How to make the correct diagnosis. How to diagnose yourself. Advice from American doctors. Is it possible to determine the diagnosis without errors by symptoms

If the doctor has not given correct diagnosis, then this does not always indicate his lack of professionalism, sometimes the diagnosis depends on the patient. How can you help your doctor make a diagnosis?

A typical visit to the doctor most often looks like this: the patient describes his symptoms, takes tests and undergoes examinations, then the doctor analyzes the information and makes a diagnosis. The clinical picture is not always clear, so the diagnosis is a theory based on symptoms. Often there are circumstances that prevent a correct diagnosis.

There are three types of misdiagnosis:

Misdiagnosis - the doctor compared the symptoms with the wrong disease and made a mistaken diagnosis;
Delayed diagnosis - the diagnosis was made, but the doctor did not prescribe treatment until the symptoms became more unambiguous;
Missed diagnosis - the disease fits the symptoms, but the doctor did not make a diagnosis.

Many medical errors occur through the fault of the patient, for example, people often suppress certain facts, considering them insignificant. In order for the doctor to make the right decision, you must help him. Treat this information with all your attention, as a wrong diagnosis makes you waste money and effort, and also undermines your trust in doctors.

Doctors make a wrong diagnosis in about 10% of cases, and it does not matter the status of the doctor and the level of the medical institution.

High achievements in the field medical technologies play an important but not decisive role. Conclusions of the most modern tomographs and results genetic tests will be interpreted by a person who may be mistaken. It's about about the simplest and most common diagnoses, rare diseases, on the contrary, are most often diagnosed accurately.

First of all, you need to understand that a doctor is a person just like you, he can also get tired, get distracted by serious problems at work or family, being hungry or not getting enough sleep. No one is immune from medical errors, you do not need to react to them too emotionally, your task is to follow a few rules and help the doctor make a diagnosis.

Find an experienced and caring doctor

Physicians must be meticulous with their patients and patient in gathering information. If you have the idea that your doctor neglects additional examinations, then you need to find another specialist you can trust.

Get ready for your visit

Before visiting a doctor, write down all your complaints on a piece of paper, as well as serious changes in your life lately, these can be strong psycho-emotional upheavals, traveling abroad, physical exercise and other. Consider every factor that could somehow affect your condition. During the initial visit to the doctor, you need to prepare for him all the results of the latest tests and examinations, the conclusions of other specialists, as well as a list of all the diseases that you had before.

Talk about all the symptoms

Just state to the doctor everything that you feel, without missing a single symptom, perhaps an insignificant trifle will help the doctor build a logical chain. When you describe pain, mention the nature of the pain when it first appeared. Speak clearly and voluminously so that the doctor does not have to extract information from you or think it out on his own.

Ask about all diagnostic options

Very often doctors choose the most severe symptoms and select a diagnosis for them, so do not hesitate to ask a question, what other disease can be with the same symptoms? A simple question will allow you to get more information about your health, and the doctor will be able to look at your clinical picture from a different perspective.

Check information about surveys

If the doctor has prescribed tests and examinations for you, then ask him about each of them, you need to understand why you should take this or that test, in parallel with this, the doctor will justify the diagnosis for you.

Don't think that the absence of bad tests is good news.

If all examinations and analyzes show normal values, then you should not be glad that you are not sick with anything. If you continue to feel unwell, tell your doctor about it, pay attention to every sign of the disease.

Respect the doctor's work

You should never get into a conflict with a doctor or react to him too emotionally, this will only prevent him from making a correct diagnosis. At the doctor's appointment, be calm and reasonable, do not spread negative emotions to a specialist, they will immediately reflect on you.

Understand your role in making a diagnosis

A correct diagnosis can be made only with the joint coordinated work of the doctor and the patient. If you feel like you're getting little attention, consider looking elsewhere.

Our body often gives us certain signals about a disease. Absolutely any disease has a number of some signs, which are called. In order to correctly diagnose, you need to identify them. This process is called diagnosis.

General concepts of diagnosis

What does the concept of “diagnosis” mean in medicine? This is nothing but the recognition of an ailment. Moreover, this is not only the disease itself, but also the results of the patient's study, which allow the specialist to move from thinking to treatment.

When staging, the specialist is guided by the complaints of the applicant (symptoms), examination of the patient and the results of the tests. This takes into account gender, age, place of residence and other non-medical factors.

