Signs That Could Be Serious Health Concerns
Managing your health can be an anxiety-inducing affair, especially when healthcare costs are high and access to treatment can be obstructed. But that doesn’t make it any less important to regularly check in with your doctor to make sure you’re healthy.
Additionally, you need to monitor your body for all kinds of changes as those fluctuations can give you vital information. For example, you can monitor your blood pressure for free at many pharmacies, or wear an activity tracker to look for patterns in your physical activity, heartbeat, and sleep.
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But the most powerful tool you have at your disposal is you and you ability to monitor changes in your body. Here are some subtle signs to look out for that could be a serious health concern.
Crunchy knees
Our knees are a complex work of art, allowing for an impressive range of motion and capacity for weight. But it’s important to be aware of any strange sounds or sensations in your knees as that can be an indication of real problems.
“If you can hear or feel crunching in your knee when you go up stairs or get up from a squat, it is a bad sign, and means the cartilage under your knee cap is wearing out,” according to Dr. Barbara Bergin, an orthopedic surgeon. “This most often occurs in women and is the result of a condition called patellar malalignment. Women are predisposed to having this condition because of the way our lower extremities are naturally aligned in order to accommodate our child bearing pelvis.”
You also many be prone to this if you do certain exercises. Bering continued, “If you do a lot of squats, box jumping, or stair climbing you might begin to notice this crunching. It might be painless at first, but then it will become painful and cause swelling. This will eventually lead to the development of arthritis in your knee.” So be mindful with those knees!
Fingernail changes
Your fingernails can tell you a lot more about your health than you likely thought possible. If they’re normal and healthy looking, that’s a good sign and you have nothing to worry about. But if you notice changes in the color, texture, or strength of your nails, you might want to investigate further what the cause might be.
For example, have your nails flattened, accompanied by concave divots? This is called koilonychia, and can indicate an iron deficiency as well as other issues. Are your nails white with only a narrow band at the top? That could be Terry’s Nails, which can be indicative of serious underlying concerns like liver disease and other organ problems. Do you have indented lines across your nails? That might be Beau’s Lines, which are associated with a host of ailments from uncontrolled diabetes to vascular disease. So if you notice anything off about your nails, go to your primary care physician and have them examined.
Numb feet
Our feet are on the front line of our day-to-day life given that, for most of us, we need our feet to get us where we need to go. So if you ever notice any strange changes in them, you definitely don’t want to ignore them. Dr. Suzanne C. Fuchs, a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon, told me, “One subtle sign is numbness in your feet. Numbness in both feet is known as peripheral neuropathy. This is commonly caused by diabetes but could also be a side effect of chemotherapy or even alcoholism.”
So if you know you have these other conditions, talk to your doctor about any strangeness in both feet. Additionally, Fuchs continued, “If you have numbness in only one foot this could mean a neuroma or inflammation of a nerve in the foot or due to a pinched nerve higher up in the ankle, leg or back.” Even if you just have coldness or pain, see your doctor — there’s no reason to live with it either.
Stubborn pimples
Everyone gets pimples at some point in our lives, as much as we may hate it. Acne is most problematic for teenagers, but women of all ages still get pimples on occasion. And while that’s completely normal, having something that looks like a pimple but won’t go away is not.
“A pimple that won’t go away is often how the most common cancer, Basal Cell Cancer, presents itself,” notes Dr. Jennifer T. Haley, a board certified dermatologist. “If you have a ‘pimple’ that lasts longer than a month, get to a board certified dermatologist for evaluation as it may just be the tip of the iceberg to something extending deeper.”
That doesn’t mean that you need to freak out about it because it could be a variety of other things, too. But since there is a risk, definitely get it checked out.
Gum recession
Dental health is much more important than a lot of people know. And it’s not just your teeth that you need to take care of, either — your gums also need TLC, often long before you realize it.
Dr. April Patterson, a dentist in South Florida, told me, “You might think it’s something you couldn’t miss, but gum recession is so gradual and slow that you won’t know you have a problem until you do! Gum recession is a silent indicator of periodontal disease, and the endotoxins that cause it have been linked to heart disease as well as diabetes, in some studies.” That’s pretty serious!
The best way to make sure you don’t wind up with unchecked gum recession is by getting regular cleanings at the dentist. Patterson continued, “No matter how much you brush — or how hard — your toothbrush simply can’t reach far enough beneath your gums to clean up the accumulation of plaque, calculus, and tartar. So the bacteria will build up and can only be removed with unique instruments designed to go underneath your gums.” So getting a cleaning every six months is worth it in the long run.
