Ignoring body discomfort can have long lasting damaging consequences

Hyderabad: Early this week, rap sensation Honey Singh slipped and hurt himself while rehearsing for a concert in the US.

The injury to his head and back was quite severe and he won’t be able to get back to assignments for some time now.

What made it worse was that the singer had been feeling unwell and suffering from fluctuating BP, but he chose to go for the tour despite warnings by his doctor.

Now, he has been advised bed rest.

Symptoms like fluctuating BP, bad throat, chest pain, lethargy, breathlessness, light-headedness etc. should not be taken lightly, even by normal, healthy adults and youngsters.

In fact, their recurrences should be taken note of, say doctors.

That’s because they can either aggravate with time or be “signs of an underlying disease”.

Dr C. Venkata S. Ram, director, Apollo Institute for Blood Pressure Management, cites an example, “If one walks around with undiagnosed and uncontrolled high BP, he or she can get paralysis, heart attack, heart failure,  kidney disease, or even dementia. BP can be diagnosed without much cost. So we need to set our priorities right.”

‘Drastic weight loss isn’t good’

Are you losing weight drastically without trying for it? It’s not a good sign, says Dr S. Ramakrishna, general physician, Amrutha Clinics, and explains what “significant weight loss” is.

“If somebody loses more than five per cent of body weight in a month, without any intervention or lose more than seven per cent in less than three months or more than 10 per cent in less than six months, it can be a sign of TB or cancer. And, if you are puking blood or  passing jet-black stool, do see a doctor.”

There are other significant signs to watch out for, adds Dr Ramakrishna: “If you are suffering from fever (temperature more than 99.90C for over two weeks, go for detailed investigations.”

If youngsters in the age group of 15-25 experience pain below their knees, they must get an X-ray done to rule out osteosarcoma (bone cancer).

If they have swelling in one leg, it could be due to a blood clot, or filariasis.

If the pain is across both the legs, it could indicate a liver or kidney disorder, thyroid problem, varicose vein or it can be due to congested heart failure or side effects of anti-hypertensive medicines.”

‘Pain that travels isn’t good’

If you have been experiencing severe headache, giddiness and vomiting all together, then there’s something wrong inside the brain. Dr R.T.S. Naik, neurosurgeon, Apollo Hospitals, explains, “This means either blood flow to the brain is going down or there is intra-cranial pressure. This can affect the way a person speaks, it also affects their vision and weakens muscles across face and limbs. If not attended, the brain can get damaged, causing a paralytic attack.”

Change in lifestyle, food habits as well as stress-ridden lives have made even youngsters prone to these symptoms.

Then there is back pain, which has become common because of long hours of sitting in front of computers.

Dr Naik points out, “If the back pain is local, that’s okay. The problem arises when the pain radiates down to hands and legs, or gets worse on changing your posture, or does not subside even after taking a pain killer. This indicates that a nerve is getting compressed. ”

‘These Symptoms aggravate with age’

Incidence of heart diseases is increasing day by day. This includes 15 per cent of urban India, youngsters in their 20s or 30s as well as women who haven’t reached menopause.

So we seriously need to consider treating the risk factors, says Dr Pramod Kumar Kuchulakanti, interventional cardiologist at Yashoda Hospitals.

He gives a low-down of those first symptoms: “Chest discomfort (called angina) spreading to left arm, jaws, stomach, back or upper abdomen, shortness of breath on doing minimal activities like going to the bath room or changing clothes, falling unconscious or sweating profusely even if one is not exerting. And if a person is suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, is a smoker, overweight and sedentary, these symptoms become more relevant. These aggravate with age and are seen more in men than women.”
“Wisdom lies in visiting your family physician or cardiologist and getting a routine assessment done and possibly a Treadmill Test (T.M.T) to detect any heart ailment.”