It’s all too easy to put a little symptom to the back of your head every now and then, especially if you’ve got a busy lifestyle. However, quite often more serious conditions start off with minor symptoms that if caught early enough, leads to an easier diagnosis and treatment. Ignoring symptoms could result in you becoming gravely ill in the future, so we’ve compiled a list of the symptoms that you shouldn’t be ignoring so that you can be sure you’re living the healthiest life possible.

Photo by Ken Treloar on Unsplash

A persistent cough

At this time of year it’s not unusual to have a bit of a cough and a cold, but when your cough simply won’t go away or is worsening, it’s time to see your GP. Depending on your age, weight, lifestyle, and other health factors, your cough might just be taking a little longer to resolve. However, a lingering cough can be a sign of more serious conditions such as bronchitis, asthma, COPD and even cancer. The earlier that you visit your GP, the earlier you can begin treatment – meaning the outlook is likely to be brighter!

Heart flutters

There are many different reasons as to why you might feel your heart flutter:

• Excitement
• Anticipation
• Anxiety
• Exercise

However, sometimes the reason for your heart fluttering or ‘missing a beat’ might not be something as simple as the above reasons. Fatal heart conditions can display symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat as an early sign. Your Doctor may send you for further tests on your heart, but it might be a good idea to request a heart scan as it’s the easiest and most convenient way of finding problems within the heart. You might be wondering what a heart scan costs are, and you can check them out here.

Rapid unintentional weight loss

For some, rapid and unintentional weight loss would be a dream come true. However, even if you’re obese, it’s not healthy to lose weight in such a fashion, especially if it’s not intentional. Fast and unexpected weight loss could be showing signs of more serious conditions such as diabetes. If you’ve been experiencing weight loss, and have lost more than 10% of your body weight in the last six months without trying, it might be time to ask your GP to send you for some blood tests to see if you have got diabetes.

Change in bladder or bowel movements

Much like the common cold, it’s not unusual to pick up some sort of stomach virus at this time of year. However, if you’re experiencing strange bladder or bowel movements more frequently than normal, this could be a sign of something more serious such as colon cancer, or even liver failure. It might not be very nice having an examination of your private areas, but it’s important to make sure that the symptoms you’re experiencing aren’t a sign of something more serious.

Fleeting thoughts that are out of the ordinary

Finally, sometimes symptoms aren’t just physical, they’re mental too. Mental health problems can lead to strange actions that are dangerous to your health, like suicide. It’s imperative to seek medical help urgently if you’re experiencing fleeting thoughts that are out of the ordinary for you so that you can prevent a much more serious problem from happening.