People Reveal Health Symptoms They Shouldn’t Have Ignored

30. Nerve Damage The boy had spent a week in the hospital before his mother, and the user’s wife had demanded that the hospital staff think… Trista - December 28, 2019

The MRI found a startling discovery. Shutterstock.

30. Nerve Damage

The boy had spent a week in the hospital before his mother, and the user’s wife had demanded that the hospital staff think outside the box. When the neurology department had come in to run an MRI, they found a fatty filum at the base of the spine. The boy went into surgery immediately.

Because the discovery was not made right away, the boy has no bowel or bladder function because a tethered cord had caused the nerve damage. He has to use a straight catheter six times a day and use stimulant laxatives and enemas.

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Chronic back pain could be a sign of scoliosis. Shutterstock.

31. Back Pain In Children

While back pain is becoming more and more common as we age, it is an uncommon symptom in a child except in cases of severe injury. One Reddit user said she first remembered experiencing severe back pain when she was nine years old. She said she would come home crying after softball practice.

But her parents thought she was trying to get out of going to practice. When she saw a doctor for her back problems, it was discovered that she had scoliosis and that it was too late to be fitted for a brace. She said at 21 years old that she had just undergone her fourth back surgery to have an entire disk replaced.

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Fatigue is a signal of a severe thyroid issue. Shutterstock.

32. A Little Fatigue

Energy levels also seem to diminish as we get older, but sometimes gradual fatigue can be a signal for something more serious. A Reddit user said her mother had declining energy levels for several years. She would become more tired and irritable.

She finally agreed to bring it up to a doctor who dismissed it as a sign of menopause or aging. But she would still become more tired as time went on. It was later discovered that her thyroid was shutting down over the two years that this had been happening. By the time she saw an endocrinologist, she had no thyroid function left.

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Exams are crucial for preventative care. Shutterstock.

33. Importance Of Eye Exams

Your vision is an essential part of your overall health, and experts say that everyone should go in for regular eye exams regardless if they think they have perfect 20/20 vision. An annual checkup can be crucial in discovering severe medical issues like glaucoma, cataracts, or diabetic retinopathy.

A Reddit user said he had no problem with his vision when his wife made him an appointment to see an optometrist. While he was diagnosed with a 20/20 vision and excellent peripheral vision, the doctor discovered that he had a rare disease called pigment dispersion syndrome.

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This ailment affects the eyesight. Shutterstock.

34. Can You See Me Now?

Pigment dispersion syndrome is often found in people between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. Doctors see this condition when there are Krukenberg spindles on the cornea. The pigment from the iris sloughs off and is floating freely in the aqueous humor. If not caught, it could become lodged in the drainage system of the eye.

This condition causes increased interocular pressure and could lead to permanent blindness. The user said this discovery is a perfect example of why everyone should see their eye doctors for an annual examination.

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A seemingly harmless spasm turned into a real medical emergency. Shutterstock.

35. From Spasm To Seizure

One Reddit user recalled her childhood best friend had developed a spasm in her hand that she assured was just a tic. Several people have one, like possibly bouncing a knee up and down whenever they feel nervous or excited.

When she asked her friend about it, the friends said she had no other symptoms until her health rapidly declined one day. The girl had a seizure in the middle of class, and just as quick as she was gone, she awoke and was fine again. The teacher had told her to go to the nurse.

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36. Something Serious

The girl went home that day with her parents. The Reddit user said she tries not to be angry at her parents, who did not take her to the emergency room that day. They reportedly gave her ibuprofen for her headache and sent her to bed.

She died that night of an undiagnosed brain tumor. Because some brain tumors are misdiagnosed as mental issues, the user stressed that any rapid decline in health should be seen by a medical professional.

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Leg pain developed into something more. Shutterstock.

37. Growing Problem

One Reddit user said she had several problems walking when she was a child, and she had developed a big roll in her gait. Parents thought it was a foot problem and made an appointment with a podiatrist. But the doctor did not fix the pronated leg. It was thought to be just a growing problem.

She lived with pain in legs and feet for more than 18 years until it was discovered that her hips did not line up. She was diagnosed with dysplasia during her birth that was not connected. The severe health issue ruined her right knee and foot as the result of one leg being shorter than the other.

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Repeated problems turned out to be a severe medical issue. Shutterstock.

38. Pay Attention to Your Kids

One Reddit user says he lost a testicle when he was 12 years old after he woke up in the middle of the night in extreme pain. He described it as being kicked in the balls repeatedly, and the testicles were very swollen. His parents decided to wait it out for more than two days before he was taken to the hospital.

When he finally got to the emergency room, the preteen was taken into surgery right away. The user explained that doctors told him that if he had come in right away, he would not have lost the one testicle. If he had waited one more day, he would have lost both. He added that he now knows that pain is a prominent symptom not to ignore.

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