It is customary to distinguish several types of diagnoses in medicine: clinical, pathological-anatomical, forensic, epidemiological.

How to diagnose by symptoms?

Previously, only people who had a special medical education could make diagnoses, but after the Internet entered our lives, many of us began to diagnose ourselves and prescribe medications for ourselves. This is not good, because without being a professional in this matter, you can easily make a mistake in making a diagnosis, and because of this, there can be serious consequences.

First of all, you need to carefully monitor. Its rapid decline can signal many ailments, for example, hyperthyroidism (excessive secretion of hormones thyroid gland). This disease women are often exposed young age. As for the elderly, sudden loss weight may indicate malignancy.

If you get sick, then watch how long the cough lasts. If this continues for more than 3 weeks, it may indicate a serious illness. For example, bronchial asthma, about tuberculosis, pneumonia or other oncological diseases.

How to make a tongue diagnosis?

AT normal condition our tongue should be pink, have a slight cover and be weak, which can be removed with a toothbrush. If it begins to thicken over time, acquire a yellowish or gray shade, this indicates a reduced immunity.

By the way, if you find a white-yellow coating in the morning and it can be easily removed with a brush, then this is not a reason to panic. And if this could not be done, then this may indicate a fungal infection, various diseases oral cavity or dysbacteriosis.

Pale plaque may indicate anemia, while another sign can also be distinguished: fatigue.
If you have appeared gray coating, then this may indicate that your body does not have enough iron.
When it is slightly enlarged and has a pale coating, and when low acidity, on the contrary, is slightly reduced and drier.
A yellowish color may indicate liver pathologies.

Doctors are meant to help people. Unfortunately, in difficult situations, they are not always able to save the patient, because the countdown is for seconds, and each decision may turn out to be fatal. Judging doctors because they are not able to heal everyone is wrong, because they are just people.

However, in some cases, the deplorable outcome could have been avoided if it were not for the negligence and inattention of the medical staff. Such behavior in without fail should be stopped, and the guilty should be punished. After all !

So, what to do if the doctor makes the wrong diagnosis?

Features of the crime

Cases in which medical errors are considered are considered one of the most difficult cases in legal practice. Patients are often dissatisfied with the work of doctors, but they do not always dare to start a trial, because evidence is needed to establish the wrongness of a medical employee.

So, it is necessary, first of all, to establish whether the diagnosis was made incorrectly through the fault of the doctor (due to his inattention or). For this purpose, a medical examination is carried out.

Specialists, using the results of the tests, recreate the situation in which the accused doctor found himself when making a diagnosis. If, on the basis of these data, the experts conclude that any doctor of appropriate qualification could make the correct diagnosis, there are grounds for calling the negligent doctor to account.

Thus, making an incorrect diagnosis is punishable when it was made through the fault of the doctor. It can be simple laziness, ignorance (there are often cases of professional illiteracy), inattention or bias towards the patient, in a word, an irresponsible attitude to one's duties.

For information about the danger of an incorrect diagnosis made by a doctor, see the following video:

Algorithm of patient actions in case of medical error

When a patient has reasons to suspect that he was diagnosed incorrectly (most often, this becomes clear from the deterioration of a person’s condition), this assumption should be confirmed or refuted.

Where to apply?

There are several instances to which you can apply in case of detection of an error by the attending physician.

It is most logical to start with the administration of the hospital itself, because if you immediately contact higher institutions, you will still be redirected there in order to clarify the circumstances on the spot.

The administration of the medical facility whose doctor made the wrong diagnosis

The first thing to do is to write a complaint to the head of the department in which you were treated incorrectly, or immediately to the name of the head physician if the situation is difficult.

Most of the time, problems are solved by this stage. The doctor's actions are considered by the management, and if they are found to be incorrect, your claims are satisfied.

If the hospital administration does not go to the meeting, responding with a refusal (in response to a complaint it must be made in writing), you should complain further.

Ministry of Health

The territorial office of the Ministry of Health can be found in each subject of the Russian Federation. At this body there is always a public reception, in which complaints from the population are accepted for consideration. After all, the purpose of this organization is to control the work of medical institutions.

There are several ways to file a complaint with the Ministry of Health:

Personally;
Send paper by mail;
Send a letter of complaint by e-mail;
Leave the text of the complaint on the official website.

As in the case of the hospital administration, they must answer you, and in the form that you indicated in the complaint. You have 30 days to consider your application.

