From time to time, we can all feel a little off. Maybe we didn’t sleep well and have no energy, or grabbed some questionable takeout and now our stomach’s acting up.
Often, it’s nothing — just a small thing that passes. But sometimes, our body is trying to tell us something wrong.
So, Reddit user BigTuna0890 asked everyone to list the symptoms that might seem harmless but actually require immediate medical attention. Here are some of the most surprising (and potentially life-saving) responses.
#1
My earache ended up being a heart attack! Women have different symptoms, so pay attention!
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#2
Cold/flu like symptoms the day after a drowning scare. Especially in kids. It’s the main symptom of leftover water in the lungs causing “Secondary drowning”. Easily fatal if untreated.
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#3
Sudden change in vision.
In my case it turned out to be a brain tumor. I waited too long and now my vision loss is permanent. But I went early enough to still be alive.
Image credits: MeinAltIstGut
#4
Cat bites.
They can become infected super easily and be bad.
Not an “OMG you gonna die” but definitely take a trip soon to get any cat bites checked. Even if not deep.
Image credits: Rest_In_Many_Pieces
#5
I thought i had a mild UTI or a small kidney stone. Family and personal history of stones and I was in the middle of redoing my entire diet to prevent them better. Well turns out that wasnt the issue. I had an ovary do a little flip in there and get stuck. Now the cool part, there was a cyst encasing the ovary, gave it just enough blood flow to keep it from rotting while still inside me. It had been flipped for awhile, that cyst saved me from severe infection or worse. Not bragging but im told pathology was super stoked to see that. No clue why im proud of that.
Image credits: TinyTinasRabidOtter
#6
I got a small cut, little more than a scratch, on my arm cleaning under a conveyor at work. The sort of thing one barely notices. It was black with coal dust, so I rinsed it off. I didn’t give it a good soap and water scrub until I got home several hours later.
A few days later I had a dark red bump with what looked like a pimple on it where the scratch had been. I figured it could be an infection, but there was no pain or discomfort so I figured it would heal. After a few days of it remaining the same, it suddenly grew larger and nastier looking. Still no pain or discomfort.
I figured I needed antibiotics, so I made an appointment with my doctor. It was going to be a few days. When talking to my mom, who is a nurse, on the phone she said it’s serious and if I can’t see the doctor that same day then I need to go to urgent care.
I went to urgent care and the nurse practitioner didn’t seem too worried. Then I rolled my sleeve all the way up and they saw red streaks going from the infected area up towards my arm pit. I was very surprised what happened next since I imagine people in urgent care see all sorts of bad stuff. They freaked out saying I needed to go to the emergency room immediately. They asked if I felt ok and could drive myself. When I said yes, they said they’d call the hospital and give them my info and let them know I’m coming. They said I may have to stay for a couple days on IV antibiotics because I had sepsis, an infection spreading through my blood stream.
I had to get lots of medicine, but only stayed in the hospital for one day. Apparently it was so serious because once the infection passes a certain threshold, people go from feeling fine like I did to deathly ill in minutes. Make sure to clean any cuts well right away.
Image credits: Puzzled-Dust-7818
#7
I was at the gym doing kangaroo hops and I fell face first. My legs never moved with the rest of my body. My husband, the trainers, and owner of the gym all tried to tell me to relax and try again. I just looked at them saying “my legs aren’t working.”
We all brushed it off as “weird”. It only lasted 30 seconds in random moments throughout the session so maybe a total of 10 minutes off and on. 5 weeks go by, each work out session, my legs “stop working” for various activities.
If I went to the hospital and got clear answers, I could have prevented a very serious onset of Functional Neurological Disorder that left me 9 months suffering from seizures everyday. Some days 30+ a day. They are non epileptic but you aren’t in control of your body. I was trapped in side frozen in place, only able to blink for some days.
I always wondered if I made the changes I needed to live with the disorder in those 5 weeks, would it have gotten so bad? I had to relearn how to walk, talk, and function without seizures taking over my body.
It was rough. .
Image credits: Beautiful_Resolve_63
#8
Headache and a neck so stiff that you’re unable to look straight up.
Sign of meningitis (inflammation and swelling of the brain) that has gone so far that your brain is pressing down on the brainstem. Could be lethal within hours.
Image credits: fiendishrabbit
#9
If you feel like your chest is tight and you vomit, go straight to the ER. These are common heart attack symptoms in women and often go unnoticed.
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#10
Sweet smelling breath! Could be diabetic ketoacidosis.
Image credits: butterf1y
#11
A migraine that’s much more painful than usual. Apparently a stroke is not always accompanied by the other well known symptoms. I’m on blood thinners now.
Image credits: Either_Cow_4727
#12
Pain in one breast after lying on it and/or feeling a lump in the breast AS A MAN.
Breast cancer can and does happen for men. What’s worse, doctors can be dismissive about it. Do not give up until it’s checked through ultrasonography, even if you have to get a second or third opinion.
Edit: Just realised that’s not an ER kind of emergency, but leaving it up for awareness. The reason I posted it is, because it “seems to be harmless” if it happens to a man instead of a woman, but it’s not. .
