WHEN a post on social media asked doctors to name the most reliable red flag for serious illness in a patient, the winner was not a sign or a symptom, but a few seemingly innocuous words.
"I feel fine, but my wife made me come in" was an almost certain guarantee that something was seriously wrong.
Another sure bet was a sentence starting, "I don't want to be a bother, but..." which probably means a heart attack, usually in an older woman.
Meanwhile, "Oh, there's just one other little thing..." as a patient heads toward the door, and it could well be cancer.
And forget years of medical diagnostics training - a further indication of a serious illness or medical emergency is 'a mother's intuition', several doctors suggested.
"Last week was the last time I questioned a mother's intuition," one said on Reddit.
"She said her college-aged child with no pre-existing conditions just seemed to be 'a bit off'," the doctor explained.
"Her child showed no signs of depression or suicidal ideation and just as we were about to discharge them, he stroked."
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