Prosecutor's office

Since the duties of the prosecutor's office include monitoring compliance with the current legislation by citizens and organizations, filing a complaint against a doctor in this body is quite natural.

Court

To defend their rights, each person can file a lawsuit in court. However, it should be remembered that your claim must be substantiated and supported by evidence in the form sick leave, outpatient card, test results, and appointments.

It is with the help of the court that compensation for damage can be achieved when the management of the clinic refuses to solve the problem peacefully.

Material compensation in favor of the plaintiff will be requested from the organization in which the doctor who made the wrong diagnosis works. After that, the hospital can recover these funds from the negligent employee.

The claim is made in the usual way. All Required documents are attached to it.

Police Department

In some cases, the negligence of doctors leads to significant consequences, described as grievous harm, the infliction of which through negligence is punishable under Article 118 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
In addition, negligence (Article 293), non-compliance with accepted sanitary and epidemiological standards (Article 236) and concealment of certain circumstances that led to a deterioration in human health (Article 237) can become the reason for contacting the police.
Very rare cases of deliberate application severe harm(111 article).

The fact that you are being treated incorrectly should also be reported to the insurance service, which will provide an examination.

If the mistake was made by the doctor private clinic, all of the above measures also apply. In addition, you can contact the department of Rospotrebnadzor, which monitors the work of all enterprises and legal entities.

Rules for filing a complaint

There is no fixed sample of a complaint against a doctor (including a pediatrician) about an incorrect diagnosis, so we will name only a few recommendations for compiling it, which will allow you to concisely and accurately state all the facts:

Application header. It is written, as is customary, in the upper right corner of the sheet. It should contain the following information:
- The name of the body to which this complaint is sent;
- Full name and position of the person to whom the paper is addressed;
- Personal data, including full name, phone number and address;
In the center of the sheet under the heading, you must indicate the name of the document: "Complaint against the doctor" or "Claim";
Main part. Here you need to briefly and succinctly state the situation, if possible, refer to the law that, in your opinion, has been violated. Here it is necessary to point out the available evidence;
Registration of requirements (taking measures in connection with the negligent attitude towards the work of medical staff, calling to account, punishment, compensation for damage);
Date and signature of the applicant;
List of attached documents.

You can find the rules for filing a lawsuit in court in Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. In principle, it will contain the same information. In addition, it will be necessary to indicate the fact that pre-trial measures have been taken, that is, an attempt to resolve the issue with the hospital administration before filing a lawsuit.

Finally, read about what threatens a doctor for an incorrect diagnosis in accordance with the articles of legislation.

Responsibility of the doctor and medical institution for incorrect diagnosis and treatment

To criminal liability for an error in appointments that led to grave consequences for the health of the patient, and doctors are rarely condemned for criminal negligence, and, as a rule, such a case receives a wide response.

Checking for any symptoms essential part diagnostic process carried out by a doctor to diagnose a disease. The symptoms of the disease are external manifestations pathological processes in the body. It is the appearance of certain symptoms that causes the patient to consult a specialist, and therefore the timeliness of seeking medical help largely depends on their severity. However, when deviations occur, patients often do not rush to visit a doctor and try to solve the problem on their own, which is associated with low public awareness.

How did the diagnosis of diseases by symptoms develop?

Without diagnosing diseases by symptoms, establishing a diagnosis and proper treatment pathologies are almost impossible. To identify the disease, it is necessary to identify and understand the essence of the changes that occur in the body in the presence of the disease.

Diagnosis of diseases by symptoms and its improvement are closely related to the development of medicine. The beginning of diagnostics was laid in the period of prehistoric medicine. This is evidenced by the data of archeology and anthropology. To date, a large number of fossil finds are known, on which there are signs of the intervention of healers of those times, however, the level of medical care speaks of a lack of understanding pathological changes in the body.

Diagnosis of diseases by symptoms has undergone significant changes in the period ancient world when medicine made a significant leap forward. Doctors ancient egypt, India, China, Japan and Greece have learned to successfully treat many diseases. It was then that medicine was divided into such currents as therapy and surgery.

Most famous doctors The ancient world were Hippocrates, Galen, Areteus and Asclepiades. These doctors also made a huge contribution to the diagnosis of diseases. So, even Hippocrates recommended that when examining a patient, use all the senses and use the information received to establish a diagnosis and determine the prognosis of the disease.

