Emergency room doctors see the worst-case scenarios, the weird fluke accidents, the mysterious ailments and miraculous recoveries. They’re also no strangers to the symptoms that patients didn’t take seriously until it was almost too late.
Here, ER docs share 10 red flags that patients often ignore—but which should be addressed urgently:
Sudden confusion or personality change
Sudden confusion or a personality change could indicate a stroke, an infection like sepsis, or low blood sugar, she adds, which is why it’s essential to seek immediate care at the ER.
Unusual upper back pain
Always pay attention to severe pain in your upper back or between your shoulder blades, especially if it comes on suddenly or is accompanied by other symptoms like nausea or dizziness. “Call 911. It could be a sign of a heart attack.” For some people—including women—heart attack pain shows up in surprising places, like the back, neck, or jaw.
Sudden, unexplained severe itching
If you can’t stop scratching—especially if you itch all over instead of in just one spot—you could be experiencing the beginning of an anaphylactic reaction. Even more alarming: if your symptoms are accompanied by nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Vomit that’s a certain color
Bile, which is usually green, “can indicate a really dangerous obstruction in their intestines…” If your throw-up looks like coffee grounds—it’s dark brown or even black—it might include blood that’s been partially digested by stomach acids. Red vomit triggers even louder alarm bells, indicating “there’s quite a lot of blood moving.”
A sense of doom
When extreme anxiety strikes out of nowhere, take it seriously—especially if it’s accompanied by trouble breathing, a racing heart, or dizziness. It could be the body’s reaction to a heart attack or blood clot, or a severe allergic reaction. “If it’s new, intense, or feels different than usual anxiety, don’t ignore it.”
Randomly passing out
Fainting or almost fainting without a clear cause can be a red flag for abnormal heart rhythms, internal bleeding, or neurological issues. That said, it could also be the result of dehydration or standing up too fast.
White poop
If you’re having white bowel movements, it’s possible your bile tract could be obstructed, meaning bile—which contributes to the normal color of stool—isn’t reaching the intestines. “The scary thing that does that is pancreatic cancer.”
Urinary retention
There is one clear sign that constipation needs to be addressed urgently: you’ve stopped being able to pee. A full, impacted bowel “can cause bladder obstruction because, anatomically, it can press a lot in that pelvic region,” he says. “If somebody’s not urinating, that’s a big problem.” Not resolving the matter in a timely manner can ultimately lead to kidney failure.
Shortness of breath while lying down
Gasping for air when you’re horizontal could signal heart failure, a blood clot in the lungs, or a silent heart attack.
Leg pain or swelling in one leg
If you’re experiencing leg pain or swelling in just one leg, and if it’s also red, warm, or painful, you could have deep vein thrombosis, which requires urgent treatment. That blood clot could break loose and travel to your lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal.
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