From time to time, we can all feel a little off. Maybe we didn't sleep well and have no energy, or grabbed some questionable takeout and now our stomach's acting up.
Often, it's nothing — just a small thing that passes. But sometimes, our body is trying to tell us something wrong.
So, Reddit user BigTuna0890 asked everyone to list the symptoms that might seem harmless but actually require immediate medical attention. Here are some of the most surprising (and potentially life-saving) responses.
#1
Cat bites.
They can become infected super easily and be bad.
Not an "OMG you gonna die" but definitely take a trip soon to get any cat bites checked. Even if not deep.
Image credits: Rest_In_Many_Pieces
#2
Sudden change in vision.
In my case it turned out to be a brain tumor. I waited too long and now my vision loss is permanent. But I went early enough to still be alive.
Image credits: MeinAltIstGut
#3
I was 25 weeks pregnant and noticed some watery discharge/ I was confused I might have been [urinating] myself a little. If you google "watery discharge while pregnant" google tells you its totally normal. I felt totally normal otherwise, no cramping, blood, or anything else unusual. I called my OB after about 12 hours of this, just to check in after my husband felt concern. I expected her to set up an appointment with me the next day, or go to urgent care in the morning, but she said to go to the ER immediately. Once I arrived at the ER I expected to wait for hours. But they admitted me immediately. Turns out my water had broken (I was expecting a huge gush like you see in the movies!) and I was having contractions 1 minute apart that I couldn't feel, and I was going into preterm labor. (something called PPROM)
At 25 weeks I was still in my second trimester, hadn't planned a baby shower, labor was something that felt a long way off... I hadn't even started prepping our nursery! I spent 46 days in the antepartum unit of the hospital on magnesium drips and trying to delay labor as much as possible, and ended up having my baby at 32 weeks. After my long hospital stay and some time he spent in the NICU, he's a happy and healthy 1-year-old now!
Image credits: Zealousideal_Elk_150
#4
My earache ended up being a heart attack! Women have different symptoms, so pay attention!
Image credits: JCKligmann
#5
Sweet smelling breath! Could be diabetic ketoacidosis.
Image credits: butterf1y
#6
My great grandfather died from an untreated blister on his foot. Even when his leg turned colors and he couldn’t walk he refused to go to see a doctor. I tell people he died of toxic masculinity. Idiot.
Image credits: MozeeWest
#7
Headache and a neck so stiff that you're unable to look straight up.
Sign of meningitis (inflammation and swelling of the brain) that has gone so far that your brain is pressing down on the brainstem. Could be lethal within hours.
Image credits: fiendishrabbit
#8
If you’ve recently taken an impact to the abdomen, pain in the left shoulder can signify a ruptured spleen (though you’ll most likely experience other symptoms). .
Image credits: SkierGirl78
#9
Before I was admitted to the ICU for 2 weeks I had muscle tetany (felt like pins/needles) in my feet, arms, chest and weirdly enough what felt like my nose for weeks. Thought it was just poor circulation and turns out I had undetectable potassium and phosphate levels which did bad damage to my liver and kidneys!! I went months without going to the ER because I thought I was being dramatic. Literally never write things off as something else, it’s always better to look crazy than be dead. Also for those that are biologically female, losing your period or prolonged amenorrhea is oftentimes a sign of something larger going on thats attributed by doctors as stress. Always get it checked!!
Image credits: almightychloee
#10
Cold/flu like symptoms the day after a drowning scare. Especially in kids. It's the main symptom of leftover water in the lungs causing "Secondary drowning". Easily fatal if untreated.
Image credits: lesbian_acquaintance
#11
I got a small cut, little more than a scratch, on my arm cleaning under a conveyor at work. The sort of thing one barely notices. It was black with coal dust, so I rinsed it off. I didn’t give it a good soap and water scrub until I got home several hours later.
A few days later I had a dark red bump with what looked like a pimple on it where the scratch had been. I figured it could be an infection, but there was no pain or discomfort so I figured it would heal. After a few days of it remaining the same, it suddenly grew larger and nastier looking. Still no pain or discomfort.
I figured I needed antibiotics, so I made an appointment with my doctor. It was going to be a few days. When talking to my mom, who is a nurse, on the phone she said it’s serious and if I can’t see the doctor that same day then I need to go to urgent care.