In the Middle Ages, there was an appearance and intensive development pathological anatomy, physiology and other general biological and medical sciences, which are necessary for correct diagnosis disease by symptoms. The Middle Ages are characterized by the accumulation of new information and the improvement of existing knowledge about diseases. Since the 18th century, numerous attempts have been made to create a classification of diseases, which would greatly facilitate differential diagnosis.

The discovery of x-ray radiation and its promotion in medical practice. However, the biggest leap in development instrumental research occurred at the end of the 20th century, when ultrasound, CT and MRI were increasingly used in medicine. These research methods have significantly changed the approach to identifying signs of the disease. In addition, many of these methods have made possible a large number new minimally invasive procedures that have not only diagnostic but also therapeutic value.

To date, in order to determine the diagnosis by symptoms, it is necessary to distinguish between subjective and objective signs of pathology. The subjective signs of the disease include those of them, the presence of which is judged by the patient's feelings. The objective signs of the disease include any deviations from the norm, which the doctor can identify on his own, without even resorting to communication with the patient, based only on a physical examination.

Checking the symptoms of the disease in children until they learn to consciously express their thoughts causes certain difficulties. Many diseases affect general condition organism, which often leads to a change in the normal mental activity. In turn, at infants this may be followed by:

depression of consciousness increased drowsiness;
increased excitability;
sleep disturbance;
tearfulness.

Older children, as a rule, most often complain of discomfort to their parents. That's why great importance for the timely provision of medical care has the vigilance of adults.

Subjective signs of the disease in children most often include:

weakness;
drowsiness;
pain;
fatigue;
excitement;

Diagnosis of diseases in children after puberty is practically the same as in adults. However, often transitional age is a serious hindrance that prevents children from trusting their parents and telling them about their ailments.

Objective symptoms of the disease most often include:

fever
the appearance of rashes on the skin;
wheezing;
stool disorders;
increased sweating.

It must always be remembered that checking for the presence of symptoms of the disease and establishing a diagnosis are the prerogative of the doctor. Therefore, if the child's condition worsens and there is a suspicion of the presence in the body pathological process you should contact a specialist without delay.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for parents, after they, in their opinion, manage to identify the disease by the symptoms, try to treat the child on their own, and only after a significant deterioration in his health, they turn to medical institution. At the same time, it often takes too much time, which greatly increases the likelihood of complications.

In addition, self-administration of drugs often leads to a change clinical picture diseases, and therefore drugs should be taken only in critical cases and when contacting a specialist, do not forget to report this. Examples of cases in which self-administration of drugs is possible is an increase above 38.5 degrees.

Checking for symptoms in adults

Checking for symptoms of illness in adults is usually easier than in children. As a rule, with a significant disruption of life, people themselves turn to a specialist for help.

However, if the symptoms do not make a big difference in how they feel, people may long time do not visit a doctor. Often in such situations, people try to identify the disease themselves by the symptoms and recover quickly without outside help. Sometimes they even take medications on their own, which does not always improve the patient's condition. This is due to the lack of clinical thinking among the inhabitants, which provides an understanding of the essence of pathological changes in the body. This not only makes it useless self-treatment, but often makes it dangerous.

Pregnant women represent a special group of adults. Typically, pregnancy is special condition organism, which leads to a set of changes that can be interpreted as pathology. However, at the same time, many diseases proceed atypically. In this regard, when unpleasant symptoms pregnant women need to seek help from a specialist.

A great danger to the health of the mother and fetus is self-administration medicines. At the same time, even those drugs that were taken without fear before pregnancy can lead to adverse outcomes.

AT modern world domestic injuries, traffic accidents and extreme sports are also widespread. AT this case The diagnosis is based on a history of injury. To clarify the nature of the pathology are used additional methods investigations such as radiography and CT scan and etc.

Among older patients, the prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases wears broad character. In addition, in most cases, it is these diseases that cause lethal outcome. Exists great amount signs of a particular chronic pathology, however, often these diseases develop over many years, and a person may not pay attention to their manifestations for a long time.

To the most frequent pathologies that occur in the elderly include:

cardiovascular diseases (CHD and hypertension);
obesity;
diabetes;
diseases of the musculoskeletal system;
atherosclerosis;
cognitive impairment.

