1. Chest painsoen often wait until they experience excruciating pain before seeing a doctor, but any sort of chest pain should be investigated. It can be caused by a variety of conditions, from obvious ones like angina and other heart conditions like pericarditis, through to more unexpected ones such as gallstones, Hodgkin’s disease, peptic ulcer and reflux. Also, if the pain is severe it could be a heart attack, and needs urgent medical attention.
2. Shortness of breathWhile being out of breath can simply be due to being unfit, it can also be a symptom of illness, especially if your man is puffing after very little activity. Finding it hard to breathe while sitting or lying in bed may be a sign of a weak heart, also known as congestive heart failure. Breathing problems can also be one of the first signs of a heart attack, and if they experience other symptoms, such as severe pain in the chest, arm or jaw, and nausea, get help immediately.
Shortness of breath can also indicate a lung problem, including an infection like pneumonia or bronchitis, or lung cancer.
3. Blood in urine or stoolsThis is a symptom people tend to ignore, usually hoping it will go away. However, passing blood when you go to the toilet is a sign of a problem that needs to be checked. Blood in stools could be due to a harmless condition such as piles, however it could also be an indication of a more serious illness – colon cancer. It can also be due to the bowel condition diverticulitis or a bleeding ulcer.
Meanwhile, blood in the urine can be caused by several things, including infections, kidney stones, or cancer of the bladder or kidney.
4. Changes in urinationoen often put having trouble passing urine and needing to go more often down to ageing, but if they are noticing changes, they should see their doctor. Issues like needing to go more frequently and having difficulty peeing can be signs of an enlarged prostate. This can be due to a harmless condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BHP), but also could be due to potentially life-threatening prostate cancer. Tests can tell the difference between the two. Needing to go to the loo more often can also be a symptom of other conditions, such as diabetes.
5. Suspicious skin lesionsoen do tend to pay less attention to their skin than women, and don’t always notice changes to moles, freckles or skin lesions. Encourage them to have regular skin checks, and if they have a lesion that has changed in colour, size or shape, get it looked at straightaway. It could be skin cancer, but if it’s caught early, there’s a very good chance of a full recovery.
**Health watch
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Children born to women who have been exposed to magnetic fields while pregnant may have an increased risk of being asthmatic. A US study found a link between electromagnetic exposure (which can come from sources like electrical appliances) in pregnant women and asthma in their children. However, asthma experts say the study was flawed and the outcome should not be regarded as conclusive.
Smokers who light up as soon as they wake up in the morning are more likely to develop cancer than those who wait an hour. Researchers in the US, who are trying to identify why some smokers get cancer and others don’t, found smokers who are unable to wait for their first hit of nicotine had a higher risk of lung cancer, possibly because they take more smoke into their lungs, and therefore have a higher exposure to the chemicals that can cause cancer.
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