Tuesday, June 23, 2009

What Your Body Is Telling You - WSJ.com

The body speaks volumes about what ails it -- from obvious warnings like a fever that accompanies an infection to subtle clues like losing hair on the toes, which can be an early sign of vascular disease.

Some signs that seem alarming may actually be harmless: Bright-red stools are more likely to come from eating beets than from intestinal bleeding. But some that seem minor can warn of a serious disorder. Small yellow bumps on the eyelid, for instance, may be fatty deposits that signal high cholesterol, which in turn raises the risk of heart disease.

Other signs seem to make no logical biological sense: Eyebrows that no longer extend over the corners of the eyes can indicate an underactive thyroid, and a diagonal crease in the earlobe seems to herald a heightened risk of heart attack.

Some body signs can have a confusing range of meanings: Does that bulging tummy signify middle-aged spread or the beginning of ovarian cancer?

The problem is that many of us don't recognize the warnings, even when they're staring us in the face. Medical writer Joan Liebmann-Smith was losing weight rapidly. Her hair was falling out. Her heart was racing, and she couldn't sleep. She chalked up her symptoms to the stress of having a new baby, while a psychiatrist she consulted for insomnia told her to just "count sheep."

Over lunch one day, a relative looked at her bulging eyes and the big lump in her throat and said, "Joan -- you have a goiter!" A blood test confirmed that she had an advanced case of Grave's disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes the thyroid gland to swell and produce too much of the powerful hormone.

"I had all the classic signs, and I ignored them," says Ms. Liebmann-Smith, a medical writer, who resolved to write a guide for laymen to the warning signs of serious illnesses. "Body Signs" -- written with Jacqueline Nardi Egan, a breast-cancer survivor -- came out in 2007 and has since been published in 26 countries.

"We don't want people to panic and jump to conclusions," Ms. Liebmann-Smith says. "But it's important to pay attention to your body. Knowledge is power."

Before you race off to the doctor for every lump or discoloration, remember that anomalies you've had for years are more likely to be a harmless part of your genetic makeup. Signs and symptoms that are unusual for you, or painful or debilitating, are more likely to be significant. (Signs are external indicators that can be seen or felt; symptoms are internal sensations, such as pain, that only the patient can perceive.)

Examining a patient from head to toe for such indicators is a key part of every nurse's training. "It's the foundation of patient care," says Susan Denman, a family nurse practitioner who teaches physical assessment at the Duke University School of Nursing. Knowing how to interpret all those signs and symptoms takes up much of a doctor's education and is refined over a lifetime of clinical practice.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124571709339739367.html