I went to urgent care and the nurse practitioner didn’t seem too worried. Then I rolled my sleeve all the way up and they saw red streaks going from the infected area up towards my arm pit. I was very surprised what happened next since I imagine people in urgent care see all sorts of bad stuff. They freaked out saying I needed to go to the emergency room immediately. They asked if I felt ok and could drive myself. When I said yes, they said they’d call the hospital and give them my info and let them know I’m coming. They said I may have to stay for a couple days on IV antibiotics because I had sepsis, an infection spreading through my blood stream.
I had to get lots of medicine, but only stayed in the hospital for one day. Apparently it was so serious because once the infection passes a certain threshold, people go from feeling fine like I did to deathly ill in minutes. Make sure to clean any cuts well right away.
Image credits: Puzzled-Dust-7818
#12
Hit your head hard? Get it checked out.
I had a friend who fell out of a chair at a work party and hit their head hard on the ground. They shook it off. Started complaining about vision problems over the next several weeks. Their work performance suffered. Then, between work and their wife, the people around them pieced together that they could no longer read at the same level. It wasn't their vision, it was their comprehension. They couldn't even perceive what was actually wrong.
Long story short, it was a serious TBI. They had to go on disability and into rehabilitation therapy for over a year.
Edit:
Man, a lot of folks are not seeing the forest for the trees. There are plenty of stories below of people who could have had surgery to save their life after a bleed (thank you for sharing, I am so sorry). Plenty of people that might have gotten other interventions or monitoring to intervene earlier to help.
Yes, there are s****y doctors out there that will not care about concussions or TBI (traumatic brain injury) risk. Health systems everywhere have them. There are also good doctors as well. Give yourself a chance.
Also, consider the importance of documentation. Some more details about my friend is that they had to go through the hell of claiming worker's comp (since it happened at a work event) and having several months of reduced duties. Since they didn't get checked out right away, it was tough to have a timeline. It was also difficult to get a proper referral to a TBI specialist clinic and physical therapy. Things worked out for them in the long run, thankfully, but documentation and a timeline of changes help immensely with disability claims. Disability can happen to anyone, including you. Document everything.
Also the people who care about my friend's gender are weird. I used they because they use they. Look at the 99.9999% of 3k upvotes that didn't care because it doesn't matter and is unrelated to the topic. Stop inserting your discomfort and hate into everything.
Image credits: CustomerDelicious816
#13
A migraine that's much more painful than usual. Apparently a stroke is not always accompanied by the other well known symptoms. I'm on blood thinners now.
Image credits: Either_Cow_4727
#14
Irregular heartbeat.
Not to be ignored.
I had an irregular heartbeat for a day or two. Went to the doc. She immediately called an ambulance. I was in the hospital in the heart ward for 3 days with atrial fibulation. Had to knock me out and zap me twice to get my heart back into a proper rhythm.
Image credits: dntdrmit
#15
Superficial burns to the face typically from bbq or stove lighting accidents. It may seem like just some singed eyebrows, but if you were inhaling at all when the accident happened you could have burned the inside of your throat. Most people present with normal breathing, but as the injured tissues swell, it can close the airway. Most of these people feel fine directly following the accident and end up intubated if they make it to the hospital.
Image credits: r4dio_c4mbodia
#16
This might not be “immediate trip to the ER,” but it certainly is “immediately make a doctor’s appointment ASAP.”
If you notice a red spot on one breast that isn’t going away, if you have new orange-peel-like dimpling on one breast, or one breast appears swollen, any of those can be a sign of inflammatory breast cancer. That’s a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer that’s usually only found in more advanced stages. You usually don’t have a lump.
Image credits: Friendly_Coconut
#17
Sudden hearing loss in one ear. If it doesn't recover within a few hours, get yourself to ER immediately. You have about 24-26 hours during which treatment can bring your hearing back. After that its permanent.
Image credits: Away-Meal-9313
#18
If you've been strangled ALWAYS go to the ER after.
Image credits: Beefcake-Pantyhose
#19
My stomach was bloated for five days. I saw my general practitioner. He did an ultrasound right then and saw fluid in my stomach, which usually indicates cirrhosis of the liver or advanced stage cancer. He told me to go to the ER, where I was diagnosed that night with advanced stage ovarian cancer.
