Health Decision Guides

Welcome.

The two main reasons for blacking out are insufficient blood flow to the brain and abnormal electrical activity within the brain (a seizure).

While both of these sound scary, in reality most episodes of blacking out are not related to life threatening health problems.

This guide is designed to provide insight into why you passed out. It is not a diagnostic tool or a substitute for evaluation by a health professional.

The questions are ones your doctor is likely to ask you. Your answers provide a path to better understanding of the common reasons for losing consciousness.

Let's begin.

Certain situations demand emergency medical care.

Do any of the following apply to you?

- Chest pain or shortness of breath before or after you passed out

- Bloody or black stools

- Severe headache

- Recent blow to the head

- A heart condition

Yes, one of those applies to me.

No, none of those apply to me.

Welcome to our Health Decision Guide for women who experience breast pain or discomfort.

By answering a short series of questions, you will learn about reasons for breast pain most relevant to you.

There are times that you can expect increased sensitivity, soreness, or tenderness in one or both breasts. Many women experience this just before or during menstrual periods. These symptoms can also occur with a normal pregnancy and breast-feeding.

Breast discomfort and sensitivity are often part of the pre-menstrual syndrome. Sometimes these pre-menstrual symptoms can be more bothersome around the time of menopause.

Painful breasts are most worrisome when accompanied by a breast lump or nipple discharge. The presence of a breast lump or nipple discharge is always a reason to contact your doctor, even if you don't have any pain.

To get the most from this guide, we recommend that you do a self-breast exam first. It will make it easier to answer some of the questions.

Click here to begin.

Have you found a lump or lumps in one or both breasts during your breast self-exam?

Yes, I found a lump in one or both breasts.

No, I do not have any breast lumps.

Welcome to our Guide on Depression.

By answering a series of questions, you will learn about the different forms of depression and the significance of the symptoms you or a loved one may have.

While depression comes in many forms, two features will almost always be present -- change in mood and physical changes.

Change in mood: Depression always involves a noticeable change in mood. That can mean feeling low, blue, or sad, but sometimes depression appears as irritability or not being able to enjoy everyday activities.

Physical changes: People with mood disorders may also develop changes in appetite, sleep, or energy.

The purpose of this guide is to help you better understand what depression is. This guide is not designed or intended to make a diagnosis. But knowing more about the condition often makes it easier to talk with a doctor about the symptoms you are experiencing.

Click here to begin.

Death by suicide is the most dreaded consequence of depression. Fortunately it is a rare event.

The overwhelming majority of depressed individuals do NOT commit suicide.

Thinking about suicide is a form of suffering in its own right, so mental health providers pay attention to it. They often ask questions about it in people who have symptoms of depression.

Relieving suffering from depression should reduce the risk of suicide.

The best approach to helping a person who is thinking about suicide is to treat the underlying problem or problems. But the first order of business is to make sure you stay alive to get that treatment.

Are you currently having thoughts about suicide and do you think you might act on them?

Yes, I am having thoughts about suicide.

No, I am not having thoughts about suicide.

We're sorry your muscles feel weak.

The word "diffuse" means "widespread" and refers to symptoms that are not localized to just one or a few areas. Instead, it is more or less all over, or at least in many areas. This guide is intended for people who feel weak all over.

This guide will deal with true weakness, meaning reduced power in the muscles. Symptoms of muscle weakness include difficulty rising from a chair, brushing your hair, lifting an object off a high shelf, or dropping things. It might cause drooping of an eyelid or difficulty smiling, depending on which muscles are weak.

People with other symptoms, such as fatigue (tiredness, feeling exhausted), sleepiness, or depression, will often say they feel weak and it can be hard to distinguish some of these from actual muscle weakness. So, if you aren't sure whether this guide is for you, start the guide and see if the symptoms it covers apply to you.

One more point before we move on: some people feel weak due to pain. Weakness and pain can certainly go together, but this guide is not focused on causes of diffuse pain.

Okay, let's get started.

The goal of this guide is to provide information while awaiting evaluation with your doctor, or for additional information after you have seen him or her. Please keep in mind that this guide is not intended to replace a face-to-face evaluation with your doctor.

The diagnoses discussed are among the most common that could explain your symptoms, but the list is not exhaustive and there are many other possibilities. In addition, more than one condition may be present at the same time. For example, a person who feels weak because of poor conditioning could also have a thyroid condition.

First off, it's important to get emergency care if your symptoms sound like a dangerous condition or an immediate threat to your health.

Examples include

- Sudden weakness on one side of your body

- New diffuse weakness with fever or rash

- Sudden inability to move either or both legs

Are you experiencing any of these types of symptoms?

Yes, I have one or more of these symptoms.

No, I don't have these symptoms.

Welcome to our Health Decision Guide on new onset dizziness.

Dizziness means different things to different people. To some people, dizziness means a lightheaded feeling, as though they might faint. To other people, dizziness means a feeling of imbalance, or a sensation that they are spinning or the room is spinning around them.

By answering a short series of questions, you will learn what is likely causing your type of dizziness. Please remember that the guide is not designed to substitute for consultation with a health professional.

Let's get started.

Whenever someone has dizziness, it's important to make sure there aren't additional worrisome symptoms.

If you have blacked out, fainted, or had any loss of consciousness, call your doctor immediately. Also, you can visit our guide called Fainting/Blacking Out/Loss of Consciousness.

