Courtesy of Blackdoctor.org

Story by Dominique Lambright

Unexpected symptoms can be pretty scary, making your mind assume the worst. Our imaginations can scare us into believing something sinister is afoot when we detect anything unusual about our bodies. This thought pattern often stems in part from our fear of the unknown.

12. Elevated Heart Rate

Anxiety may resemble other medical disorders. This may be alarming if you’ve never had an accelerated heart rate that feels like your heart is rushing out of your chest, fluttering, or hammering. These symptoms may raise concern, stress, blood pressure, and stomach aches or churning, like cardiac symptoms. Even while these symptoms may seem significant, they may not be.

How do you regulate your emotions and anxiety-related body responses? The Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA) advises against thinking that anxiety should cause a fight or flight reaction. Remind yourself that there is no physical danger in circumstances that induce worry. Seeing those physiological emotions as unpleasant but harmless might help you overcome your anxiety. If your symptoms increase or interfere with everyday life, visit a doctor.

11. ‘Cancer-like’ Skin Tags

Your skin is your biggest organ. Changes that raise worry are obvious. When skin tags appear, some individuals worry about cancer.

Skin changes are not always malignant. Skin tags are frequent. The Mayo Clinic defines skin tags as flesh-colored tissue attached to a little stalk or piece of skin that grows in body creases where friction is widespread. If you don’t understand skin tags, they may be bothersome and even worrying. Do not remove a skin tag at home if it irritates, hurts, or bleeds. It might develop an infection, so it is better to let a dermatologist safely remove it.

10. Tinnitus

Ringing, buzzing, or hearing noise without a cause may make you worry about losing your hearing or having a brain tumor or neurological disorder. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, about 10 percent of adults have tinnitus.

Tinnitus is normally innocuous but may be debilitating for individuals. According to Dr. Andrew Resnick, an audiologist at Resnick Audiology in New York, excessive loudness and chronic exposure to loud sounds may cause severe ringing in the ears, which increases stress and lowers the quality of life. If the noise stays, consult your doctor to rule out vertigo, head traumas, dental issues, drugs, and neurological reasons.

9. Unexplained Bruises

Another horrible bruise. Despite not bumping anything, you see more bruises on various parts of your body. It might be worrying if you have no clue how you got bruises. Trauma damages skin capillaries, causing a bruise. Aspirin, anti-inflammatory medicines, and blood thinners may produce rapid bruising. Some drugs are used frequently for aches and pains, while others address particular health issues. 

Consult your doctor before stopping any medications. Unfortunately, elderly folks bruise more easily due to thinner, fragile skin. If your bruise grows, hurts, appears over a joint, or you have a fever or external bleeding from your mouth or nose, visit a doctor.

8. Uncontrollable Shaky Hands

Some individuals mistake hand tremors or shakiness for Parkinson’s disease or other tremor illnesses, increasing concern and worsening the problem. Shaky hands may be annoying or hinder daily tasks. Too much coffee, worry, lack of sleep, low blood pressure, alcohol, or prescription side effects might cause shaky hands. With a few lifestyle modifications, most occurrences of this alarming symptom may be prevented or treated.

When should you visit a doctor? If you have shaking hands often or if they interfere with everyday activities like dressing, eating, or drinking.

7. A Bleeding Cut

Accidents happen. Minor wounds may be terrifying due to the amount of blood they create, especially in the head, which bleeds more than in other locations. Most superficial wounds are home-treatable. However, you should know how to treat cuts and spot medical emergencies.

Wash the area, apply direct pressure, and elevate it if possible to halt the bleeding if you hurt yourself. If pressure slows or stops bleeding but continues after release, apply pressure for 15 minutes. Apply a new bandage once the bleeding stops. After 15 minutes, if the bleeding is still seeping through the bandage and not slowing down with pressure, or if the injury is in the chest or abdomen, seek medical treatment.

6. Involuntary Eye Twitching

Eye twitching may be annoying or even upsetting. Stress and weariness induce eye twitching most often. Overuse of electronic gadgets might induce eye strain and twitching. Eye twitching is usually caused by overuse or stress, so try to find out what’s stressing you and rest your eyes when it starts. Most eye twitches disappear without medical treatment, and they may be your body’s way of telling you to relax. 

Seek medical attention if twitching lasts longer than a few weeks and is accompanied by other symptoms. Nervous system diseases seldom induce eye twitching.

5. Forgetfulness

Have you ever used your ATM card a thousand times yet forgotten your PIN? We’ve all experienced some forgetfulness. The National Institute on Aging says memory loss or forgetfulness increases with age. One in nine Americans over 45 have memory lapses; however, amnesia is common and seldom causes concern. You can relax until you or your loved ones discover a pattern of forgetfulness. Maintaining a social lifestyle and challenging your intellect with puzzles, games, or reading may enhance your memory.

If memory loss disturbs your life or you worry about increasing symptoms, consult your doctor.

4. Consistent Headaches

Headaches are excruciating. They might seem severe when accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or neck, eye, face, and shoulder discomfort. Thus, you may worry that the pain is a sign of a brain aneurysm. According to NPR, some clinicians saw more patients with benign headaches in 2021 due to concerns about COVID-19. 

Before worrying, remember that headaches are one of the most prevalent ailments. Nearly half of Americans have headaches annually. Most headaches are harmless annoyances. How do you know when to worry? If headaches disrupt your everyday life, cause new symptoms, worsen without treatment, or last more than a few days, see a doctor. 

Beware of abrupt headaches that peak in agony in seconds. Thunderclap headaches may indicate a major situation. 

3. Cracking & Popping Joints

Many factors cause joint cracking. Hearing a joint snap while getting up or moving might be alarming. These unexpected sounds may become more common as we age, but don’t worry if there’s no swelling or discomfort.

According to Cleveland Clinic orthopedist Kim Stearns, the cartilage wears down as we age, making joint surfaces noisier. Cedar Sinai orthopedic specialist Robert Klapper says nitrogen bubbles exploding in synovial fluid cause the popping sound. Popping the knuckles or moving might cause this. However, cracking followed by discomfort or inflammation may indicate a concern. Ask your doctor.

2. Swollen Lymph Nodes

Have you ever touched your neck with a sore throat or cold and felt a little bean-shaped lump that startled you into investigating your symptoms? You probably felt a swelling lymph node. Swollen lymph nodes usually suggest infection. Swelling is prevalent in children with viral infections. 

Humans have hundreds of lymph nodes. The lymphatic system’s main function is to fight infections, but it also has additional functions. A large lymph node may just be your body protecting you. See a doctor if you have enlarged lymph nodes and significant exhaustion for more than a few weeks.

1. Chest Pain

An odd chest sensation may terrify you since most people associate it with a heart attack. Other health problems might induce chest pain. Various disorders in the lungs, digestive organs, muscles, rib cage, bones, and heart may cause chest discomfort.

Knowing your heart disease risks and the CDC’s most common heart attack symptoms is important, but knowing that most chest discomfort has a benign cause may be soothing. Twenty-five percent of Americans have non-cardiac chest discomfort. Up to 75 percent of emergency department patients with chest discomfort are sent home without a cardiac diagnosis.

Most significant chest discomfort occurs suddenly and does not go away. Wexner Medical Center recommends seeking medical attention for chest discomfort, which might indicate life-threatening conditions.

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