Know Your Red Flags

Our body gives us signals when it’s not well, but often we choose to ignore it. Archana Darshan tells you about red flags that you should take seriously.

Akansha is 30, has always been thin, albeit low on immunity. She would catch the first bug doing rounds of the town. For the past two months she was feeling low, had mild fever and a cough that refused to go. May be flu, she guessed and visited her doctor who on a hunch got her Mantoux test and Chest X ray done. Results came as a surprise, as she was suffering from tuberculosis. The disease was in initial stage, and she has to take medicines for six months..

Rajan was 55, a busy and meticulous banker who never missed details. However, he and his doctors missed the most vital detail that cost him, his life. Since he blew his 55th birthday candle, he had not been feeling well, lost lot of weight and was urinating a lot— the telltale signs of diabetes, which got confirmed after tests. The doctors forgot to caution him that he has to quit tobacco completely after being diagnosed with diabetes. He did not smoke but he chewed tobacco and continuing with his addiction cost him his life. The body sent out warning signals—feelings of breathlessness, pain in the chest after taking stairs but the pain subsided after rest. Since we all love to delude ourselves, he felt it was advancing age that took its toll and a brilliant life was cut short by a fatal heart attack.

These real life instances illustrate the dramatic difference between hearing to your body’s cues and ignoring them, which is as big as life and death. Just like red-light warnings on the dashboard of your car, human body sends out signals too, when something goes wrong. We tend to ignore many of these symptoms–lumps, bumps, aches and pains. Read ahead to know when they are important and when they are not?

Warning signals

• Unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite and weight gain. “While weight loss is a delight if it results from sensible diet and exercise plan, an unexplained weight loss calls for attention. This kind of weight loss may be hinting at a serious, underlying medical condition. It can sometimes be a sign of a long-term undiagnosed serious illness like an eating disorder, over-active thyroid gland, hidden infection, malabsorption – where nutrients are not taken up from the intestines properly – or, at the very worst, a stomach tumour”, says Dr. Sanjay Verma, consultant internal medicine, Moolchand Medcity.

“The reverse happens with ovarian cancer”, explains Dr. Geeta Chaddha, senior consultant gynaecology and obstetrics, Indraprastha Apollo hospitals. “Fluid builds in the abdomen, and women think they are gaining weight. But if you have been at the same weight range for years, and have started to gain weight for no apparent reason, it warrants a medical checkup”, warns she.

• Slurred speech, paralysis, weakness, tingling, burning pains, numbness, and confusion are signs of stroke, and you should get to an appropriate emergency center immediately. Dr. Manjari Tripathi, neurologist with AIIMS says, “Getting medical treatment within three hours of showing of symptoms greatly increases chances of recovery.” “Slurred speech can often go unnoticed”, cautions Dr. Tripathi. However, you might have a blood clot in a blood vessel in the brain or bleeding of a blood vessel.

• Chest discomfort, heaviness or pain in chest, neck, lower jaws and arm, with feelings of palpitations, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness calls for immediate medical attention. These symptoms usually worsen with physical activity and get relieved by rest. Coronary artery disease usually presents like this and needs immediate medical attention.

• Black, tarry stools in a person who suffers from hyperacidity, or who consumes painkillers very regularly may indicate a haemorrhage from erosive gastritis or an ulcer of the stomach or the small intestine.

• A headache accompanied by a stiff neck and fever. This is an indicator of a serious infection called meningitis. Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. It is usually caused by bacteria or viruses, but it can also be caused by certain medications or illnesses

• A sudden, agonizing new type of headache, more severe and of a different pattern than any you have felt before, calls for a medical attention. Go to an emergency room immediately. A brain aneursym is rare, but it can happen — even in people under 40. It can be very disastrous if it’s not treated. Aneurysm is a blood-filled pouch bulging out from a weak spot in the wall of a brain artery. If treated before it bursts, it could save your life.

• Heavy vaginal bleeding during years preceding menopause. Dr. Sonia Malik gynaecologist/ IVF specialist and current President of Delhi based Indian Menopause Society says, “Women should not take heavy menstrual flow during years prior to menopause lightly. For all you know they may be the first signs of cancer lurking within your body.” “The incidence of all reproductive tract cancers increases after menpause and vaginal bleeding after menopause is a sure shot sign that something is seriously wrong with your body,” warns she.

• A lump in your testicle with or without a small lump in the groin could be serious. Testicular cancer is more commonly found in testicles that did not naturally descend from the abdomen to the scrotum. Guys, when you take a shower, check yourself. If you know what ‘normal’ feels like, then you’ll know when it feels abnormal. Also the young boys may have a sudden pain in testicles, which they may hide from parents because of shame.

• Changes in a mole. Constant itching of a mole should signal you to seek your dermatologist’s opinion. This could be a sign of a deeply rooted melanoma. Malignant melanoma is often fatal. Early detection and removal often offers favorable prognosis.

The ABCD of warning signs that you should watch for in a mole:

“A” for asymmetry. Usually melanomas have an uneven shape.

“B” for border irregularity. Irregular border edge that could be ragged, blurred or notched.

“C” for color. Nonuniform shades of tan, brown and black. More often, there are also mottled dashes of red, white and blue.

“D” for diameter. Normal melanomas usually measures six millimeters, any increase in size should be a warning sign.

Recurrent coughing. This is usually not a symptom of a life-threatening illness but it can also signal an obstructed airway, congestive heart disease, asthma or even lung cancer. If the coughing persists for two weeks or more with no obvious medical explanation such as a cold then it is best to see your doctor.

• Unexplained bruising can signal leukemia, a problem in the blood’s clotting mechanism or an underlying liver disease such as hepatitis or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or ITP, a disorder in which the platelets are attacked by the body’s immune system.
• Blurry vision and eye pain can be a symptom of glaucoma. In younger children, inability to see the black board is an indicator of refraction error. A sudden loss of vision in one eye due may go unnoticed. Delay in treatment would mean loss of vision, so parents should seek ophthalmologist advice if they notice any difference than usual.

Doc speaks

Dr. Sanjay Verma, consultant internal medicine, Moolchand Medcity says—

1. Go for annual health checkups.
2. On every birthday examine your birthday suit carefully and watch out for lumps, bumps and warts.
3. Say no to smoking and chewing of tobacco and reduce your cancer risk drastically.
4. Stay happy and learn to manage stress.
5. Your body sends out signals in hours of distress, do not ignore them and seek medical care because reaction time matters a lot!

Related Posts

1. Angina–cry of heart
2. Cancer Alert
3. The Silent Killer—Cervical Cancer
4. Combat Cervical Cancer
5. Breast Cancer Hurts Men Too!