Swelling in your ankles, legs, and feet. Your lymph nodes acting up out of nowhere. Changes in your urinary habits. What do all of these have in common? They are worrying symptoms that nobody should ever ignore because they point to potentially serious health issues.
At least, according to the doctors, patients, and family members who took to a viral online thread to share their hard-earned knowledge with the internet. We are featuring their most important pieces of advice to remind you to make your health a priority. It’s important to get regular checkups. And it’s better to be safe than sorry.
#1
Not a Doc.
My lymph node on my neck was swollen. Figured, at first, that it was due to a low grade sinus infection or some such, since I'd have that happen often enough. No pain or discomfort from it.
Waited a couple weeks for it to go away. It didn't.
Scheduled a visit to my Gen Practitioner. She looked, probed, said she wasn't sure, but wanted to be cautious and cover bases. Scheduled me for a PET/CT. (Ended up being later that same day, even!)
PET/CT led me to going to go see an ENT doc, less than a week later.
Long story short, that swollen lymph node was a sign that I had cancer. Got diagnosed with Stage 3 metastatic squamous cell carcinoma.
(Ended up going through chemo and radiation. Got cleared. Cancer free)
So, yeah, get a swollen lymph node checked!
Again, not a Doc!
My lymph node on my neck was swollen. Figured, at first, that it was due to a low grade sinus infection or some such, since I'd have that happen often enough. No pain or discomfort from it.
Waited a couple weeks for it to go away. It didn't.
Scheduled a visit to my Gen Practitioner. She looked, probed, said she wasn't sure, but wanted to be cautious and cover bases. Scheduled me for a PET/CT. (Ended up being later that same day, even!)
PET/CT led me to going to go see an ENT doc, less than a week later.
Long story short, that swollen lymph node was a sign that I had cancer. Got diagnosed with Stage 3 metastatic squamous cell carcinoma.
(Ended up going through chemo and radiation. Got cleared. Cancer free)
So, yeah, get a swollen lymph node checked!
Again, not a Doc!
39points
#2
From an old ER nurse: if you have indigestion and are also dripping with sweat, even if you don’t feel hot - get to the ER. Not every heart attack includes chest pain or jaw pain, but almost all include unexplained sweating.
35points
#3
Swelling in ankles/legs/feet. Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood interventional cardiologist.
llamadramalover:
I remember telling a cardiologist when I was 27/28 “”nah just the usual amount of swelling at the end of the day.”” After picking his jaw up off the ground he asked what exactly do I consider “usual” and informed me that was very much not normal.
RegularNew2681:
My grandmother ignored the swelling for months bc she thought it was just old person stuff, turned out her heart was functioning at like 30%. the casual dismissal of womens symptoms in medical settings is so baked into everything that even we do it to ourselves.
llamadramalover:
I remember telling a cardiologist when I was 27/28 “”nah just the usual amount of swelling at the end of the day.”” After picking his jaw up off the ground he asked what exactly do I consider “usual” and informed me that was very much not normal.
RegularNew2681:
My grandmother ignored the swelling for months bc she thought it was just old person stuff, turned out her heart was functioning at like 30%. the casual dismissal of womens symptoms in medical settings is so baked into everything that even we do it to ourselves.
32points
We will all, almost inevitably, need a doctor’s help at some point in our lives, whether due to our unhealthy habits, bad luck, genetics, old age, or something else entirely. In the meantime, the best we can do is take care of ourselves so that not only do we need fewer of those visits, but also that we stay resilient under stress and live a long, happy life.
The basics are common-sense things, but they are hard to apply until they become habitual: move lots, sleep well, eat a balanced diet, drink plenty of water, and have strong positive relationships. Avoid bad habits like smoking, drinking, or gobbling up heavily processed foods. Regularly spend some time outdoors. Ideally, have a few purposeful activities that inspire you and give you excuses to connect with other people, too. Oh, and get regular medical exams.
Meanwhile, the Harvard Medical School also suggests doing some morning stretches, flossing your teeth, applying sunscreen, napping in the afternoon, and opting for healthy snacks instead of processed ones.
You should also use small bursts of movement to break up your bouts of sitting, engage with a hobby for your overall health and mood, and be as social as you can.