Image credits: Garfy53
#20
Someone with experience with a herniated disc here: a tingling sensation in the leg sounds very harmless, but it is not.
Image credits: finner9619
#21
If you have sciatica the pain is down one leg. If the pain switches to the other side or goes down both sides you need to get to ER. It's a sign of cauda equina and signals irreversible spinal cord damage. Can cause paralysis.
Image credits: ControlParking8925
#22
I was at the gym doing kangaroo hops and I fell face first. My legs never moved with the rest of my body. My husband, the trainers, and owner of the gym all tried to tell me to relax and try again. I just looked at them saying "my legs aren't working."
We all brushed it off as "weird". It only lasted 30 seconds in random moments throughout the session so maybe a total of 10 minutes off and on. 5 weeks go by, each work out session, my legs "stop working" for various activities.
If I went to the hospital and got clear answers, I could have prevented a very serious onset of Functional Neurological Disorder that left me 9 months suffering from seizures everyday. Some days 30+ a day. They are non epileptic but you aren't in control of your body. I was trapped in side frozen in place, only able to blink for some days.
I always wondered if I made the changes I needed to live with the disorder in those 5 weeks, would it have gotten so bad? I had to relearn how to walk, talk, and function without seizures taking over my body.
It was rough. .
Image credits: Beautiful_Resolve_63
#23
911 dispatcher here- 2 things immediately came to mind. 1: UTIs in older women. They can cause a change in mental status that often gets looked over as dementia. 2: Strong urge to poop(mostly men). It's pretty common that people are found dead on the toilet because they were having abdominal pain and thought they had to poop but were having a heart attack instead.
#24
Acid reflux. I was diagnosed with a hiatus hernia about 20 yrs ago.im 54 you male. I was sitting after dinner,tilted my chair back and dozed off in front of the T.V. I woke up coughing and tasting reflux in the back of my throat. Leaning forward in my chair I coughed to the point of needing a deep breathe took a gasping breath and felt something was wrong . Ten minutes later it was getting harder and harder to take a big deep breath. My wife called an ambulance and when the doors on the ambulance closed I stopped breathing all together. 13 minutes and 42 seconds later we arrived at the hospital for resuscitation. From there I went into a medically induced coma for 10 days . Aspirated pneumonia. The gasp of air I took in my chair filled my lungs with stomach acid. The acid burned holes in my lungs and no oxygen to my brain.
Simple acid reflux k**led me. Literally. So be careful it don't take much to visit the other side. I was thankful I returned to my wife and two kids my wife would call the hospital three times a day. For 9 days, 27 calls of them telling her there's no improvements my family prepared for the worst. On the tenth day she got the call that I was awake and alive. Thanks for a place to tell my story.
#25
I thought i had a mild UTI or a small kidney stone. Family and personal history of stones and I was in the middle of redoing my entire diet to prevent them better. Well turns out that wasnt the issue. I had an ovary do a little flip in there and get stuck. Now the cool part, there was a cyst encasing the ovary, gave it just enough blood flow to keep it from rotting while still inside me. It had been flipped for awhile, that cyst saved me from severe infection or worse. Not bragging but im told pathology was super stoked to see that. No clue why im proud of that.
#26
Each of your pupils is a different size than the other.
It can signal a brain bleed, mini stroke, aneurysm, or other brain trauma.
Go now!!
Image credits: FitGrocery5830
#27
Funny you should ask as I'm in the ER right now. Bruises. I have several bruises that I tried hard to explain away. My wife is a PA and also noticed red dots in some areas of my skin. She said either alone is nothing but both. Turns out my platelets are critically low. 8k. I'm 54 and live a normal healthy life. The reason is unknown but basically my blood will not coagulate if there is a wound and this low can spontaneously bleed.
#28
If you feel like your chest is tight and you vomit, go straight to the ER. These are common heart attack symptoms in women and often go unnoticed.
Image credits: Fire_Queen918
#29
Not sure it meets your criteria but my Uncle had heartburn, he went to nap. He did not wake up. It was a heart attack. Apparently it can feel this way. That is scary.
Image credits: TheRemedy187
#30
I had an infection in my toe(ingrown nail) when I was 16 or so and they gave me antibiotics. The next day in school I developed a fever of 104F, my leg went numb, and the skin on my leg was discolored and hot.
