“Ignore it and it’ll go away.”
That’s a pretty common reaction to unexplained symptoms like an ache or a pain, or perhaps a bout of nausea or indigestion. “I’ll just see if it lasts – if it goes away it can’t have been too serious, can it?”
And that approach can be quite sensible – doctors often take this approach with patients too. (They give this approach a scientific name – such as ‘observation’ or ‘watchful waiting’.)
And many symptoms do seem to disappear as mysteriously as they arose – with no treatment.
“Ignore it and it’ll go away.”
That’s a pretty common reaction to unexplained symptoms like an ache or a pain, or perhaps a bout of nausea or indigestion. “I’ll just see if it lasts – if it goes away it can’t have been too serious, can it?”
And that approach can be quite sensible – doctors often take this approach with patients too. (They give this approach a scientific name – such as ‘observation’ or ‘watchful waiting’.)
And many symptoms do seem to disappear as mysteriously as they arose – with no treatment.
On the other hand, some symptoms are warnings of serious underlying disease and we absolutely must do something about them – urgently. But how do we know what’s serious and what isn’t? To help, researchers from the Mayo clinic in the US have compiled a list of the ten symptoms that require immediate medical attention, because they’re likely to indicate serious disease.
Unexplained weight loss. It might sound like a gift to those of us who are overweight, but weight loss is a common feature of many chronic underlying illnesses (cancers, chronic infections, depression). An unexplained five per cent weight loss in a month, or a 10 per cent weight loss over six to 12 months should set alarm bells off.
Persistent fever. The occasional mild fever for no apparent reason is common and needn’t be of concern. But if it persists over a week it needs to be checked out. It may mean a chronic underlying infection, cancer or some other illness. A mild fever is anything over 37.5 degrees Centigrade.
Unexplained changes in bowel habits. This is one of the signs of bowel disease like inflammatory bowel disease or cancer. Severe diarrhoea that persists, constipation that lasts two weeks or more, blood in the stools, or consistent hard black, stools are warning signs. Persistent abdominal symptoms such as nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pains, vomiting for no reason; these can all suggest gastrointestinal disorders like ulcers, cancers and infections.
Chest pain – especially if it’s crushing and is also felt in the jaw or in the arm, can be a symptom of heart disease. Sweating and difficulty breathing may acccompany it.
Sudden unexplained headaches – especially in people over 50. It may be nothing – or it may signal that there’s something serious going on in the brain like an infection or a tumour. It’s even more likely to be serious if there’s also a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizure, vision changes, weakness, numbness, or speaking difficulties.
Sudden loss of function. Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg on one side of the body; and/or loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech or blurring or loss of vision. This may indicate a stroke or a transient ischaemic attack – urgent treatment is needed.
Confusion. Changes in a person’s behaviour or thinking, disorientation, hallucinations, in someone who is normally clear headed is a warning sign of possible low blood sugar, side effects of drugs, possible head injury or a psychiatric condition.
Shortness of breath. Sudden trouble breathing – gasping for air and wheezing may indicate lung or heart disease.
Flashing lights. Experiencing flashes of lights in someone who has otherwise normal vision may mean the beginning of retinal detachment – in which the part of the retina pulls away from the back of the eye and must be surgically repaired urgently.
Hot, red or swollen joints. There’s probably underlying arthritis or joint infection needing urgent treatment.
So these are the red light symptoms, says the Mayo Clinic. Don’t ignore them; they wont go away. Instead you should get a doctor’s opinion as soon as possible – the longer you leave it, the more likely it is that it could turn nasty.