Image credits: Sipyloidea
#13
Being tired all the time (suddenly). Last year around the fall we noticed my dad getting tired really easily, needing to sit down when going for a walk, sleeping in way later than usual etc. He had gained some weight so we told him he should lose it cause it’s obviously affecting him. Even our doctor told him he should really watch his health and eating habits if it’s causing him discomfort. It got to a point where we got bloodtests done to see if he’s pre-diabetic or something. Then they noticed he’s got really bad anemia, and very very high iron levels, which is unusual. They sent him to the ER for an emergency blood transfusion, where he met with a hematologist who immediately told him it looks like his bone marrow basically stopped working.
After a week in the ER they diagnosed him with MDS (a form of bloodcancer) and his only way of survival was a stem cell transplant. He got very lucky that they found a 100% matching donor fairly quickly and he’s seemingly recovering now.
Always go to the doctor:|.
Image credits: BelierDigitalis
#14
My stomach was bloated for five days. I saw my general practitioner. He did an ultrasound right then and saw fluid in my stomach, which usually indicates cirrhosis of the liver or advanced stage cancer. He told me to go to the ER, where I was diagnosed that night with advanced stage ovarian cancer.
Image credits: Garfy53
#15
I had an infection in my toe(ingrown nail) when I was 16 or so and they gave me antibiotics. The next day in school I developed a fever of 104F, my leg went numb, and the skin on my leg was discolored and hot.
The antibiotics they gave me weren’t working for some reason, the infection went up my leg, and I developed cellulitis. They gave me different antibiotics and those worked. But at the urgent care they told me if we had waited any longer to go in I could have needed IV antibiotics.
If you have an infection and start developing new or worsening symptoms, despite being on antibiotics, talk to your doctor or go to urgent care asap.
Image credits: Banana-Potato-
#16
We were on vacation. My youngest was 3. I started to notice he wasn’t turning his head normally, like his neck was stiff. No other symptoms, no fever. Might not have thought much of it except for the fact our local news had just done a story on meningitis so I immediately called the pediatrician for advice and they said take him to ER now. ER didn’t have a peds unit and couldn’t rule out or confirm meningitis so they rushed us to a children’s hospital in the nearby city where they discovered he had a retropharyngeal abscess (abscess in the back of his neck). If left untreated it would’ve grown and suffocated him. Needed immediate surgery and was back to being his sweet little self after a couple days in the hospital.
Image credits: Silent_Turnover_2042
#17
Superficial burns to the face typically from bbq or stove lighting accidents. It may seem like just some singed eyebrows, but if you were inhaling at all when the accident happened you could have burned the inside of your throat. Most people present with normal breathing, but as the injured tissues swell, it can close the airway. Most of these people feel fine directly following the accident and end up intubated if they make it to the hospital.
Image credits: r4dio_c4mbodia
#18
If you have sciatica the pain is down one leg. If the pain switches to the other side or goes down both sides you need to get to ER. It’s a sign of cauda equina and signals irreversible spinal cord damage. Can cause paralysis.
Image credits: ControlParking8925
#19
This might not be “immediate trip to the ER,” but it certainly is “immediately make a doctor’s appointment ASAP.”
If you notice a red spot on one breast that isn’t going away, if you have new orange-peel-like dimpling on one breast, or one breast appears swollen, any of those can be a sign of inflammatory breast cancer. That’s a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer that’s usually only found in more advanced stages. You usually don’t have a lump.
Image credits: Friendly_Coconut
#20
If you’ve recently taken an impact to the abdomen, pain in the left shoulder can signify a ruptured spleen (though you’ll most likely experience other symptoms). .
Image credits: SkierGirl78
#21
Sudden hearing loss in one ear. If it doesn’t recover within a few hours, get yourself to ER immediately. You have about 24-26 hours during which treatment can bring your hearing back. After that its permanent.
Image credits: Away-Meal-9313
#22
Irregular heartbeat.
Not to be ignored.
I had an irregular heartbeat for a day or two. Went to the doc. She immediately called an ambulance. I was in the hospital in the heart ward for 3 days with atrial fibulation. Had to knock me out and zap me twice to get my heart back into a proper rhythm.
Image credits: dntdrmit
#23
A constant “runny nose”. Especially if its clear, watery, and coming from only one nostril. Especially Especially if it gets worse when you strain or stand, improves when you lie down, is kinda salty/metalic tasting, or is accompanied by new headaches, neck pain, or light sensitivity.
Thats your cerebral spinal fluid. That shouldn’t be on the outside of your body.
Edit: Before you go to the ER for a runny nose like the comment below suggests you will, wipe your nose with a tissue. If the tissue stiffens when it dries? Thats snot. You’re fine. .
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#24
Not sure it meets your criteria but my Uncle had heartburn, he went to nap. He did not wake up. It was a heart attack. Apparently it can feel this way. That is scary.
Image credits: TheRemedy187
#25
If you’ve been strangled ALWAYS go to the ER after.
Image credits: Beefcake-Pantyhose
#26
Someone with experience with a herniated disc here: a tingling sensation in the leg sounds very harmless, but it is not.
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