Ways to spot five diseases years before you can be diagnosed with them
Early diagnosis can be crucial to saving lives but some diseases can take years, if not decades before medics detect them. But there are pointers that can become apparent long before the conditions seriously take hold.
Illnesses like Lyme disease and endometriosis can often be in patients' bodies for years before they are detected. Sometimes this can be due to a lack of knowledge of the part of the patient but some conditions can have very few symptoms or show symptoms that look like another illness, causing delays in treatment.
Illnesses like Parkinson’s could be detected up to 10 years earlier than they are currently, according to a recent study from University College London. Researchers saw a pattern of people with a range of conditions accessing healthcare, going to visit their GP for example, much more often in the years prior to being diagnosed. This means the “diagnostic window” where medics could spot conditions would be wider than was previously thought.
Here are the diseases you should look out for and early warning signs to be aware of.
Parkinson’s
Early signs of Parkinson’s disease can include problems with balance and coordination as well as changes to your handwriting, constipation and a loss of your sense of smell. Parkinson’s is well known for causing tremors in people but many other symptoms can appear over a number of years. Depression and poor sleep can be non-movement related symptoms, typically popping up years before an official diagnosis.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
Dr Rowan Wathes, associate director at Parkinson’s UK, told the Sun: “Parkinson’s can take years to progress to a point where it has a real impact on daily life.” He added: “They could lose their sense of smell or have gait changes, where they lean forward slightly or shuffle when walking.” Early symptoms like constipation and handwriting that becomes smaller and harder to read can go unidentified as warning signs as these are common in the general population. Studies have shown that drinking green tea is related to a reduced risk of Parkinson’s as is aerobic exercise.
Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease (MND) affects the body’s central nervous system, disrupting messages from the brain to the muscles, causing them to move in unwanted ways. This can lead to spasms, cramps, difficulty speaking, swallowing and breathing as well as stiff joints and muscle weakness. The first signs of trouble for patients often comes in the form of weakness or stiffness in the limbs, which can cause stumbles while walking and affect the person’s ability to grip.
The early symptoms are mild and can be confused with any number of other conditions. For example, twitching muscles can be caused simply by tiredness or brought on by stress or a virus, rather than the more serious diagnosis of MND. However in future it may be possible to spot the disease early as researchers at the University of Aberdeen have identified biomarkers in the gut that can indicate the presence of the disease years before symptoms manifest - although regular tests using these markers is still some way off.
In the meantime there are some studies which recommend vitamin E can reduce MND risk, this can be found in sunflower oil and seeds, almonds, peanuts and red bell peppers.
Endometriosis
The early signs of this disease include IBS-like symptoms and very painful periods. The disease, which cases womb tissue to grow in other parts of the body, affects an estimated one in ten women and causes immensely painful periods. Other symptoms include pain when urinating or during sex, and diarrhoea or constipation – meaning many women are misdiagnosed with IBS. It currently takes around right years to get a diagnosis in the UK.
Unfortunately the cause of the condition is still unknown and the best way of proceeding with a diagnosis is to start keeping a diary of pain symptoms and showing your GP, a template can be found at Endometriosis-uk.org.
Lyme disease
Lyme Disease can be tough to spot but patient outcomes are usually better the sooner medics can discover the disease. Early signs include flu-like symptoms which can show from three to 30 days after being bitten by an infected tick. However symptoms can take months to emerge and when they do it can be confusing. The symptoms can easily be confused for other illnesses, especially if you don’t realise you’ve been bitten by a tick.
The first signs are often ever, headache, tiredness, body aches and a rash starting as a circle around the bite. A Quick diagnosis can mean patients make a full recovery after treatment with antibiotics, but others can be left with long term symptoms like exhaustion.
Around 70% of people develop a bullseye rash around the tick bite, which si a telltale sign. But prevention is better than cure - when out walking be sure to avoid long grass, tuck trousers into your socks and check yourself and your dogs for ticks when you get home.
Cancer
There can be almost no early signs of Cancer but knowledge of how your body “normally” feels can be helpful in detecting it. Symptoms don’t ususally appear until a tumour is large enough to push on nearby tissue or organs. Prostate cancer, for example can take decades before symptoms show.
Greggs, Costa & Pret coffees have 'huge differences in caffeine', says report
Luckily many cancers like, breast, bowel and cervical can be picked up by routine NHS screening before patients are showing any symptoms. At-home bowel cancer testing kits are sent every two years to Brits aged 60-74, and is currently being rolled out to those aged 50-59, in a win for The Sun’s No Time 2 Lose campaign. Women aged 25-49 can have a smear test every three years (every five for those aged 50-64), and these detect human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes the majority of cervical cancers. Breast screening is available every three years for 50-71 year olds.
As well as attending screenings when invited you can help catch it early by checking your body regularly for any lumps and bumps in the shower - looking at breasts and testicles especially, and keep an eye on moles for changes in shape, size and colour. As with anything in this list, if you find anything out of the ordinary or you are concerned you have persistent early symptoms of a disease flagged here your first move should be to contact your GP.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
