5 Pains In Your Body You Should Never Neglect
Popping a few pills might temporarily
alleviate pain in the short-term but ignoring the symptoms for long can
prove harmful to your body. Pain is a warning sign that something is
wrong. It's when you don't heed what the body is saying, that you suffer
adverse consequences. Knowing the common pains that you need to watch
out for will ensure that you won't regret having missed the signs when
you develop a more complicated condition later on.
1. Chest Pain
There are many possible causes for chest
pain. Some are mildly inconvenient such as heartburn, reflux, GERD
(gastroesophageal reflux disease ) while others are a lot more serious.
Lack of exercise or obesity can lead to
chest pain when you exert your body too much. But if you are generally
fit and yet experience discomfort in the chest even after a little
exertion, that's when you need to worry. Pain, pressure, or a squeezing
feeling in your chest is a classic sign of a heart attack. It means your
heart isn't getting enough oxygen from your blood. It usually hurts
worse when you're active. "Sometimes people will describe it as an
elephant sitting on their chest," says Pam R. Taub, MD, a cardiologist
in San Diego, CA. "It's a heaviness, and a very severe pain, and it's
often associated with shortness of breath." Of course, not all pains in
the chest or arm are pointers to heart attacks, but it makes a lot of
sense to consult a doctor to rule out heart attack if you have pain in
the chest, arm or jaw. If you often feel tired or breathless even after
walking for a short distance, do consult a doctor.
Generally, discomfort associated with
heart diseases affects the upper chest, left side of the chest, throat,
jaw, left shoulder or arm, and might be accompanied by nausea and
sweating. If you are a diabetic, there is an urgent need to be cautious.
Diabetics are known to suffer from heart attacks without the classical
symptoms mentioned above.
2. Mild, Frequent Headache
Headache is an often neglected problem.
If the pattern of headaches changes considerably or the headache is new,
then it needs to be evaluated. Headache which follows a fall or an
injury (even momentary loss of consciousness), needs to be investigated.
"Most people worry that it's a brain
tumor," says Gretchen E. Tietjen, MD. She's chair of neurology at the
University of Toledo Medical Center in Ohio.
But chances are, it's not. "A lot of the
brain doesn't have nerve endings," Tietjen says. "So most headaches are
going to be caused by something else."
Constant headache that grossly disturbs
your daily routine should not be ignored. Severe headache is generally
associated with nausea and vomiting. Pins and needles sensation
(tingling, numbness) along with some weakness in hands or fingers,
herald the sign of an impending stroke and should be promptly evaluated.
If the headache is accompanied by a cold, it might be a sign of a sinus
headache.
3. Back Ache
It is probably the commonest and the
most ignored of the lot. Most of the time, backache is a consequence of
faulty sitting position. It usually resolves on its own. If the pain
persists despite routine efforts to alleviate the pain or if it disturbs
your lifestyle, you need to be careful. Pain experienced while climbing
up or down or passing blood in urine, are early signs of kidney stones.
Repeated back pain may be a sign of a spine problem, problems with
internal organs or a preliminary sign of slip disc.
Often, back pain comes from normal wear
and tear on your muscles. But in serious cases, it can also be a sign of
these conditions:
• Infection
• Tumor
• Ruptured disc
• Kidney stones
• Tumor
• Ruptured disc
• Kidney stones
Similarly, if you feel a tingling
sensation or numbness or a needle like sensation in your legs,
accompanied by muscle weakness, don't delay in going to an
orthopaedician or back specialist. These symptoms, if treated on time,
give much better results than when treated later.
4. Upper Neck Pain
By far the most common cause of a stiff
neck is a muscle sprain or muscle strain, particularly to the levator
scapula muscle. But when we ignore the slight tingling in fingers or
muscle weakness. But when the pain becomes too much to bear, cervical
spondylosis is always something that must be suspected. The early signs
are ominous enough. You might be doing some regular activity, say making
tea, when suddenly you feel weak and unable to hold the cup. By and by,
the pain increases and you feel weakness in your hands accompanied by
some pain in the neck.
5. Abdominal Pain
This type of pain is frequently a benign
complaint, but can also herald serious acute pathologies. At least some
type of abdominal pain is present in more than 60 percent of an
otherwise healthy adolescent and adult population.
Abdominal pain is commonly felt among
women during their menstrual cycle. Most people simply take a painkiller
or anti-spasmodic tablets to quell the cramps, but in the long run, the
habit can cause harm to the kidneys. It is best to consult a
gynaecologist if the pain is persistent and take longterm medication
than go for short cuts. Apart from this, pain in the abdomen can range
from serious ailments such as acute appendicitis or less threatening
conditions such as heartburn, reflux, gastroenteritis etc. Severe
abdominal pain may also be a sign of intestinal blockages, stomach
ulcers or pancreas and gall bladder problems.
By April McCarthy / Prevent Disease
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