The antibiotics they gave me weren't working for some reason, the infection went up my leg, and I developed cellulitis. They gave me different antibiotics and those worked. But at the urgent care they told me if we had waited any longer to go in I could have needed IV antibiotics.
If you have an infection and start developing new or worsening symptoms, despite being on antibiotics, talk to your doctor or go to urgent care asap.
Image credits: Banana-Potato-
#31
More serious, less ordinary, if you’ve had a significant compression causing prolonged low blood flow to a limb for example, the release of compression after a certain point is very very dangerous.
#32
I had an abscessed tooth at a time when I had no dental insurance (god bless America, no seriously, I mean like actually do it, please). It went away after a few days and I didn't think much of it other than that it just really sucked for a few days. Within the next few weeks my teeth just started painlessly falling out. I came up with the money to see a dentist again, they did the X-rays and found that the infection had k**led the roots to all of my teeth and that there was nothing that could be done at that point to save my teeth.
And that's the story of why I've had dentures since I was 28. Dentures suck, but having no teeth sucks a lot more. Implants are nice if you're a millionaire, but my full realistic-looking dentures cost about as much as one tooth would cost if I got implants.
#33
Pain in one breast after lying on it and/or feeling a lump in the breast AS A MAN.
Breast cancer can and does happen for men. What's worse, doctors can be dismissive about it. Do not give up until it's checked through ultrasonography, even if you have to get a second or third opinion.
Edit: Just realised that's not an ER kind of emergency, but leaving it up for awareness. The reason I posted it is, because it "seems to be harmless" if it happens to a man instead of a woman, but it's not. .
#34
Being tired all the time (suddenly). Last year around the fall we noticed my dad getting tired really easily, needing to sit down when going for a walk, sleeping in way later than usual etc. He had gained some weight so we told him he should lose it cause it's obviously affecting him. Even our doctor told him he should really watch his health and eating habits if it's causing him discomfort. It got to a point where we got bloodtests done to see if he's pre-diabetic or something. Then they noticed he's got really bad anemia, and very very high iron levels, which is unusual. They sent him to the ER for an emergency blood transfusion, where he met with a hematologist who immediately told him it looks like his bone marrow basically stopped working.
After a week in the ER they diagnosed him with MDS (a form of bloodcancer) and his only way of survival was a stem cell transplant. He got very lucky that they found a 100% matching donor fairly quickly and he's seemingly recovering now.
Always go to the doctor:|.
Image credits: BelierDigitalis
#35
Repeatedly itching at night and having muscle twitches. Had this for about a month then started vomiting. Went to the ER after a few days and my kidney function was 11. A week in the hospital with acute kidney failure and function sropping as low as 6, then a good 3 months to recover.
#36
Heart attacks in women present very differently in men.
One big sign is constant yawning. It sounds so silly but it could make the difference between getting to hospital in time.
#37
We were on vacation. My youngest was 3. I started to notice he wasn't turning his head normally, like his neck was stiff. No other symptoms, no fever. Might not have thought much of it except for the fact our local news had just done a story on meningitis so I immediately called the pediatrician for advice and they said take him to ER now. ER didn't have a peds unit and couldn't rule out or confirm meningitis so they rushed us to a children's hospital in the nearby city where they discovered he had a retropharyngeal abscess (abscess in the back of his neck). If left untreated it would've grown and suffocated him. Needed immediate surgery and was back to being his sweet little self after a couple days in the hospital.
#38
A friend had a cut on her finger and did some gardening. It got a little infected so she used tubbing alcohol and Neosporin.
It stayed infected for weeks
When she finally went to the doctor, they discovered she had a rare bacterial infection from something in the soil.
After 6 surgeries, they amputated that finger and the one next to it.
She almost lost her whole hand.
#39
My 5yo child was crawling around the house after waking up in the morning. Wouldn’t walk and said her legs felt funny and hurt. we thought her legs were asleep and it was just the tingling feeling.
We called her doctor because parents intuition just felt something was off. Pediatrician told us to go straight to the ER.
Turns out it was Myositis and the infection was breaking down the muscles in her legs. 4 days in the hospital later, we were released.
