The Mayo Clinic's Top 10 List of Symptoms

These symptoms seem minor but could cause major illnesses.

Dr. Michele Hanson, a family medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic who helped draft the top 10 list, which appeared in the clinic's publication Health Letter, says, "Some of these are things that people don't always think about or they do try to ignore." 

"Some are pretty obvious to me. If you lose control of your vision, most people will come in. But some of the other ones, like seeing little flashes of light, they're like `Oh, that's no big deal. Those are floaters.' They could have a retinal detachment and lose their vision very quickly ... Like within hours."

Dr. Jeff Tyberg, chief of emergency services at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, says The Mayo's list, below, provides a good overview, but no list limited to 10 can touch on all the potential health problems that should be urgently checked out. 

"Not every symptom will appear on a list that's put out. So for most people, if anything goes wrong that people are worried about – be it pain, be it a headache, be it shortness of breath, be it anything that they are concerned about, that they feel really, significantly unwell – then they should probably seek medical attention," he advises.

10. Unexplained weight loss: Effortless weight loss may sound miraculous to many of us, but in reality the body doesn't shed pounds unless it's provoked – either by exercise, a cutback in calories or a medical ailment. If you've dropped more than 5 per cent of your weight in a month or more than 10 per cent in six to 12 months, something is going on.

Stomach cancer is one possible cause, but it's certainly not the only one. An over-active thyroid (hyperthyroidism), depression, liver disease, or disorders that interfere with the body's ability to absorb nutrients from food can also be responsible.

9. Persistent fever: A fever is often a sign the body is fighting some kind of bug, possibly something like a urinary tract infection. But a persistent, low-grade fever can be caused by some kinds of cancers and even tuberculosis. Drug reactions can also cause fevers. If you have a low-grade fever that lasts for more than two weeks, see a doctor.

8. Shortness of breath: Gasping or wheezing or having a hard time catching your breath when you haven't been doing any strenuous exercise is one of those two-by-four signs. You need to be evaluated by a doctor. Stat. Breathing difficulties can be caused by asthma, heart problems, anxiety or panic attacks, pneumonia, a blood clot in the lung and other serious conditions.

7. Unexplained bowel habit changes: Bowel patterns alter slightly with diet, travel and age but there are some changes that signal something other than a mild bout of constipation or a short-term stomach bug is at play. The Mayo Clinic suggests seeing your doctor if you have severe diarrhea that lasts more than two days, mild diarrhea that lasts more than a week, constipation that lasts more than two weeks or unexplained urges to have a bowel movement. Bloody diarrhea or black or tar-coloured stool should also be brought to your doctor's attention.

6. Changes in mental status: Altered mental acuity or behaviour is something that should be looked into quickly – things like a sudden or gradual shift into confused thinking, disorientation, sudden aggressive behaviour or hallucinations in a person who has never had them before. The cause could be a head injury, a stroke, infection, low blood sugar or reaction to medication.

5. New or more severe headaches, especially in people over 50: Most people who have migraines or tension headaches develop them earlier in life. So a new type of headache over 50 should be taken seriously, Hanson says.

Sudden, severe headaches – sometimes called thunderclap headaches – or headaches that are accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizures, weakness, numbness or speech difficulty could be signs of a stroke, meningitis, an aneurysm, bleeding on the brain after a head trauma or blood vessel inflammation.

4. Short-term loss of vision, movement or speech control: These can be signs of a stroke or transient ischemic attacks – TIAs or mini-strokes, as they are sometimes called. If you are having TIAs, you are at risk of having a stroke. You need medical care.

This stuff falls into the "head to the emergency department" category, the experts who drew up the Mayo list say: sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side; sudden dimness, blurring or loss of vision; trouble talking or understanding speech; a thunderclap headache; sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a fall.

3. Flashes of light: The sudden onset of this sensation may signal your retina is detaching. Immediate care may be needed to save the sight of the affected eye.

2. Feeling full after eating a small amount: Feeling full sooner than you normally would or having persistent nausea or vomiting should be brought to your doctor's attention. They could be a sign of cancer – ovarian, stomach or pancreatic – or a sign of a gastrointestinal disorder.

1. An inflamed joint: A hot, red or swollen joint could signal a serious infection. Emergency care could be needed to save the joint and to keep bacteria from spreading elsewhere in the body. Or it could mean gout or some form of arthritis.

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[Source: Canadian Press]