Your Amazon Echo can help you when you're sneezy, sick and scratchy

When you wake up feeling groggy and sick, the last thing you want to do is get out of bed and go see the doctor. Fortunately, if you've got your Amazon Echo at your side (or even the Alexa app), you can get diagnosed right from your comfy zone. 

While Alexa isn't a doctor and can't physically examine you, it can use the web and its smarts to help give you a diagnosis based on the condition you've described. Not to mention, you can avoid that dreaded copay and doctor bill. 

However, if you're feeling extremely ill or have any medical conditions, you should not substitute Alexa for medical care. Here's how your Amazon Echo can help you when you're not feeling your best.

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Get diagnosed without seeing a physician

If you're feeling sick but not sure if it's worth a trip to the doctor, try getting diagnosed by Dr. A.I, an Alexa skill by HealthTap. Dr. A.I. was trained by over 107,000 doctors with 141 specialties. Once you tell it about the symptoms you're experiencing, it'll try to find possible medical explanations personalized to your age, gender, medications and more. After the diagnosis, the bot will offer to connect you to an actual doctor.

To enable, open the Alexa app > Menu > Skills & Games > search for Dr. A.I. > tap Enable to Use. There's an option to create an account with HealthTap when you log in via the Alexa app, but it's not necessary. After you're all set up, just say "Alexa, open Dr. A.I."

Note that this isn't a real doctor and if your condition persists, you should visit your local health care provider.

Alexa can order OTC medicine for you

If you've got a medical issue, like a sinus infection, headache or sore throat, you can typically get an over-the-counter medication, rather than a prescription drug. And since Amazon sells medicines like Ibuprofen, Sudafed and DayQuil, you can ask Alexa to order for you. As long as you have Amazon Prime , you can use Prime Now to get the medicine the same day (if it's available in your area).

You'll need to enable voice ordering and 1-Click ordering. To do so, open the Alexa app > Menu > Settings > Account Settings > Voice Purchasing and toggle the Purchase by voice setting on. On the same screen, you can create a voice code so that only you can make Amazon purchases using your Echo.

When you're ready to make a purchase, say something like "Alexa, I'd like to purchase Ibuprofen." The medicine will then be added to your Amazon cart and you must say "Buy it now" to order it.

Other useful things Alexa can help with when you're sick

• Help you sleep better when you're sick
• Schedule a ride-hailing service to take you to the doctor
• Keep you entertained when you're stuck in bed all day

Want to prevent getting sick in the first place? Check out all the ways your Amazon Echo can help keep you healthy and how you can use your Echo to get the best sleep of your life.