Checking the symptoms of the disease in the elderly can be accompanied by significant difficulties. So, older people in the background chronic pathologies may feel much worse various changes in the body. An example is the formation of ulcers against the background diabetic foot and dry gangrene severe stages atherosclerosis, accompanied by impaired sensitivity.

Due to the fact that older people often live alone and have little contact with others, the detection of diseases in them can occur with a significant delay. Often in older people, against the background of a decrease in communication with others, depression develops, which can cause death due to suicide.

As a rule, almost every person over the age of 65 has at least one chronic disease. Often, even several concomitant diseases are detected in the elderly, which are mutually aggravating.

In old age, it is possible to determine chronic illness usually with the following symptoms:

significant shortness of breath that occurs with minor exertion;
recurrent cough;
pain that is long lasting;
sputum containing blood impurities;
impurities of blood in the stool.

Every year everything bigger problem is the high prevalence of cancer. This is due to an increase medium duration life of the population and a decrease in mortality from other diseases. In most cases malignant neoplasms on the initial stage accompanied by symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, low fever and other signs of intoxication.

Many people wonder if it is possible to recognize the disease by its symptoms and establish a diagnosis online without resorting to the help of a specialist. As a rule, these people believe that every disease has common manifestations which are repeated in each person, only the severity of clinical manifestations varies.

This explains the high prevalence of sites on the Internet that allow you to find a disease by symptoms and establish a diagnosis online. People visit them hoping to save time and recover quickly by self-medicating.

However, this judgment is erroneous. So, even Hippocrates, who is considered one of the best doctors of antiquity, says that "the patient should be treated, not the disease." By this he meant that each person is a complex biological system. Therefore, the response to pathological processes may vary depending on individual characteristics organism. In this regard, in order to determine the disease by symptoms and establish an online diagnosis with a high degree of accuracy, a person needs to have basic general medical knowledge, which can only be obtained by studying at specialized higher educational institutions.

If the diagnosis of diseases online is carried out by a person who does not have special knowledge, there is high probability errors. This is due to the fact that when checking symptoms online, certain deviations from the norm that do not have an obvious connection with the symptoms that initially disturb a person may not be taken into account.

This is the danger of self-diagnosis. As a rule, if a doctor tries to make a diagnosis based on symptoms, then a conversation with the patient has a huge influence on the correctness of the diagnosis. According to some estimates, it is possible to establish the disease by subjective symptoms during a conversation, without conducting a physical examination, with a probability of 50%, which is a fairly high indicator.

Diagnosis of diseases online is widespread and in demand due to:

the availability of resources to be tested for the disease;
insufficient awareness of people about the possible outcomes of diseases;
lack of desire among patients to visit a specialist at the expense of personal time;
availability of a large number of drugs on the free market.

Self-diagnosis of diseases online can greatly damage the health of the patient, which is usually associated with an incorrect human reaction to the result. At the same time, such reactions are possible on the part of the sick person as neglect of the existing disease, as well as excessive concern.

The main thing that a patient who undergoes an online diagnosis of diseases and health should know is that when receiving its results, one should contact a specialist. Also, we should not forget that if a physical examination is not carried out, then the probability of making a correct diagnosis is significantly reduced.

How true is the online diagnosis of health indicators

Under online diagnostics the state of health and the presence of diseases is understood as a set of questionnaires and tests that allow assessing the state of the human body. Usually these materials are freely available on various sites containing specialized content.

In the questionnaires and tests, first of all, complaints are taken into account, which the patient must choose depending on his condition. Thus, we can say that online diagnostics is carried out according to symptoms.

However, it should be clear to all users that online diagnostics will not replace a doctor. This is primarily due to the fact that many diseases have a long preclinical period, during which the presence of a pathology is suspected without a directed physical or instrumental examination impossible. At the same time, disease tests include only those complaints that affect the patient's life, reducing its quality, which makes it impossible to carry out a full diagnosis.

The functioning of the body is ensured by the joint work various systems organs. In this regard, with the development of the pathological process, online diagnosis of the disease by symptoms should be based on the grouping of complaints by organ systems. This in most cases allows you to identify the localization of the lesion.

For example, an online symptom check includes an assessment of:

musculoskeletal system;
nervous system and sensory systems;
respiratory organs;
of cardio-vascular system;
digestive system;
liver and biliary tract;
urinary system;
reproductive system;
blood systems;
endocrine system.

