Health & Medical Scares
147 guides
a carbon monoxide alarm goes off and you are now outside with headache or nausea a finger or toe suddenly becomes cold, pale or blue and painful a home pregnancy test is positive and you have concerning symptoms starting an infant under three months has a fever or feels unusually sleepy an unfamiliar animal bites you and the skin is broken one arm becomes swollen and heavy after a recent IV, line, or injection someone may have swallowed a button battery and they seem fine so far you accidentally take someone else’s prescription medication you are immunocompromised and develop a fever even if you otherwise feel okay you are on blood thinners and develop a new headache or unexplained bruising you are pregnant and notice bleeding or persistent one-sided pain you are pregnant and you notice a sudden severe headache or vision changes you cannot pass urine and feel increasing discomfort you check ketones and they are high while you feel nauseated or unwell you cough up blood or see blood-streaked mucus unexpectedly you develop a fever soon after starting an immune-suppressing medication and you are unsure how serious it is you develop a fever that rises quickly and you feel unusually weak you develop a new painful blistering rash in a band on one side of your body you develop a new rash that is spreading quickly you develop a new severe headache shortly after giving birth you develop a new severe headache with nausea after a recent infection you develop a rapidly enlarging swelling in your neck that makes swallowing uncomfortable you develop a rapidly spreading red area with severe pain that seems out of proportion you develop blistering or peeling skin after starting a new medication you develop facial swelling from a tooth problem that seems to be spreading you develop hives or facial swelling after eating or taking a medication you develop new calf pain and warmth and are worried about a clot you develop new chest pain that gets worse when you breathe in you develop new confusion or severe drowsiness after taking a new medicine you develop new severe muscle cramps and feel overheated in hot weather you develop new severe pain when swallowing and you cannot tolerate liquids you develop new severe thirst and frequent urination with unexpected weight loss you develop new weakness in both legs or worsening trouble walking over a few hours you develop new yellowing of the eyes or skin that comes on quickly you develop pelvic pain with fever and unusual discharge starting you develop rapid weight gain and new widespread swelling over a day or two with shortness of breath you develop severe cramps and weakness after vomiting or diarrhea and cannot rehydrate well you develop severe vomiting and diarrhea after eating foraged mushrooms or an unknown plant you develop shaking chills and feel suddenly much sicker than a typical viral illness you develop steadily worsening pain in the lower right side of your abdomen you develop sudden back pain with new leg numbness or weakness you develop sudden double vision or trouble focusing your eyes you develop sudden flank pain that comes in waves and makes it hard to get comfortable you develop sudden heavy vaginal bleeding outside your expected period and feel dizzy you develop sudden ringing in your ear with dizziness or nausea you develop sudden severe eye pain with redness or halos around lights you develop sudden severe heartburn or chest pain after swallowing a pill you develop sudden shortness of breath that is new for you you develop sudden spinning dizziness and you have to lie down you develop sudden swelling and pain in a joint and it feels hot to the touch you develop sudden testicular pain or swelling that is new you develop sudden wheezing or your asthma symptoms worsen unexpectedly you develop worsening cough or wheeze hours after breathing in smoke from a small fire you experience sudden numbness or tingling in your face, arm, or leg that comes and goes you faint briefly and wake up feeling confused about what happened you feel close to fainting when you stand up and your heart rate jumps you feel food stuck in your throat and you can breathe but swallowing is difficult you feel lightheaded and close to fainting but symptoms keep returning you feel throat tightness or hoarseness starting after an allergen exposure you find a bat in your room after you were asleep and you are unsure about contact you get a bite or sting and the swelling keeps increasing over hours you get a needle-stick injury from a discarded needle in a public place you get a new severe headache with a droopy eyelid or noticeably unequal pupils you get a new severe neck pain and stiffness without an obvious injury you get an unexpectedly high blood pressure reading and feel unwell you get an unexpectedly low blood pressure reading and feel weak or lightheaded you had recent abdominal surgery and new bloating with vomiting begins you have a fever and a rash that does not fade when you press on it you have a fever and neck stiffness or sensitivity to light begins you have a fever and your heart rate feels unusually fast for the temperature you have a fever that returns after you seemed to be improving you have a new episode of unusual sensations and confusion and you worry it could be a seizure warning you have a painful erection that has lasted several hours and will not go away you have a sudden