“Listen to your body.” We always hear this from doctors, health advocates, gym trainers, even from family and friends. But for reasons unknown even to ourselves, we often ignore this advice. But it pays to pay attention before it’s too late. Don’t ignore these symptoms…
SHORTNESS OF BREATH. Symptoms of chronic pulmonary disease o COPD, asthma, Covid-19, infection, or pneumonia. But if shortness of breath is accompanied by chest pain, vomiting, lips and nails turning blue, or fainting, these maybe signs of pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that develops in the blood vessels of the lungs. Or, it maybe dyspnea, a condition linked to low level of oxygen in the blood.
CHEST PAIN. If you can identify which part of the chest is painful, it maybe muscle strain, infection, bronchitis, heartburn, anxiety, acid reflux, or other common problems such as stress. But if the pain cannot be identified and it’s getting worse, go to a doctor quick! It maybe a case of heart attack.
SUDDEN WEIGHT LOSS. If you lost 5% of your body weight in a span of six to 12 months, it maybe diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or Addison’s disease. This happens if the immune system is attacked by the adrenal glands and cannot make hormones needed by the body. Worse, cancer. First sign: losing 10 pounds or more in a matter of months. This is common in cancer of the esophagus, lungs, colon, and pancreas.
EXTREME FATIGUE. Sign that there is not enough red blood cells in the body, linked to sadness, anxiety, or depression. But if doing even simple chores makes you catch your breath or feel over-fatigued, it maybe related to heart issue or cancer-related fatigue.
NUMBNESS in the face, arms, legs, or any part of the body maybe a sign of a stroke, especially if it is accompanied by extreme headache, dizziness, imbalance, or problem with speech. When stroke happens, every second counts. Go to hospital, quick!
ABDOMINAL PAIN. If this doesn’t go away in three months’ time and the pain gets intense as the days go on, have your gallbladder, kidneys, pancreas, liver, colon checked — especially if you are losing weight, there is blood in the stool, and inflammation. These are warning symptoms of tumor or cancer, which, when caught early on, can save lives.
BRUISES that don’t go away or change color, multiply in other parts of the body, get bigger by the day, accompanied by fever, extreme fatigue, and imbalance maybe signs of bleeding disorder, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, platelets problem, leukemia, hemophilia, myeloma, or hodgkin’s disease that need immediate medical intervention.
EXTREME INFLAMMATION. This condition is called edema, where water is retained in the affected area. If it is accompanied by fever, difficulty of breathing, or pain, go have it checked.
LUMP. Any lump or bump that suddenly appears on the body — especially if it is big, hard to the touch, increases in size in a matter of weeks, not painful when pressed, doesn’t go away — needs to be checked right away. This goes for moles which are irregular in shape, bigger than a pencil eraser, and change in color.
BLEEDING. Blood in the nose, phlegm, saliva, nipple, urine, vagina, anus accompanied by foul smell or pus should be checked immediately. These maybe signs of infection — or worse, cancer.
Always remember that prevention is key. All these signs and symptoms our body tells us need to be addressed immediately, serious or not. In today’s advancements in healthcare technology, earlier diagnosis, tailored treatments, and effective interventions are proven to reduce on medical costs and causes of mortality.
(Sources: WHO, mnt, healthline, webmd, nhs.uk, mayoclinic, ctca, cdc.gov, nih.gov)
