Scary Symptoms: Your source for in-depth symptom information since 2012. Thousands of articles covering hundreds of medical, health and fitness topics including the scariest symptoms.

How Much Worse Is a Total Cholesterol of 1,000 than 500?

Can total cholesterol be SO high, 1,000 vs. 500, that anything higher would not make a difference in how at risk the patient is for a heart attack? What about treatment options; would they differ? [...]

Chest Pain from Anemia vs. Heart Attack: Symptom Comparison

What features of chest pain from a heart attack would not be felt from anemia? A person may also have symptoms days before the actual heart attack. […]

Can Heart Palpitations Be Caused by Low Iron Levels?

Heart palpitations—the perception that the heart is skipping beats, making extra beats or beating erratically, has multiple causes. Low iron levels can be associated with this situation, which ranges from annoying to frightening. Suddenly feeling [...]

Do Twitching Muscles Wake You Overnight? What to Do

Do you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and realize that the cause is twitching muscles? Big twitches in a major muscle group are most likely to snap someone out of a [...]

Salivary Gland Infection vs. Salivary Gland Cancer Symptoms

There are distinct differences between the symptoms from a salivary gland infection and those from cancer. First off, an infection of the salivary glands is far more common than is a malignancy. [...]

2025-09-01T19:24:32-06:00DRY MOUTH, THROAT LUMP, THROAT PROBLEMS|

Does Low Thyroid Cause a Lump Feeling in the Throat?

That lump feeling in your throat sometimes isn’t just a feeling; it could be cancer, acid reflux, anxiety and not so surprisingly, low or underactive thyroid. “When the thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid [...]

2023-04-08T08:11:30-06:00LOW THYROID, LPR, THROAT LUMP, THROAT PROBLEMS|

Part of the Body Melanoma Most Often Grows in Dark Skin

There are certain parts of the body that melanoma is more likely to grow in blacks and other dark skinned individuals. People with dark skin are not immune to melanoma, especially since this skin cancer [...]

How Common Is Phantosmia: Smelling Something that’s Not There?

If you’ve been smelling things that aren’t there (phantosmia), you’re in good company: lots of it. Phantosmia is also far more common in people over the age of 40, says a study. [...]

Can a Teenager Get Melanoma in the Mouth?

The answer is “Yes” to the question, Can a teen get melanoma of the mouth. The most highly publicized presentation of melanoma is that of a “mole” on the skin. […]

Costochondritis or GERD? Symptom Overlap, Which Is It?

GERD and costochondritis (“costo”) both cause pain in the chest. Both can cause enough chest pain to make a person think they’re having a heart attack. But there are also differences between the chest pain [...]

Should Very Dark Skinned Children Wear Sunscreen?

It’s definitely important to apply sunscreen on your very dark skinned child, says a dermatologist who specializes in patients of color. Sunscreen advertisements always show fair skinned people putting it on. Advertising is very powerful, [...]

Hemorrhoid Blood vs. Colon Cancer Blood: Is There a Difference?

Is there a distinction with the way the blood would look if it’s from a hemorrhoid vs. rectal fresh blood from colon cancer? Both hemorrhoid blood and colon cancer bleeding from the lower rectum is [...]

Can Blood in Stools Look Like Scattered Red Bits of Food ?

Just exactly what would fresh blood in “bloody stools” look like? Could they appear as random red bits or specks of food? Would there be a reddish film covering the stools? […]

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