When assessing the symptoms of pathology on the part of the musculoskeletal system online, considerable attention is paid to:

joint, muscle and limb pain associated with motor activity;
signs of inflammation in the limbs and joints;
pain in the spine.

Checking symptoms online for pathology of the nervous system and sensory organs includes an assessment of:

sentiments;
sociability and other behavioral features;
vision conditions;
the presence of headaches, nausea, vomiting, fainting.

Online diagnosis of pathology by symptoms from the respiratory organs includes an assessment of:

nasal breathing disorders;
availability discomfort in the throat, shortness of breath, choking, pain in chest, cough, hemoptysis.

Checking the symptoms of the disease online from the cardiovascular system includes an assessment of the presence of:

pain in the heart and their relationship with the physical and emotional stress;
shortness of breath;
suffocation;
heartbeat;
level changes blood pressure;
interruptions in the work of the heart;
edema.

To check online symptoms diseases associated with disruption of the digestive system, the presence of:

dysphagia;
pain;
vomiting;
regurgitation;
heartburn;
diarrhea or constipation;
bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract.

You can check online the symptoms of a violation of the liver and biliary tract by the presence of:

jaundice;
skin itching;
pain in the right hypochondrium;
liver smell;
hepatic dyspepsia.

In order to check online symptoms of a lesion of the urinary system, an assessment is made of the presence of:

lower back pain;
edema;
urinary disorders.

If a pathology of the hematopoietic system is suspected, the presence of:

increased fatigue;
general weakness;
headache;
stabbing pains and discomfort in the region of the heart;
abdominal pain;
fever.

Pathology from the endocrine system can be accompanied by a wide variety of clinical manifestations. First of all, this is due to its participation in the regulation of the functioning of most other body systems. The most common pathologies associated with changes in the functioning of the endocrine system include diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism syndromes, and dysfunction of the reproductive system.

A test for the presence of a disease, which is used to determine possible diagnosis by symptoms, is most often compiled on the basis of certain algorithms by people with a medical education. general principles, which are used to form the questionnaire, is to identify the main complaints. After that, the characteristics of the symptoms are specified, as well as the conditions for their occurrence, which suggests the presence of a certain nosology.

How to identify the disease by symptoms

Interest in the state of one's health and any attempt to find out the cause of the disease on the part of the patient should be welcomed by the doctor, as they speak of high level responsibility for your health. However, interest in the state of one's health should have certain limits. So, recently there are more and more people suffering from nosophobia, - obsessive states in which a person is afraid of getting sick.

To date, obtain information about possible diseases according to the existing symptoms, you can use tests on specialized sites. However, if complaints appear, the patient should give preference to consulting a specialist, since self-diagnosis can significantly delay seeking help and be harmful to health.

Is it possible to determine the diagnosis without errors by symptoms

The definition of a disease usually begins with the symptoms. Many people believe that they can determine the diagnosis from the symptoms without resorting to the help of a specialist. It should be borne in mind that, according to numerous studies conducted by foreign scientists, the probability of setting misdiagnosis at certain diseases varies from 5 to 60%. At the same time, it should be noted that only doctors with serious experience took part in the study, who had at their disposal all currently available modern methods research. If the diagnosis of diseases online is carried out by a person without medical education, the error is almost inevitable.

Most of the tests and questionnaires used for online diagnostics there is a symptom calculator, the main objective which - on the basis of the available set of information to provide information about a possible disease. However, most physicians do not use this calculator when they are called by a patient.

This is due to the presence of a doctor of clinical thinking, the formation of which takes several years, and sometimes decades. In order to learn how to correctly diagnose and treat diseases, a certain experience is required to help a specialist conduct differential diagnosis with pathologies that have similar manifestations. The symptom calculator does not allow assessing all the features of the pathology, which significantly narrows the diagnostic search.

Thus, the human body can respond to pathological processes with nonspecific reactions. An example is fever, which occurs as a manifestation of a wide range of pathologies, both infectious and non-infectious (trauma, oncology, diseases of the nervous system) in nature. In such situations, the symptom calculator in most cases will not give an exhaustive answer and, moreover, may mislead a person who does not have medical training.
The symptom calculator cannot replace a doctor in making a diagnosis. Patients often do not attach importance to their symptoms of pathology, referring to other reasons for their appearance.

What is the risk of delaying seeking help?

