• Constipation that lasts for more than two weeks
• Unsuccessful urges to have a bowel movement
• Bloody diarrhea
• Black or tarry-colored stools
Changes in bowel habits may signal a bacterial infection — such as campylobacter or salmonella — or a viral or parasitic infection. Among other possible causes are inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.
5. Mental Changes
Immediate medical evaluation is warranted if any of the following occur:
• Sudden or gradual confused thinking
• Disorientation
• Sudden aggressive behavior
• Hallucinations (if you have never had them)
Changes in behavior or thinking may be due to infection, head injury, stroke, low blood sugar, or even medications, especially ones you’ve recently started taking. Also seek prompt medical attention if you experience:
• A sudden and severe headache, often called a thunderclap headache, because it comes on suddenly like a clap of thunder.
• A headache accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizures, vision changes, weakness, numbness, speaking difficulties, scalp tenderness or pain with chewing.
• A headache that begins or worsens after a head injury.
These headache symptoms may be caused by stroke, blood vessel inflammation (arthritis), meningitis, brain tumor, aneurysm or bleeding on the brain after head trauma.
6. Short-Term Loss of Vision, Speaking or Movement Control
If you have these signs and symptoms, minutes count. These are signs and symptoms of a possible stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Seek immediate emergency medical care if you have any of the following:
• Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of your body
• Sudden dimness, blurring or loss of vision
• Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech
• A thunderclap headache
• Sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a fall
7. Flashes of light
The sudden sensation of flashing lights may signal the beginning of retinal detachment. Immediate medical care may be needed to save vision in the affected eye.
8. Feeling Very Full After Eating Very Little
Feeling full sooner than normal after eating and having persistent nausea and vomiting that last more than a week are warning signs that should be checked by your doctor. There are many possible causes, including pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer and ovarian cancer.
9. Hot, Red or Swollen Joints
These warning signs may occur with a joint infection, which requires emergency care to save the joint and keep bacteria from spreading elsewhere. Other causes may include gout or certain types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Your body tries its very best to warn you when there’s trouble, so never ignore the signs. While some are not obviously alarming, they can still lead to serious health problems. Trust your body – it knows!