severe headache that is unusual for you you have a urinary catheter and it suddenly stops draining with pressure building you have been in the cold and you cannot stop shivering or you start feeling confused you have diabetes and a new foot blister or wound is worsening or looks infected you have diarrhea with signs of dehydration starting you have new urinary pain and see blood in your urine you have postpartum bleeding that seems heavier than expected and you feel lightheaded you have severe constipation with increasing abdominal swelling and nausea you have sudden abdominal pain that is new and worsening you have sudden chest pain after a long trip or prolonged immobility you have sudden loss of vision in one eye or a curtain-like shadow you have sudden pelvic pain and abnormal vaginal bleeding you have sudden severe ear pain with fever and swelling behind the ear you have sudden severe pain in your upper abdomen with nausea that will not settle you have sudden watery diarrhea after starting antibiotics and feel increasingly unwell you have sudden worsening pain, redness, or discharge after a recent procedure or dental work you hit your eye and later develop worsening pain or blurred vision you hit your head and later develop worsening headache, nausea, or unusual sleepiness you miss a critical dose of a medicine you rely on and symptoms are starting you notice a new breast redness or swelling with fever that develops quickly you notice a new groin bulge with increasing pain and nausea you notice a new irregular heartbeat or skipped beats and feel unsettled you notice a new lump or swelling that appeared suddenly and is growing you notice a painful swelling near your eye or nose that seems to be spreading you notice a painful, rapidly worsening sore throat with trouble swallowing you notice a rash with fever and you are unsure if it could be serious you notice a tick bite and a rash begins expanding over days you notice black, tarry stools or blood in the toilet bowl you notice chest discomfort plus new jaw, shoulder, or arm pain without a clear cause you notice increasing redness, pain or swelling around an IV site after an infusion or injection you notice many tiny red or purple dots on your skin that appeared suddenly you notice new chest tightness or pressure that comes and goes you notice new numbness in the groin area or trouble controlling your bladder or bowels you notice new slurred speech or difficulty getting words out you notice new swelling in both legs along with worsening breathlessness at night you notice new vision changes like flashing lights, blind spots, or blurred vision you notice purple spots or bruising that appear suddenly without injury you notice signs of a severe infection around a cut like spreading redness or streaking you notice sudden back pain with fever and urinary symptoms starting you notice swelling in one leg that appears suddenly you notice swelling in your face or hands that develops over a day and your urine output drops you realise you may have exceeded the safe daily amount of paracetamol or acetaminophen from multiple products you realise you may have mixed up two similar-looking medicines you realise you may have taken two medicines that should not be combined you receive a lab result marked critical or urgently abnormal without explanation you receive a message that an imaging result is urgent and you are not sure what it means you return from travel and develop a sudden high fever you start a new medication and develop a widespread rash or mouth sores you start a new medicine and feel faint, unusually restless, or severely sweaty you start coughing or feeling short of breath after breathing in strong cleaning fumes indoors you start having repeated nosebleeds or bleeding gums without a clear cause you start vomiting blood or see coffee-ground material in vomit you start vomiting repeatedly and cannot keep fluids down you suddenly cannot keep your balance even though you are not intoxicated you suddenly feel unsteady on your feet or unusually clumsy without a clear reason you suddenly lose hearing in one ear or hearing drops sharply you suspect you may have a serious side effect from a vaccine or injection you suspect you swallowed a caustic household product and your throat or mouth is burning you think you swallowed a fish bone or sharp food and throat pain is worsening you think you took a double dose of a prescription medicine by mistake you wake up short of breath and can only breathe comfortably sitting up you wake with puffy eyelids and notice new frothy urine your blood sugar reading is low and keeps dropping despite eating your blood sugar reading is suddenly very high and you feel sick your child may have swallowed a medicine or unknown substance but seems fine so far your eye was exposed to a chemical and it still burns after thorough rinsing your glucose monitor or insulin device alarms and you are not sure what it means your heart suddenly starts racing or pounding while you are at rest your lips or fingertips look bluish and you feel unwell your pulse oximeter reading is unexpectedly low for you your rescue inhaler is not relieving symptoms the way it usually does your smartwatch flags an unusually low heart rate and you feel faint your stools turn very pale while your urine becomes very dark your temperature is unusually low during an illness and you feel confused or disoriented