#4
Elderly women are very subject to urinary tract infections that can sometimes lead to mental confusion and kidney infections.
So if you find an old lady wandering around she should be checked out for that.
So if you find an old lady wandering around she should be checked out for that.
31points
#5
Unintentional weight loss.
VaBookworm:
Had a guy come for a physical- excellent health. Returned a year later and I felt he looked a lot skinnier. Looked and saw he'd lost 40 lbs. Asked him about it and he happily said, "Yeah! I haven't even been trying! Isn't it great??" Immediately ordered labs and imaging. Bro had stomach cancer. I never saw him again.
VaBookworm:
Had a guy come for a physical- excellent health. Returned a year later and I felt he looked a lot skinnier. Looked and saw he'd lost 40 lbs. Asked him about it and he happily said, "Yeah! I haven't even been trying! Isn't it great??" Immediately ordered labs and imaging. Bro had stomach cancer. I never saw him again.
30points
#6
Obligatory not a doctor.
I was having my usual doctor visit for prescriptions, she asked if there was anything else so I asked about the light brown lengthwise stripe on my thumbnail that had been there for a while. She sent me to the skin specialist next door. He took one look and booked me in with a surgeon for an assessment. He literally booked me in, didn’t give me the information and tell me to call when I had a chance, he made me an appointment then and there.
Turns out that this could be a melanoma under the beginning of the nail bed.
The only way to find out for sure is to take the nail off and check. Which was as bad as you’d think, even if I was under for the procedure.
If it had been a melanoma, the only treatment is to remove the finger from the first joint. If you don’t, well, melamonas gotta do what melanomas gotta do and it would have been even worse than no nail or fingertip.
Fortunately for me it was not a melanoma, the nail took 6 months to grow back (and looked horrendous for most of that time) and is now fine, and that bloody stripe came back as well.
Folks, don’t take fingernails for granted, changes can mean more than just a calcium defiency or minor damage.
I was having my usual doctor visit for prescriptions, she asked if there was anything else so I asked about the light brown lengthwise stripe on my thumbnail that had been there for a while. She sent me to the skin specialist next door. He took one look and booked me in with a surgeon for an assessment. He literally booked me in, didn’t give me the information and tell me to call when I had a chance, he made me an appointment then and there.
Turns out that this could be a melanoma under the beginning of the nail bed.
The only way to find out for sure is to take the nail off and check. Which was as bad as you’d think, even if I was under for the procedure.
If it had been a melanoma, the only treatment is to remove the finger from the first joint. If you don’t, well, melamonas gotta do what melanomas gotta do and it would have been even worse than no nail or fingertip.
Fortunately for me it was not a melanoma, the nail took 6 months to grow back (and looked horrendous for most of that time) and is now fine, and that bloody stripe came back as well.
Folks, don’t take fingernails for granted, changes can mean more than just a calcium defiency or minor damage.
28points
According to one systematic review that looked at 18 studies from 12 countries across 5 continents, the 10 most common patient-reported reasons for visit (or RFVs) were:
- Cough
- Back pain
- Abdominal symptoms
- Pharyngitis
- Dermatitis
- Fever
- Headache
- Leg symptoms
- Unspecified respiratory concerns
- Fatigue
#7
NAD, but any extended pain in a joint. My mother kept claiming it was only her hip and that pain kept increasing to the point where she couldn't walk and was insistent on waiting for an orthopedic appointment. She noticed a large lump on her leg and I said it could be a severe tendon/muscle tear and that contributed to the increased lack of mobility in moving her leg around and offered to go to the ER, at the very least for imaging to make sure. She still refused, a former nurse, insistent she was just going to be told to keep waiting.
Appointment day comes, the doctor spend about two minutes examining her when he looked at that lump and says "that's an abscess, you need to go to the ER right now." She was hospitalized and had to have multiple surgeries because she needed her entire leg and thigh cleaned out and debrided from an infection. This was last year and she will likely be having another surgery because of how the infection tunneled into her hip.
See a doctor about your pain, people. Pain is not a normal thing to experience on a consistent basis if everything is normal.
