical gauze a week to try and stop the constant bleeding. Various doctors had suggested lotion and a lower-stress job and pretty much tapped out,” she recalled.
Winick went straight to comments to validate what she saw in the video and unfortunately, nurses agreed that the symptom was connected with liver failure. “I was confused. As a healthy 34-year-old who had about two drinks a month, there was no reason my liver should be failing,” the woman remarked. She further used the platform to address her doubts before she could get worried. However, several nurses replied to her comment, “urging” her to see a doctor. “I went in for bloodwork which showed liver enzymes so high the nurse just stared at me as she delivered the news,” Winick recounted.
The following turn of events didn’t look good. “I met the first of many hepatologists, had a biopsy and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called PBC (Primary Biliary Cholangitis) which attacks the small bile ducts and causes liver damage,” the woman noted. She was immediately put on medication and advised to take the same for the rest of her life. “And during my pregnancy, I managed the horrorshow that is cholestasis, the topic of that original video I saw,” she added. Winick shared an important message highlighting the benefits of social media apps and professionals who use the same to spread awareness.
“It's important for social pros to remember why we do any of this. We all benefit from learning together, laughing together, sharing real truth and real expertise, and seeing our deep-down commonalities writ large. That's what I loved about social media when I started years ago and what I still love today. So thank you, TikTok. I'd be a lot worse off today without you,” she concluded. Nicole Campbell noted, “I have heard stories almost always from women with symptoms that have been reported and dismissed. TikTok has given them the information needed to make a guess at a diagnosis and advocate for themselves.” Amanda Lee added, “TikTok was the gateway to me stumbling across a video from someone with ADHD. Not everyone's brain is a chaotic jumble of every experience they have ever had in constant rotation. It changed my life.”