Health
symptoms no man should ignore - find a doctor
Lung
cancer is Britain’s biggest cancer killer, claiming 28,000 lives a year, but
many of those lives could be saved.
That’s
the message of a new information campaign -
Be Clear on Cancer - launched this week.
That
grim statistic is partly because lung cancer is often diagnosed late, when the
disease has already spread beyond the lungs. And that’s partly because too many
of us ignore obvious early symptoms.
But
then ignoring signs of ill health has long been a problem for men.
According
to the NHS, on average men go to their GP half as often as women and 100,000
British men a year die prematurely.
Here’s
why a cough that lasts for more than three weeks should herald a visit to the
doctor, and nine other everyday symptoms men should never ignore.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: persistent
cough
It’s unlikely to be lung cancer, especially if
you’re under 50, but if that cough lasts for more than three weeks, you should
get it checked out, just to be on the safe side.
The main symptom of lung cancer is a persistent
cough, though in most cases a cough doesn’t indicate cancer. Other symptoms
include a cough that gets worse or changes, repeated chest infections, breathlessness
and an ache or pain in your shoulder or chest that has lasted some time.
If you have any of these for more than a few
weeks, let your GP put your mind at rest.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: a lump
Don’t ignore a lump anywhere - get it seen by a
doctor. And young men should never ignore a lump on the testicles, because
testicular cancer - from which cyclist Lance Armstrong (pictured) famously made
a full recovery - is the most common cancer in men aged 20 to 35. Nearly 2,000
men are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year in the UK.
Check your testicles after a warm bath or shower
and get to know how they feel. That way you’ll be in a good position to know if
anything changes. That’s important, because treatment for testicular cancer is much
more effective if the cancer is diagnosed early. In fact, it’s a very curable
cancer in its early stages.
Most lumps won’t be cancer, but if anything
changes never ignore it.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: feeling down
We all feel miserable from time to time, but
losing interest in things you used to enjoy may be a sign that you’re slipping
into depression. More women than men suffer from depression, but more men
commit suicide, so it’s important to recognise the signs that suggest a temporary
sadness or disappointment is morphing into something more serious. If you’re
depressed, the sadness can last weeks or months and isn’t something you can
simply 'snap out of'.
Lots of things can affect your mental health, from
redundancy and financial insecurity to relationship problems. If you’ve been
feeling low for more than a few days, this NHS test may help you to assess your
condition. But don’t delay going to the doctor. Depression is not trivial and
it is not a sign of weakness (one in 10 of us will suffer from it at some point
in our lives). Your doctor can quickly make a diagnosis and put you on the road
to feeling better again.Health symptoms no man should ignore: trouble peeing
When the prostate gland becomes enlarged it can
press against the tube that takes urine from the bladder, making it harder to
pee. You may have trouble getting started or the stream may be little more than
a trickle. If it happens to you, see your GP as soon as possible.
There's a small chance it's prostate cancer, the
most common cancer in men. Nearly 40,000 men are diagnosed with the disease
every year. The vast majority of these will be older men, but you should get
symptoms checked out anyway. It’s unlikely to be cancer, but an enlarged
prostate for other reasons can be uncomfortable and affect your quality of
life. It can usually be easily treated.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: pain in your
abdomen
It could be indigestion, of course, but if
abdominal pain is still there in the morning or it’s particularly sharp it
warrants a quick visit to the GP.
The abdomen is a pretty large area and packed with
organs so the pain could be caused by any number of things. Most are benign but
some aren’t. It could be appendicitis, pancreatitis, or an inflamed
gallbladder, for instance, and none of them are any fun if left untreated. Make
that call asap.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: chest pain
Often
chest pain is caused by heartburn but it’s not something you want to leave to
chance. If you have the merest suspicion you’re having a heart attack, dial 999
without delay.
Happily,
most chest pains — particularly in young men — are not your worst nightmare.
They can be caused by shingles, muscle sprains, panic or acid reflux. But chest
pain is also a symptom of coronary heart disease (CHD) and does need to be
checked out.
CHD
can feel similar to the pain of indigestion, or it can radiate out from
(usually) the centre of the chest to the arms, neck, jaw, back or stomach. Very
few men in their 20s and 30s suffer heart attacks, but dealing with early
symptoms of CHD early could be a life saver later on.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: unintended
weight loss
If
you’re on a diet and you’re losing weight, good for you. If you’re not on a
diet and there are no other obvious causes of your newly baggy pants and loose
shirts (a new exercise regime, say), it
needs to be checked out.
As
usual, it’s probably nothing to worry about. But unintended weight loss is
occasionally an early symptom of cancer (bowel cancer, for example), so make an
appointment and put your mind at rest.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: blood
The
simple fact is that when you go to the toilet, whatever you go for, there
shouldn’t be blood. Blood when you pee is a sign of an obstruction in the tubes
carrying urine from the bladder to the outside world, and that can be caused by
cysts, stones, infection or inflammation. It needs to be checked to rule out
anything serious.
There
are plenty of pretty harmless reasons for blood in your stools, the most
obvious being haemorrhoids (piles). But as it’s also a symptom of bowel cancer,
you need to see a doctor to rule out the worst-case scenario.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: headaches
A persistent headache needs to be checked out by a
doctor, even though it’s highly unlikely to be caused by a brain tumour. Most
headaches are tension headaches, resulting from stress, tiredness, eye strain,
poor posture and smoking and drinking. Most of the rest are migraines.
But even if your headache is unlikely to be
life-threatening, persistent headaches can be seriously life-limiting,
affecting everything from your productivity at work to your mood and enjoyment
of leisure time. A GP can advise you on ways to avoid and treat them.
Health symptoms no man should ignore: exhaustion
Yes,
we know, life is tiring. You may feel exhausted a lot of the time because you
work too hard, or party too much, or mix the two together in a perfect storm of
sleeplessness. If the reason for your tiredness is obvious, self-medicate using
the tried-and-tested method of Getting To Bed Earlier.
But
if the exhaustion is new and inexplicable, let the GP know. It could be
anything, but a number of physical and mental illnesses are associated with
chronic fatigue, so get it checked out. Chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes,
anaemia and low metabolism, to name a few, all need to be ruled out. It may
just be stress, which can be seriously tiring, but even if it is, a doctor can
suggest ways to alleviate it.
If
you notice any of these symptoms, the worst thing you can do is ignore them.
They’re probably innocuous, but even if they are they’ll gnaw away at your peace of mind until a
doctor confirms it. And in the unlikely event they are a symptom of something
more serious, the sooner you get treated the better.
