Your body always knows there is something wrong way before your brain does. It’s easy to ignore something tiny. Simple to dismiss as something that doesn’t really matter. But there are serious signs something is wrong with your body without you being any the wiser, particularly when those things are small.
These are all symptoms that are easy to dismiss, but can be signs that something far worse is happening in your body. Remember, we are not doctors and highly recommend you consult one if you have any concerns.
Headaches
Headaches are annoying, they pop up everywhere, you can get them from being too sensitive to certain smells, allergies, stress and dehydration. But if you don’t typically suffer from chronic headaches, and you have them very suddenly, they can be indicative to other, more serious health problems.
Chronic head aches can indicate you are at risk for, or have recently had, a stroke. Surprisingly, some people experience strokes without every really seeing any physical symptoms. So if you have chronic headaches, be sure to ask your doctor. Since strokes often happen more than once, it’s crucial to find out – especially if you have a history of stroke in your family.
Chronic headaches can also result from meningitis (you’re likely vaccinated against meningitis), or brain tumour.
The ‘Slow Skin Pinch’ or (Skin Turgor)
Pinch the skin on the back of your hand. It should return to normal with no problems. If it’s taking longer to go back to normal than the time it takes to move your hand away from the pinched area, something could be seriously wrong.
This is a symptom of serious dehydration, which is more common than people think. Our brains often confuse the signals for thirst and hunger, and hunger is the better motivator. Every time you feel hungry, you should first drink a glass of water. Still hungry fifteen minutes later? Go for that snack.
Skin turgor can also be caused by diabetes, dehydration and extreme weight loss. Talk to your doctor if this is occurring.
Easy Bruising
So people bruise easy. I’m one of them. Nine times out of ten I have no idea where a bruise comes from. That is fairly common among most people. Bruising is caused by broken blood vessels under the skin; the color comes from stagnant blood pooling and clears when your body has healed itself.
But if you’re not normally an easy bruiser (or you are an easy bruiser) and firm touches can cause bruising on your skin, then you might be displaying a symptom of leukemia. People with leukemia are more likely to bruise, because their body doesn’t make enough platelets to plug bleeding blood vessels. Leukemia bruises look like any other kind of bruise, but there are usually more of them than normal and they may show up in unusual areas (like your back).
Irregular Freckles
This one you probably knew, but if that beloved freckle alters in appearance, it’s time to go see a doctor, maybe it suddenly rises off your skin, or changes shape. It’s a sign of skin cancer. New moles should also be scrutinised very carefully. A quickly biopsy should let you know.
Bloody Nose (without outside stimulus)
Do you get chronic bloody noses? Like three or four times a week? This can be an allergy related thing, or maybe it only happens in the winter (when humidity is low). But recurrent bloody noses can be a symptom of two things: Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome, or (rarely) a nasal tumour.
Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome causes the formation of abnormal blood vessels, which can make bleeding hard to control. Bloody noses can be the first sign of Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome and can lead to heart failure, iron deficiency anemia, and heptomegaly (a swelling of the liver).
Nasal tumours are rare but can be discovered by an ENT specialist.
