I recently wrote a post where medical professionals revealed the health warning signs you should never ignore, and it was extremely eye-opening. In the comments, fellow doctors, nurses and other professionals revealed the subtle (and not so subtle) health signs that could be very dangerous. Here’s what they had to say:
Note: Some answers were pulled from these two Reddit threads.
1. “Md here. Unexplained weight loss. Fevers not explained by illness. Moist night sweats. Blood in stool. Please keep up with your routine cancer screening.”
—u/chubbyostrich
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2. “If your medicines taste bad, smell bad or look discolored or otherwise strange, tell the pharmacy! We can check to see if they are counterfeit or recalled – or if we gave you the wrong medicine. Ineffective or incorrect medicines can make you sick or even kill you.
— bad daughter
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3. “Difficulty breathing – could be a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.”
-Anonymous
4. “If there’s something about your fingernails (or toenails) that’s different from most people, don’t just assume it’s ‘normal for you.’ Nails that are wrinkled, extremely domed, concave, lined, or have dark spots (that aren’t an obvious result of an injury that then shows clear signs of healing) *could* be signs of anything from minor but persistent nutritional deficiencies to heart/lung conditions to cancer.”
“Show it to your doctor. Let them figure out if it’s something you can safely ignore or not.”
—etconner
5. “Red blood in poo is not always hemorrhoids and is not normal. I have seen many patients with colon or rectal cancer, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.”
-Anonymous
6. “Sleep specialist here. Waking up three or more times a night to go to the bathroom. This is a predictor of early mortality and often a symptom of unrecognized sleep apnea. Assessing and treating this can add years to your life, not to mention greatly improve your quality of life.”
— Anonymous, 53, Canada
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7. “I’m a paramedic. For women: neck pain, mid-back pain, jaw pain, headache, nausea and vomiting are all symptoms of a heart attack (STEMI: ST-elevation myocardial infarction). For men: blood in the urine (hematuria) can be a sign of kidney cancer. aneurysm is usually accompanied by a throbbing mass in the abdomen and back pain.”
—u/Conform-Drop-2067
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8. “When your vision switches back and forth between darkness and visibility, you’ll probably pass out soon. Try to sit down somewhere so at least the fall isn’t too bad, and try to be close to other people if possible so they can help you if you’re completely unconscious.”
—u/Strict_Common156
9. “Weakness, sleepiness and tiredness when you shouldn’t be. It’s a sign of iron deficiency. It’s very unsafe, especially when driving.”
—u/indigowaters23
10. “Any new skin lesions that are rough, itchy, oddly shaped, or any changes to old lesions, moles, etc., should be checked by a primary care physician or dermatologist. It may be normal, precancerous, or cancer; if precancerous, it can be removed by a doctor.
“Also, when doing a full body check for abnormalities, don’t forget that The bottom of the feet and toes should also be checked.“
—fabprincess48
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11. “Not being able to have a bowel movement.”
— Anonymous, 50 years old, Canada
12. “Chest pain. It might seem obvious, but there are so many cardiac arrests that end with the patient being pronounced dead at the scene and the relative/partner saying, ‘She’s had chest pains for a few days/today, but she put it down to indigestion.’ Chest pain is an emergency. Call 911!!!”
—u/energizemusic
13. “Sudden sensorineural hearing loss has a normal ear exam. However, the symptoms, in addition to hearing loss, are a blocked ear and tinnitus… If you suspect sudden hearing loss, call your favorite otolaryngologist. We’ll gladly do an evaluation.”
—u/headholeologist
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14. “Doctor here. New hyperreflexia and a positive Hoffman sign—especially if accompanied by balance problems or hand tingling—require an MRI of the cervical spine and possibly the brain at the same time.
“I have caught over 10 cervical stenoses with myelopathy in patients referred for EMG with a suspected diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. Always with increased reflexes in the upper extremities.”
—u/Olyfishmouth
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And finally…
15. “Pain in general. Honestly, people need to stop with the ‘drop it’ and ‘push through it’ stuff.” Pain is your body’s warning sign that something is wrong. Now the physical feeling of pain is the feeling, it is 👏 what 👏 👏 pain 👏 👏 represents, of course, pain, but it cannot be 👏 very much. you know the cause is BAD”.
—u/proud_not_prejudiced
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Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, what are some other “small” signs of health that people should never ignore? Tell us in the comments, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can use the form below.
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