#40
I developed a mild cold when I was pregnant, took the meds my doctor said would be safe, and went to take a nap. Woke up short of breath. Honestly, I just thought it was because I'd finally started showing and was having trouble getting around. I was alone way out in the country, so I called the ambulance just to be safe, and they said that all of my vitals were great, same with baby, but they could take me in to be absolutely sure everything was OK. Intake labwork showed I was in acute kidney failure due to metabolic acidosis and without dialysis baby and I would be gone within a few hours. I don't remember any of this because by that point, I was in and out from lack of oxygen to the brain. My now husband arrived at the hospital right as the doctor began placing a port to do dialysis, which I was on for nearly 6 hours.
Still have no clue what caused the metabolic acidosis, 12 days and 50+ tests later we were discharged with no answers.
#41
My mother is a surgeon so she spends a ton of time in hospitals. A few years ago she had an itchy spot on her shin that she figured was a bug bite. It didn’t get better and got even more itchy. She bumped into a colleague who is a dermatologist in the elevator and mentioned it to him. He asked her to tug up her pant leg real quick and told her they should go to the ER right away. It was a MRSA infection she had picked up in the hospital (unclear if she got it from scratching something that already itched or if the infection was the cause of the itching originally). She was admitted and put on iv antibiotics. They ended up life-flighting her to a bigger hospital 6 hours away. She had a surgical debridement and more antibiotics. They were discussing amputation as a last resort if they couldn’t get it under control. Eventually the d***s and multiple procedures worked, and she still has her leg. But she has a gnarly looking scar all down the lower portion of her leg.
#42
GI upset with a pain in the abdomen. Silly me thought I had food poisoning but after it lasted for more than 4 days, I decided to go to urgent care. An ambulance ride to the ED from there and one emergency surgery later and I'm currently sitting at home recovering minus one ovary because I had a large mass on it that caused it to twist on itself.
I almost didn't go because the pain stopped. The pain stopped because I lost blood supply to the ovary and it died. If I hadn't gone, I could have too.
#43
I had pain in my lower left abdomen near my time of the month. I started walking funny due to the pain. My husband got worried and made me go to the ER. I thought I was just getting cramps that happened to be a little s**ttier than usual.
Turns out I had an ectopic pregnancy on the brink of rupture, in which case I would’ve died within 10 minutes I’m told.
#44
Sudden neck pain.
Mine turned out to be a carotid artery dissection but even thought I got to the hospital fast, they failed to diagnose me and it caused a stroke, which they also failed to diagnose and said I just had anxiety.
If you have sudden neck pain go to the ER and complain loudly about it. Demand imaging.
#45
One I had recently was back pain from the right shoulder blade down the back. Can also have a bad stomach ache and pain on the right side under the rib cage. Plus possible dark and thick urine. Gallbladder issues.
Image credits: Galloping_Scallop
#46
A constant "runny nose". Especially if its clear, watery, and coming from only one nostril. Especially Especially if it gets worse when you strain or stand, improves when you lie down, is kinda salty/metalic tasting, or is accompanied by new headaches, neck pain, or light sensitivity.
Thats your cerebral spinal fluid. That shouldn't be on the outside of your body.
Edit: Before you go to the ER for a runny nose like the comment below suggests you will, wipe your nose with a tissue. If the tissue stiffens when it dries? Thats snot. You're fine. .
Image credits: please_have_humanity
#47
Changed my answer cuz someone already said it 🙃
Feeling pain in your lower back that feels like it's moving towards your bellybutton is a huge sign of appendicitis.
You've got 48-72 hours to treat it before it bursts.
Image credits: PepsiMaxHoe
#48
Heartburn, it was my mom heartburn and not being able to keep lunch down that ended up with the ER, finding and disposing her pancreatic cancer.
#49
If you suddenly have a sharp headache that feels like you’ve been hit with lightning. It’s often described as “the worst headache of my life.”
**GET TO AN ER IMMEDIATELY. THAT’S A THUNDERCLAP HEADACHE, AND IT’S INDICATIVE OF A BRAIN BLEED!!**.
#50
Swelling in the leg along the hamstring especially if flown recently. Can mean blood clot though in my case, it just means arthritis playing up. Doctors like it checked out.
#51
Having a fever coupled with a high heart rate - those are symptoms of a type 2 heart attack.
Friends and I were gaming one night when one of our buddies (m 30) mentioned that he was getting a fever. An hour or so later he noted that his heart rate was over 120 and his fever at 40c (104f)
While I would've popped a paracetamol and called it a night, our nurse buddy on the call said he should head to the ER immediately, as he said a higher HR is a sign your body is fighting something, but an HR that high is worrying.
