For doctors, the secret language of our body is no secret. And they don't always have to order tests to make a diagnosis. Sometimes it is enough for them to examine us carefully. Here are some of the signals the body sends when something is wrong with it. Find out what symptoms such as fever, pain and skin lesions may mean.
The most disturbingpain , but it's also the hardest for us. It can be dull or sharp, weak or unbearable. Acute pain, caused e.g. by a cut, reaches the paravertebral ganglia with rapidly conducting nerve fibers.
Dull and prolonged pain, such as inflammation, is conducted with slow-conducting fibers. In this case, the body uses biochemical substances, the so-called neurotransmitters.
Substances P (including prostaglandins and bradykinins) play an important role here, as they are produced at the site of injury and travel through the spinal cord to the brain. This road is longer. This is because in order to achieve the goal, substance P must pass through the so-called gates located on different levels of the central nervous system.
If there is no injury or disease, the gates are closed and nothing hurts us. But as the concentration of substance P increases, more gates open and it reaches the brain. Here it connects with other neurons and creates an impression of pain. As we heal, the gates gradually close, less and less substance P flows through them. When we recover - the gates are closed, substance P does not reach the brain and the pain subsides.
Symptoms: pain - emergency line
To transmit pain signals, the body uses neurotransmitters - biochemical substances produced at the site of the injury and enabling the pain impulse to travel. The pain stimulus is picked up by receptors in the skin and sent via sensory nerves to the spinal cord and then to the brain - first it reaches the thalamus and then the cerebral cortex, where a pain sensation is born. Here, too, the analysis of the pain stimulus takes place - its type, intensity and location are determined. Only now can we say - my elbow hurts, my left side hurts.
Symptoms: what does pain show?
Pain is felt when its intensity exceeds a certain threshold - different for different people. Low intensity stimuli are suppressed by special chemicals. They stop at the level of the spinal cord andthey don't reach the brain, so we don't register them.
The level of pain sensitivity varies. It depends on your age, general he alth, and the area it covers. The head area is most sensitive to pain, and some places on the legs are the least sensitive. Women take pain better than men. Physically working and athletic people also cope with it better.
Acute pain is useful because it forces us to seek professional help to find out its cause. Chronic, that is, lasting more than 6 months, can accompany many diseases. It does not have to be continuous, but it always occurs regularly and we may suffer for hours or days (this is the case with migraine, rheumatoid arthritis or cancer). Such pain must be treated asdiseaseand treated appropriately.
Where do these swellings come from
This is the excessive build-up of serous fluid in the tissues. The swelling occurs when plasma seeps through the walls of blood vessels. Then the pressure in the veins increases. There are many reasons, such as damage to the venous valve, formation of varicose veins (the walls of the veins become less tight), but also pressure on the legs by tight socks. Most often, we ignore such symptoms, blaming everything on exhaustion or the weather. Meanwhile, edema may be the first sign that something in our body is beginning to fail. They most often accompany heart and kidney diseases, malabsorption of proteins from the gastrointestinal tract and food allergies. They can also be a reaction to taking certain medications.
Symptoms: fever
It is also an unmistakable signal of rebellion on board. Butfever , i.e. an armpit or groin temperature that is elevated to 37.5 ° C, is not a disease in itself. It is an expression of efficiently operating natural defense mechanisms against factors causing inflammation. This increase in body temperature, and therefore also of individual organs, is to destroy pathogenic microorganisms that want to settle in our body.
The increase in body temperature occurs in 20%. cases of simple viral infections and almost all bacterial infections. Usually it is accompanied by weakness, lack of appetite, profuse sweating, faster breathing, but also faster heart rate, and sometimes even disturbed consciousness. Seizures may also occur in young children.
It can be said that on the one hand, fever acts as a switch and accelerator for the cells of immune reactions, and on the other hand, it blocks those reactions of the body that are least needed at the moment.
Therefore, during a fever, we do not feel like eating, we are physically inactive andall we expect is peace of mind. This is called a neuroimunomodulatory response necessary to "regroup" the natural defenses where they are most needed.
However, the body can also produce chemicals that act as fever extinguishers. Some hormones and lipids may play these roles. However, it must not be forgotten that the height of the fever indicates the seriousness of the situation and the condition of the patient, and sometimes also the life-threatening condition.
Symptoms: what do skin changes mean
It is also a symptom of a malfunction of the body, as well as nagging itching.
Roughness, excessive pallor, eczema, the appearance of purulent pimples or spots not only informs us about skin diseases, but can also signal the failure of internal organs . This is the case, for example, with diseases of the thyroid gland, liver or cardiovascular system. Most often, however, itching of the skin appears as a result of bacterial, viral or fungal infections of the skin and allergies to food or insect bites. Itchy parts of the skin are usually red and hot, with whitish or red blisters appearing on the surface. It is more irritating at night when the skin heats up.