Appointment day comes, the doctor spend about two minutes examining her when he looked at that lump and says "that's an abscess, you need to go to the ER right now." She was hospitalized and had to have multiple surgeries because she needed her entire leg and thigh cleaned out and debrided from an infection. This was last year and she will likely be having another surgery because of how the infection tunneled into her hip.
See a doctor about your pain, people. Pain is not a normal thing to experience on a consistent basis if everything is normal.
24points
#8
Not a doctor, but if you get what seems like a minor skin irritation, something like a pimple for example, that turns into a scab or tiny open wound or a scab that just keeps coming off, and it just doesn't seem to ever heal.
Don't give that thing months to heal before going to a doctor. Don't just cover that spot with makeup and go on with your life, no matter how small.
Could be skin cancer.
The longer you wait the riskier plus the larger a chunk of flesh that's going to get cut out.
Don't give that thing months to heal before going to a doctor. Don't just cover that spot with makeup and go on with your life, no matter how small.
Could be skin cancer.
The longer you wait the riskier plus the larger a chunk of flesh that's going to get cut out.
22points
#9
Headaches that suddenly feel like the worst one of your life. Everyone assumes it's just stress or dehydration but a thunderclap headache can be a brain bleed and people will literally take some ibuprofen and go to sleep. That one genuinely scares me because the window to get treated is so small and it presents in such a mundane way.
21points
Meanwhile, the 10 most common clinician-reported RFVs were:
- Upper respiratory tract infection
- Hypertension
- Routine health maintenance
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- Depression or anxiety
- Pneumonia
- Acute otitis media
- Back pain
- Dermatitis
Globally, the most common clinician-reported RFVs were respiratory tract infection and hypertension.
In developed countries, the next most common reasons for visit were depression, anxiety, and back pain. Meanwhile, in developing countries, they were pneumonia and tuberculosis.
#10
Brain fog and poor concentration. People laugh it off as just a busy schedule, but cognitive fatigue is a huge red flag that your mental health is slipping.
20points
#11
Neurologist here: Any episodes of "lost time", any transient vision loss (yes, even if just for a second), and recurrent episodes of déjà vu are the niche things that quickly come to mind.
19points
#12
NAD but I had a lump while breastfeeding which I ignored because I thought it was a clogged milk duct. It turned out to be breast cancer and now I am stage 4.
18points
What are the biggest health scares that you’ve ever had, Pandas? What symptoms did you have, and were they overt or more subtle?
How often do you go see your family doctor for a check-up? How do you take care of your health in your day-to-day life?
Share your advice in the comments!
#13
Sudden flashing lights and floaters in your vision. Possible retinal detachment.
18points
#14
About three years ago I suddenly developed fatigue, brain fog and a general feeling of just not being myself. Went to several doctors and specialists only to be told it was everything from late ADHD, burnout, depression, anxiety, perimenopause and was too fat. I lost 100lbs, took stimulants, SSRIs, SNRI, HRT and had multiple rounds of bloodwork, all fine.
Still had fatigue, still in a fog, still just not right. Had a routine MRI last week because I get migraines and wouldn’t you know it, between the last one in 2022 and this one, I had a silent stroke. Turns out cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome post stroke is thing and guess how it can manifest? Fatigue, brain fog and personality changes.
So please, if you are a middle aged fat lady who still doesn’t feel quite right, despite doing everything they tell you to do, ask for a MRI to rule out a silent stroke.
I am so mad that I spent three years thinking maybe it was all in my head, only to find out it was literally all in my head.
Still had fatigue, still in a fog, still just not right. Had a routine MRI last week because I get migraines and wouldn’t you know it, between the last one in 2022 and this one, I had a silent stroke. Turns out cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome post stroke is thing and guess how it can manifest? Fatigue, brain fog and personality changes.
So please, if you are a middle aged fat lady who still doesn’t feel quite right, despite doing everything they tell you to do, ask for a MRI to rule out a silent stroke.
I am so mad that I spent three years thinking maybe it was all in my head, only to find out it was literally all in my head.
Report
18points
#15
I'm trying to think and the one that gets me is blood in stool. I've had a couple patients tell me that they have blood in their stool when I have my hand on the door handle to leave their room and I'm like homie why are you doing this to me now? Both had colon cancer.
