Doctors And Nurses Are Calling Out The Biggest Health Warning Signs You Should Never Ignore
We recently wrote an article like this: Medical experts reveal health warning signs you should never ignoreand it was extremely eye opening. In the comments, fellow doctors, nurses, and other professionals revealed subtle (and not-so-subtle) health signs that could be very dangerous. Here’s what they said:
Note: Some answers taken from: these two Reddit threads.
1. “The doctor is here. Unexplained weight loss. Fever unexplained by illness. Dripping night sweats. Blood in the stool. Please continue your routine.” cancer screening“
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2. “If your medications taste bad, smell bad, are discolored, or otherwise look strange, let your pharmacy know! We can check to see if they are counterfeit or recalled, or if we are giving you the wrong medications. Ineffective or incorrect medications can make you sick or even kill you. You could literally save lives by telling us this, because we can fix it and alert the FDA to investigate.”
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3. “Shortness of breath can be life-threatening pulmonary embolism“
-Anonymous
4. “If there’s something about your finger (or toe) nails that is different from most people’s, don’t assume that’s ‘normal for you.’ You *may* have nails that are wrinkled, overly dome-shaped, concave, covered in lines, or showing dark spots (not the obvious result of an injury, but showing clear signs of healing later on). signs of various things “They range from minor but persistent nutritional deficiencies to heart/lung disorders and cancer.”
“Report this to your doctor. Let them figure out if this is something you can ignore.”
—etc.
5. “Red blood when pooping is not always hemorrhoids and not normal. “I’ve seen many patients with colon or rectal cancer, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis.”
-Anonymous
6. “Sleep expert here. Waking up three or more times at night to go to the bathroom. This premature death and often a symptom of unrecognition sleep apnea. “Evaluating and treating this can add years to your life as well as greatly improving your quality of life.”
—Anonymous, 53, Canada
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7. “I am a paramedic. In women: Neck pain, pain in the middle of the back, jaw pain, headache, nausea and vomiting are all symptoms of a heart attack (STEMI: ST elevation myocardial infarction). In men: Blood in the urine (hematuria) may be a symptom of kidney cancer. For both: A ripping or tearing feeling in the abdominal area, a ascending aortic aneurysm. It is usually accompanied by a pulsating mass in the abdominal area and back pain.”
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8. “When you have a vision moving back and forth Between the darkness and visibility, you’ll probably pass out soon. “At least try to sit somewhere so that the fall isn’t too bad, and if possible, try to be close to other people so they can help you if you lose consciousness completely.”
9. “Weakness, sleepiness and fatigue that shouldn’t be there. symptom of iron deficiency. “It’s very unsafe, especially when driving.”
10. “Any new skin lesions on rough, itchy, oddly shaped or old lesions, moles, etc. Those with any changes should be checked by a doctor or dermatologist. It can be normal, pre-cancerous or cancerous; If it is pre-cancerous, it can be removed by a medical doctor. “The cancer also needs to be removed as part of the treatment and may need other treatment.”
“Also, when performing a full body check for abnormalities, remember: The bottoms of the feet and toes also need to be checked.“
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11. “Structure incapable having a bowel movement.”
—Anonymous, 50, Canada
12. “chest pain. It may sound obvious but there are multiple heart attacks where the patient is declared dead at the scene and the relative/partner says: ‘He had chest pain for a few days/today but we chalked it up to indigestion.’ Chest pain is an emergency. Call 911!!!”
13. “Suddenly sensorineural hearing loss There is a normal ear examination. But in addition to hearing loss, symptoms include ear congestion and tinnitus. … If you suspect sudden hearing loss, call your favorite ear, nose and throat specialist. “We will gladly consider this.”
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14. “The doctor is here. New hyperreflexia and Hoffman’s sign is positive– especially in cases accompanied by balance problems or hand tingling – a simultaneous MRI of the cervical spine and possibly the brain is required. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.”
“I caught more than 10 cases of cervical stenosis with myelopathy in patients sent for EMG with a diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. Always with elevated reflexes in the upper extremities.”
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And finally…
15. “Pain in general. Honestly, people need to stop with the ‘going out’ and ‘getting over it’ nonsense. Pain is a warning sign your body is giving you that something is wrong. Now that feeling is the physical feeling of pain that pain 👏 represents. Sure there are exceptions, but for the most part pain that you don’t know the cause of is BAD.”
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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 “little” signs of health that people should never ignore? Let us know in the comments or you can use the form below if you prefer to remain anonymous.
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