Do you keep putting off that trip to the doctors? Here are just five excuses that people make for not booking an appointment (and why it’s time to stop making these excuses and put your health first!).

‘I don’t have the time to visit the doctor’

Many of us lead busy lives, which can make it difficult to find time to visit the doctor. The truth is that most employers don’t mind you taking a couple hours off to visit the doctors – if you can provide a doctor’s note, there’s no legal reason why you should be sanctioned for it. You don’t even have to travel to a clinic – it’s always possible to use a concierge doctor who will come and visit you. There are also out of hours services that operate 24 hours a day, so you don’t have to book an appointment on a weekday between nine and five.

‘I can’t afford it’

The US may not have the luxury of free health care, but there are other schemes in place that can make health care affordable such as health insurance and various advocacy services. Even without the help of any of these schemes, a single check-up isn’t going to cost you a lot of money – if you need extra treatment afterwards, you can always look into funding then. 0% APR medical loans could help you to spread out the cost of expensive treatment so that it’s less of a big blow to your finances, plus you won’t have to pay interest.

‘It’s too embarrassing’

There are certain health problems that can be embarrassing to talk about. You may even be worried about having to show the doctor or being prodded in places you don’t want to be prodded. It’s important to remember that doctors have seen it all before – in fact, they’ve probably encountered worse. A bit of embarrassment is worth putting up with for the sake of your health.

‘I don’t trust doctors’

If you’ve had bad experiences with malpractice or you find your doctor hard to get on with, there’s always the option of visiting another clinic and seeing another doctor. Not all medical professionals are useless, otherwise no-one would ever get cured for anything. Don’t put your trust in the internet over doctors – the internet can’t run scans and tests that may be needed to confirm the symptoms.

‘It’s nothing serious. I will get over it’

Too many people tell themselves that it’s not serious, perhaps because they genuinely think so, but more often because they’re scared of the truth. By putting off a visit to the doctors, you could be making the symptoms worse and what may have began as something fairly small and harmless and could turn into something serious. Not only will you need more serious treatment, you’ll have to pay more and you’ll end up spending more time getting treatment and recovering. Worst case scenario – it could become incurable if you ignore it. Eliminate this risk by visiting the doctor early.