He shares his Top 5 Medical Symptoms You Should Never Ignore list and urges people reading this to dig deeper and go see a doctor if any of these are troubling you.
When you think of adult health, you might think about various strategies for health as simple as frequent hand-washing and being up-to-date on vaccines to common sense weight maintenance and cancer prevention. The choices you make every day go a long way toward promoting adult health.
But sometimes, despite all of our best efforts, there is a genetic predisposition that can catapult you into a high risk group for certain diseases.
Dr. Damon Raskin
It’s equally important to pay attention to your signs and symptoms. Know which adult health warning signs merit medical attention, from unexplained weight loss or changes in bowel habits to shortness of breath and sudden severe headaches.
And of course, regular physical exams and adult health screening tests are part of preventive adult health care. Know which screening tests you need and how often to have them done.
Did you turn 50 recently? It’s time for a baseline colonoscopy. Early detection can be the key to successful treatment catching a cancer in early stage 1. Your odds for survival are much higher and the treatment not as severe as it used to be.
Dr. Raskin says, “Take note of important signs and symptoms, whether it be unexplained weight loss to sudden flashes of light — and seek medical care immediately. Often times people think these symptoms will just go away, but they can be a precursor to something serious.” Dr. Raskin has an internal medicine practice in Pacific Palisades, CA, providing patients with personalized, comprehensive and preventative medical services.
In addition to internal medicine, Dr. Raskin specializes in the treatment of addiction and substance abuse with individualized outpatient and inpatient detox options. He is Suboxone® therapy certified and also focuses on relapse prevention with monthly Vivitrol injections and other strategies.
Dr Raskin also treats both acute and chronic diseases including hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol. He also treats obesity and its related complications with regular consultations and individualized weight loss programs. He stays up to date on the latest research, and always finds a custom approach and treats each patient as an individual.
“Chest pain, sudden loss of vision or speech, and severe abdominal pain require immediate medical attention,” says Dr. Raskin. But what about more subtle symptoms? Here is Dr. Raskin’s list of five signs and symptoms that need attention:
Chest Pain
Dr. Raskin says: “This could be onset of heart attack. Especially if on left side and going down left arm. Most heart attacks have varying degrees of discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It feels like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Immediate help is needed.”
Shortness of Breath
Dr. Raskin says: “Feeling breathless when lying down is a symptom that needs to be evaluated promptly. This could be a life threatening blood clot in lung (pulmonary embolism). It could also be some heart blockage or even severe anxiety.”
Palpitations
Dr. Raskin says: “This could be a dangerous heart rhythm that could lead to stroke if left untreated. Please seek medical attention if palpitations are persistent and are accompanied with a sensation of chest pressure and chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting spells, or sweating.”
Profound Fatigue
Dr. Raskin says: “This could be severe anemia or other serious condition including leukemia or other malignancy. Important to note for women that profound fatigue is part of an array of symptoms for a possible heart attack, which also include shortness of breath, clamminess and a nauseated feeling. Palpitations, light-headedness and a heartburn-like sensation in the upper portion of your abdomen, confusion or agitation, and even a “heaviness” in your legs may be experienced.”
Black Stools
We’re not putting real poop pictures on M&C, so go with it!
Dr. Raskin says: “Persistent diarrhea or constipation is a red flag. Black and tarry stools are a worrisome bowel movement which could be from internal bleeding from ulcer or colon cancer.”
Original article
Dr. Damon Raskin