If the diagnosis is made with a significant delay, then there is a high likelihood of complications. In some cases, untimely provision of medical care can lead to the progression of the pathological process, chronicity and disability. This is due to the importance of a timely visit to a specialist at the first suspicion of the presence of the disease.

Often, self-medication, delay in the provision of medical care, as well as a change in the clinical picture under the influence of self-administered patients interfere with the diagnosis. medicines. Thus, taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can lead to a decrease in temperature during fever to normal values, which will undoubtedly affect the thinking of the doctor.

Often people turn to a specialist for help after their treatment is ineffective. At the same time, patients may unnecessarily focus on individual complaints, keeping silent about other manifestations of the pathology, which prevents the doctor from making a correct diagnosis. In such situations, finding out the history of the development of the disease, starting from the very first days, is of great importance.

In ancient times, when there were no methods and hardware diagnostics, doctors, in order to determine the patient's condition, relied only on external signs of trouble. After carefully looking at the person for some time, the doctor confidently diagnosed him.

Today, the conclusion about the disease, as a rule, is made only after the patient has undergone necessary analyzes. But at the same time experienced doctors, just like their ancient predecessors, widely use diagnostics based on external signs. Actually, why shouldn't the patients themselves adopt some of the observations of doctors? After all, this will help a person to quickly navigate his condition and not puzzle over which specialist he should sign up for, but an appointment, and in the office, immediately clearly identify his symptoms. This will greatly help the doctor in your treatment.

Here is a list of some signs of disease, proposed by American doctors.

Legs. Feet hurt a lot of people, and in old age they bother almost everyone. After all, they carry a huge load every day. Noting in which places this load manifests itself most of all, you can understand what changes are taking place in your body.

So, if a hard corn "horseshoe" stretches along the edges of the heels, especially with cracks, this indicates possible problems with joints or the musculoskeletal system in general. For example, if the skin hardens along the outer edges of both heels, then you need to pay attention to the condition of the spine, if inside, closer to the instep of the foot, it is worth checking the intestines. Rough skin on inner edges thumbs legs should prompt you to visit an endocrinologist and ask him to examine your thyroid gland.

Looking at swollen calves and ankles, usually talk about an excess of water in the body and, accordingly, about shortcomings in the functioning of the kidneys and heart. But the reason for this can be the most banal - swelling often occurs if a person sits at a desk for a long time or, conversely, stands for many hours on his feet (as, for example, hairdressers). In such cases, it is easy to get rid of edema, and at the same time an extra static load on musculoskeletal system, changing the position of the body every half hour and doing a little warm-up. It is also useful to redistribute the load of the foot: for example, walk on tiptoe, on the outer and inner edges of the foot, massage the sole. The fact is that there are dozens of biological points connected with all internal organs kneading which will activate these organs. If the state of the cardiovascular system allows you, give your legs a feasible load: walk more, climb top floor not on the elevator, but on their own.

Leather. This one big organ human body can tell a lot about him. In particular, dry and flaky skin indicates a lack of vitamins, A or B, white spots on the skin may indicate a lack of a number of other vitamins, including C. They are also a sign of thyroid disease or developing diabetes.

It happens that "bruises" remain on the body from the slightest pressure. In this case, it is necessary to consult a specialist in blood diseases, because the appearance of hematomas is a symptom of anemia and a number of other diseases of the circulatory system.

Nose. When red streaks appear on the tip of the nose, it is usually thought that the person is prone to alcohol. But to the same extent it indicates problems with the heart muscle. If the entire tip of the nose turns red, one can think of a decrease in the function of the stomach and duodenum. The white tip of the nose indicates problems with blood circulation.

Nails reddish brown color indicates kidney disease. thick neck often accompanied by the appearance of goiter - a disease of the thyroid gland associated with a deficiency in the body of iodine.

Much capable tell your eyes, which is not accidentally called the mirror of the soul and body. Diagnosis of the iris of the eye has long been included in the arsenal of doctors. But you can not even know about the nuances reflected through the iridology device, but judge the state of health by appearance eye. If they are clean, clear, with a clear pattern of the iris, then everything is fine in the body. Redness, "blurring" of the iris may indicate problems with the liver. But the swelling of the lower and upper eyelids can indicate both a violation of the heart, kidneys, and problems with gynecology.

If you have bad hearing, this may indicate many problems, not counting directly "ear". Hearing loss often occurs with hypertension, osteochondrosis cervical, diseases of the kidneys, brain and a number of other ailments.