Warning Signs and Symptoms that may be very serious

Published by admin August 11th, 2008 in Emergencies and News.

· Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
· Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure lasting two minutes or more
· Fainting, sudden dizziness, weakness
· Changes in vision
· Difficulty speaking
· Confusion or changes in mental status, unusual behavior, difficulty waking
· Any sudden or severe pain
· Uncontrolled bleeding
· Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea
· Coughing or vomiting blood
· Suicidal or homicidal feelings
· Unusual abdominal pain

Because of the high frequency of heart attacks and strokes we pay the following symptoms special attention.
HEART ATTACK
Perhaps the most prevalent debilitating illness is heart attack, but most of us, if we survive it initially, can with time and effort return to an essentially normal life.
Warning signs are:

  • Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
  • Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms
  • Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath
  • Unaccustomed fatigue (especially in women) can be an early warning.
  • Not all these warning signs occur in every heart attack, but we novices are ill-prepared to distinguish between real heart attacks and these discomforts.

Heart attack symptoms in women
Women may experience all, none, many or a few of these common symptoms of a heart attack. For women, as for men, the most common symptom of a heart attack is some type of pain, pressure or discomfort in the chest. But women are more likely than men to also have signs and symptoms unrelated to chest pain, such as:

  • Neck, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort
  • Shortness of breath
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Sweating
  • Lightheadedness or dizziness
  • Unusual or unexplained fatigue

Heart attack symptoms demand emergency help. Call 911.

STROKE
Then there is the stroke, in which a portion of the brain is damaged by restricted blood flow or leakage of blood into brain tissue. It leaves us with weakened mental faculties and possibly a resultant loss of portions of our brain function and therefore a part of our bodily function.
Warning signs are:

  • Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
  • Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Note the word “sudden” in all of the warning signs. Not all these warning signs occur in every stroke but consider any or all of these symptoms an emergency.

If you see someone in apparent difficulty, you can quickly assess the likelihood he is experiencing a stroke.

  • Ask him to smile. If facial muscles are affected the smile will be crooked, one side only.
  • Ask him to raise both arms; only one will work well and the other may be weak or limp.
  • Ask him to voice a simple sentence; speech is likely to be difficult and may be difficult to understand.

Childhood Emergencies Symptoms
Because children are still growing their medical problems often differ from those of adults. As a result their signs and symptoms could appear different from those seen in adults. They may also require different treatment. The very young may not be able to communicate what’s wrong, which places the responsibility of interpreting the symptoms on the parent.

If your child exhibits any of the following warning signs of a medical emergency seek immediate medical help:

  • Any significant change from normal behavior
    • Confusion or delirium
    • Decreasing responsiveness or alertness
    • Excessive sleepiness
    • Irritability
    • Seizure
    • Strange or withdrawn behavior
  • Severe headache or vomiting, especially following a head injury
  • Uncontrolled bleeding
  • Inability to stand up or unsteady walking
  • Unconsciousness
  • Abnormal or difficult breathing
  • Skin or lips that look blue or purple (gray for darker-skinned children)
  • Feeding or eating difficulties
  • Increasing or severe, persistent pain
  • Fever accompanied by change in behavior (especially with a severe, sudden headache accompanied by mental changes, neck/back stiffness, or rashes)
  • Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea