Signs and Symptoms
What can a rash indicate?
- Infections
- Diseases
- Area which is inflamed
- Localised
- All over the body
- Spots
- Different colour to the skin
Swelling
- Swelling (lumps/tumours) can occur anywhere in the body, but deep swellings may
not be very noticeable
- Swelling can be temporary, such as after a knock of an accident, or may be
permanent, such as a sebaceous cyst
- Unless the cause is accidental and known, all swellings should be investigated. The
location, size and nature of the swelling should be noted. Some tumours, such as
breast cancer, commonly present as lumps while a swelling in the neck could be
mumps of a sign of hypo or hypertension.
- It is useful to obtain full details, such as time of appearance, rate of growth, any
discharge and whether it is fluid, solid, soft or tense
Pain
- Pain is a common symptom and its nature, rather like rashes, can be a helpful with
diagnosis
- Pain can vary from discomfort and absolute agony
- It may be at the disorder’s location, or some distance from it (known as referred pain)
- Individuals describe pain in many ways such as stabbing, throbbing, stinging,
intermittent, constant, acute and chronic. This can vary from person to person and it
may be likening it to pain that the person may already have experienced. Such as a
toothache or childbirth, proves more reliable
Disorientation
- Disorientation can occur when an individual is confused about pale, time and/or
identify, this confusion can be a sign as well as a symptom
- Disorientation is often associated with odd behaviour and speech and the individual’s
usually unable to respond to simple questions
- Their behaviour may be similar to being intoxicated
- Mistakes have been made and individuals have been arrested fir being drunk and
disorderly when they were, in fact, disorientated. The symptom can last for minutes,
days or weeks, although, in mental illness, such as dementia, there can often be
clear (lucid) periods in the early stages
- Disorientation occur with head injuries and in the elderly, if there is an underlying
illness