I only do inpatient medicine now and the thing that's wild to me is how many men will have crushing chest pain with nausea/vomiting/sweating that worsens with exertion and DO NOT seek out medical attention. Classic heart attack symptoms and they'll take tums go to bed to try to sleep it off. The amount of "I came in not because of the chest pain but because my wife was annoying me too much" is astronomically high.
Patients with various infections also seem to present later than they probably should. A lot of older individuals with cancer will present atypically or will have extremely nondescript symptoms especially if they're neutropenic so sometimes they'll describe awkward malaise rather than a specific symptoms and we'll find them hypotensive/respiratory failure/organ failure/etc. Those patients will typically do that once and learn their lesson, but I still have some repeat offenders.
I only do inpatient medicine now and the thing that's wild to me is how many men will have crushing chest pain with nausea/vomiting/sweating that worsens with exertion and DO NOT seek out medical attention. Classic heart attack symptoms and they'll take tums go to bed to try to sleep it off. The amount of "I came in not because of the chest pain but because my wife was annoying me too much" is astronomically high.
Patients with various infections also seem to present later than they probably should. A lot of older individuals with cancer will present atypically or will have extremely nondescript symptoms especially if they're neutropenic so sometimes they'll describe awkward malaise rather than a specific symptoms and we'll find them hypotensive/respiratory failure/organ failure/etc. Those patients will typically do that once and learn their lesson, but I still have some repeat offenders.
17points
#16
I had a pimple in my chest last year that turned out to be an ingrown hair that turned into a small cyst.
Last December, it got infected and swelled up to the size of a golf ball. The pain was a very sharp stabbing feeling for about 10 days then stopped.
Last Thursday, the dermatologist cut out that benign growth and im recovering with 5 pound restrictions atm. It took about a 4 inch incision to safely remove the growth in the center of my chest.
When that pimple wasnt healing after popping it, I should have realized it was more than a pimple and spent the few bucks at the dermatologist to have it looked at.
He did let me watch the whole surgery which was pretty neat.
Last December, it got infected and swelled up to the size of a golf ball. The pain was a very sharp stabbing feeling for about 10 days then stopped.
Last Thursday, the dermatologist cut out that benign growth and im recovering with 5 pound restrictions atm. It took about a 4 inch incision to safely remove the growth in the center of my chest.
When that pimple wasnt healing after popping it, I should have realized it was more than a pimple and spent the few bucks at the dermatologist to have it looked at.
He did let me watch the whole surgery which was pretty neat.
17points
#17
A lump found in the breast. Have it examined. Just because you don’t want it to be bad news doesn’t mean it will magically go away. Early intervention is the best intervention.
16points
#18
Clear fluid from nose any time of the year, drop wise every minute or every hour which increases when you bend down (often gets confused with allergies) . Yeah, it's your cerebrospinal fluid leaking (Google CSF leak / meningitis).
Currently in hospital since 2 weeks, 2 surgeries attempted to close the skull hole/defect, got results from morning test and it's still leaking.
So looks like I won't go home and need 3rd surgery via nostril...
Not a doctor, just a tired and frustrated patient ..
Currently in hospital since 2 weeks, 2 surgeries attempted to close the skull hole/defect, got results from morning test and it's still leaking.
So looks like I won't go home and need 3rd surgery via nostril...
Not a doctor, just a tired and frustrated patient ..
15points
#19
"Thunderclap headaches" got this 4 weeks ago. STILL got the pain went to the ER spent 2 days there.
Turns out it was shingles. GET YOUR SHINGLES VACCINE PEOPLE> I was going to in November but kept putting it off. Well Whammo.
Those thunderclap headaches are wild man 60 seconds of the most intence 10/10 pain of your life.
"oh my god is that going to end?".
Turns out it was shingles. GET YOUR SHINGLES VACCINE PEOPLE> I was going to in November but kept putting it off. Well Whammo.
Those thunderclap headaches are wild man 60 seconds of the most intence 10/10 pain of your life.
"oh my god is that going to end?".
15points
#20
Snoring and daytime tiredness/exhaustion. It’s likely a symptom of sleep apnea and unfortunately it becomes a vicious* cycle of poor cerebral oxygenation, weight gain/cardiac strain and worsening oxygenation. People sometimes live with this for years and don’t realize they’re just accumulating brain damage.
15points