Symptoms

Symptoms are the changes in your body that you personally feel when something is not right.

• They are subjective: only you can tell them to someone else. For example, “I feel nauseous,” “I have a headache,” or “I’m very tired.”
• They can be physical or mental: symptoms include body feelings (pain, breathlessness) and mind-related feelings (anxiety, irritability, difficulty concentrating).
• They vary from person to person: two people with the same illness may feel different symptoms, or the same symptom may feel stronger in one person.
• They give clues, not a final answer: one symptom can happen in many illnesses (for example, tiredness can come from lack of sleep, stress, anaemia, or an infection), so doctors look at the whole pattern.
• Helpful habit: noticing when a symptom started, what makes it better or worse, and how strong it is can make it easier to explain and get the right help.

Think of symptoms as your body’s “inside messages” that you can feel and report.