Rapid weight gain in some cases may reflect a
need to alter the diet, and this can be important enough to call for medical
aid. In some cases, rapid gain may be the result of fluid accumulation in the
body because of a heart or kidney disturbance or improper functioning of the
thyroid gland. If weight loss occurs on an adequate non-reducing diet, sickness
must be suspected. The body may not be utilizing food properly
or may be burning it up too fast. Diabetes and hyperthyroidism (over-activity
of the thyroid) are among the possibilities the physician will check.
This can be an important symptom. It is not always easy to
evaluate. In climbing stairs or running, almost everyone, of course, becomes
short of breath. Unless breathing difficulty occurs at rest or with only minor
activity, you may have only an impression that you are puffing more than you
used to do when performing certain activities. This may be an indication that
you have become too sedentary, are not as fit or perhaps as light in weight as
you once were. But shortness of breath also may serve to indicate the beginning
of heart trouble, lung disorder, chest disease, anemia, some forms of cancer,
and other conditions.
Bleeding without obvious explanation requires investigation
without delay. Blood in the urine may indicate urinary infection, kidney tumor,
or wart like growths in the bladder, for example. The blood mayor may not look
like blood; blood can impart anything from a faint pink tinge to a mahogany
brown color in the urine. Blood in the stool may appear bright red if the
bleeding is low in the intestinal tract or from hemorrhoids. But if the
bleeding is from the stomach or upper intestinal tract, bowel movements may be
colored black.
The coughing or vomiting of blood calls for prompt action.
The fact is that the body sometimes provides only one warning. Don't wait for a
repetition of the bleeding. Consult your physician immediately, and the chances
are he can establish what is wrong and treat it effectively. Similarly, the
woman who experiences unexpected vaginal bleeding between menstrual periods or
after menopause should see her physician at once. The problem may be nothing
more than a harmless polyp, but it may also be early, still curable cancer.
