Health symptoms no man should ignore - find a doctor!!!

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.