Ten Serious Health Concerns

You Should Not Ignore

1. Chest Pain – This can suggest a heart attack, collapsed lung, esophagitis, or pneumonia.
2. Abdominal pain – Moderate pain that lasts for more than a week can suggest ulcers, gallstones, diverticulitis, or serious malignancies.
3. Fevers – Temperatures over 101 degrees Fahrenheit, especially when associated with vomiting, diarrhea, or change in mental functioning, require address.
4. Bleeding – Intermittent rectal bleeding can be a sign of ulcers, hemorrhoids, or more bothersome cancer.  Bleeding in the urine can suggest an infection or malignancy. 
5. Mental functioning – Unresponsiveness or difficulty speaking can suggest stroke, hypoglycemia, seizure disorder, or poisoning with drugs or other source. 
6. Difficulty breathing – This can suggest asthma, heart problems, lung infection, or airway obstruction. 
7. Headaches – There may be worry if the headache has changed its pattern, if it is always present when waking in the morning, or if it is the worst headache someone has ever had.  
8. Blacking out – Loss of consciousness can suggest cardiac rhythm problems, seizures or epilepsy, or even more simple fainting related to dehydration, iron deficiency, etc. 
9. Difficulty swallowing – This can suggest esophagitis, malignancy that is blocking the esophagus, neurologic problems, or stroke. 
10. Skin changes – Suspicious lesions, pigmentation, lumps, or rashes should always be considered as suggesting possible malignancy or infection. 

C. Robert Adams, M.D.