He got there and it turned out our friend had a type 2 heart attack. So a type of heart attack not caused by a blockage, but more from lack of oxygen due to the high heart rate, as our friend explained if I remember correctly - he may have saved his life as our friend would've just brushed it off as a weekend cold or something. He was a bit predisposed due to some excessive weight and love for drinking, but he's turned his life around and is doing pretty great now!
#52
Had pain in shoulders and back and what felt like indigestion. Felt jaw pain then fainted and was out for about 3 minutes. I broke my glasses which caused cuts above and left of eye.
Female over 60 years old so wondered if i was having a heart attack but dismissed that and only went to ER as i fainted that was something that never had happened to me.
Took uber to ER; blood pressure during triage was life-threateningly low. Not a heart attack, it was severe pancreatitis causing my blood pressure to tank. Apparently there was a gallstone blocking the duct near pancreas causing acute pancreatitis.
After 3 days in MICU where i was given d**g and fluids to raise my blood pressure they moved me to a regular room. I then had surgery to remove gallbladder; and was discharged the next evening.
I had no symptoms that are common for pancreatitis or gallbladder issues. Doctors stated my blood pressure; if they had not treated me quickly, was incompatible with life.
Healing up and going back to work soon. Just the weirdest random thing.
#53
Frequent vomiting in children, particular when they wake up, can be a sign of a brain tumor. Vomiting isn’t always GI. If there’s no other signs of illness (like diarrhea or fever) and they’re complaining of a headache, it could be a possibility.
#54
Pain in your calf though you didn't bump it or fall. Could be an embolism, and if the clot travels to your heart or lungs it could be game over.
#55
Maybe not immediate trip but my dad had an unexplained cough for months.
Eventually he went to the ER when he broke his leg. His blood pressure was really low so they decided to run some tests.
Turns out he had cancer and the cough was an early symptom. .
#56
Low grade but persistent fever while in chemo. Chemo induced sepsis is the #1 k**ler of chemo patients. You already feel like dogs**t because _chemo_ so a 99.9 fever doesn’t change the way you feel usually. But it’s the alarm bell that sepsis has started brewing. I luckily listened to my doctor and went to the ER, ended up with 48 hours of ICU care to turn it around. Throughout it all I never felt _sicker_ than the usual chemo sick but I was in fact probably 24-48 hours from being to sick to save. I’m 8 years cancer free now. .
#57
New onset jaw pain, especially in women with cardiovascular risk factors .
#58
If your neck pops and you suddenly feel lightheaded that gets worse. My cousin was driving to work and turned his head to check for traffic. His neck popped on its own and he felt weirdly lightheaded after. When he got a work a few minutes later, he told his boss what happened and collapsed. Boss called an ambulance. It turned out that he tore an artery in his neck. Fortunately, he survived. This is why we're told not to crack our necks, either ourselves or during an adjustment by a chiropractor.
#59
Not being able to keep down water and immediately throwing it up. It’s a sign of dehydration or sepsis.
#60
Sudden personality change. People think this is an obvious one, but sometimes it can be hard to spot. Maybe your partner has been liberal all their life but suddenly they are voting republican. Maybe they liked chocolate but now insist they hate it. Maybe they've always been aggressive... but now they are calm and collected.
Could be a sign of some form off process in the fronta lobe (like stroke or tumor). Could also be they actually changed their mind on something. Many people only realise in retrospect after a diagnosis "oh yeah they did suddenly change.
#61
Hopefully most people know this, but a bite from any animal, not just wild or rabid looking animals, I mean even your neighbors dog, if you don’t know if the animals is fully vaccinated, documentation would be best, go to the ER for rabies vaccines.
#62
Nosebleeds that don't want to stop require an ER visit. Blood loss is serious and you can lose a d**n lot of blood over 20 minutes of nosebleeding.
#63
A ripping or tearing sensation in the abdomen and a sense of impending doom = AAA. You’ll more than likely die.
#64
An unusually dark stool. Bleeding from further up the intestines isn't red and can be harder to spot. It can be an indicator of something serious like polyps or bowel cancer. .
#65
When a newborn babies stops drinking milk for more than a few hours. Source: my baby was septic.