If you feel lightheaded with standing but have not passed out or fainted, please visit our guide called Lightheaded with Standing Up.

If neither applies to you, then please continue.

Proceed with the guide.

Welcome to our decision guide on persistent and long standing dryness of the eyes and/or mouth, a condition often called "SICCA syndrome." The name comes from the Latin word, "siccus" which means "dry."

Brief symptoms of eye dryness may be due to air blowing near your eyes, an environment with dry air (as with indoor heating), smoke or dust exposure. Dryness can complicate other eye conditions, such as eyelid disorders and bulging of the eyes (as may occur with an overactive thyroid). Temporary dryness of the mouth may accompany nervousness, anxiety and breathing through the mouth (as many people do when they sleep). Also many medications can make the mouth dry.

This guide will cover the most common reason for dry eyes and dry mouth. While these symptoms are more common among persons who are older, they are not inevitable; while tear production may decline with advancing age, symptoms are often not solely related to aging. In fact, plenty of elderly people have perfectly normal tear and saliva production.

Please keep in mind that this information cannot replace a face-to-face evaluation with your own health care provider. It is meant to provide helpful information while you are awaiting further evaluation, or to supplement what you may have already learned after evaluation with your doctors.

Click here to start with some general information.

• Dryness of the eyes and/or mouth is common, especially among persons as they age; however, age alone is frequently NOT the only reason and other causes are often quite treatable or reversible.

• Fortunately, serious or dangerous causes of dryness of the eyes and mouth are rare.

• If you have significant discomfort in the eyes, especially when you blink, you should see you eye doctor right away.

• Treatment for dry eyes usually starts with simple things: a humidifier to keep the air moist, lubricating eye drops and an evaluation to determine the cause (For severely dry eyes, small, plastic plugs can be inserted near the eyelid to prevent tears from draining away as quickly and cause more moisture to remain on the eye surface.).

• Treatment for dry mouth usually starts with simple things as well: searching for a cause (such as certain medications), frequent sips of water or ice, and a fluoride toothpaste and rinse to prevent cavities (which are more common in people with significantly reduced saliva).

Click here to continue.

Welcome to the symptom guide regarding dry mouth and/or excessive thirst. We're sorry to hear you're having this problem!

This symptom guide is designed for persons who have noticed dryness of the mouth and/or unexplained thirst and would like to find out more about this condition. Please keep in mind that this guide cannot replace a face-to-face evaluation with your own doctor. It is meant to provide helpful information while you are awaiting further evaluation or to supplement what you may have already learned after evaluation with your doctor.

This guide will focus on dry mouth that has been persistent over time. Temporary dryness of the mouth may accompany nervousness, anxiety, and breathing through the mouth (as many people do when they sleep). Eating a salty or spicy meal can be a cause of temporary (though intense) thirst.

It's also worth mentioning that many people drink frequently out of habit. They may feel thirsty if unable to drink as often as they're used to even though there is no real disease causing the thirst. It can be hard to tell whether this is the cause of a person's thirst or dry mouth without first ruling out other possibilities.

You'll be asked a series of questions that will walk you through some of the most common causes that may explain your symptoms. The guide will cover the most common reasons for dry mouth; however, it won't cover every cause.

Okay, let's get started.

First, a question about your age. We ask because saliva production sometimes decreases with advancing age.

Are you at least 60 years old?

Yes, I'm at least 60 years old.

No, I'm younger than age 60.

Dry skin is a nuisance. It can be a pain (literally). When dry skin cracks, it can give bacteria and other microbes entry to the body.

Dry skin can be a tip-off to some seemingly unrelated health problems. But most often dry skin is not a sign of a separate skin condition or other medical problem. Instead, it can come from taking long, hot showers, using harsh soaps, exposure to dry air, and other things that pull moisture from the skin.

This guide will help you discover what might be causing your dry skin.

Let's start by making sure you have only dry skin and not another skin condition as well.

Which of the following descriptions applies to your skin?

My skin is only dry and/or flaky.

My skin is dry and itchy?

My skin is dry, itchy and red?

My skin is dry and red, but not itchy?

None of the above describe my skin.

Although the appearance of your skin could still be just related to it being dry, you should make an appointment with your doctor or a skin specialist.

Meanwhile, please continue with our guide to learn about other factors that might be contributing to your dry skin.

Click here to continue.

Welcome to this symptom guide about fever. Sorry to hear you have a fever!

This guide is intended for adults who have an abnormally elevated temperature. Although we think of normal body temperature as 98.6 degrees F, body temperature varies -- and so does the definition of fever. Since body temperature rarely climbs above 99.9 degrees without a reason, this guide will consider a fever to be present when the body temperature is 100.0 F (38 degrees C) or higher. While temperatures between 98.6 and 99.9 degrees might be high for you, minor elevations in temperature are less likely to be a true indication of illness and are often within the range of normal variation.

There are many causes of fever. This guide will cover some of the most common, but it is not exhaustive; rarer causes will not be covered.

This guide is not intended to replace a face-to-face meeting with your doctor about your symptoms. Many causes of fever require an in-person examination and testing to diagnose. However, this guide may be particularly helpful while awaiting a visit to your doctor or after your initial evaluation.

Okay. To begin, here's a two-part question:

1. Is your temperature greater than 104 degrees F?

2. Along with fever, do you have any of the following?

- Severe headache

- Shortness of breath

- Lethargy or confusion

- A rapidly spreading rash

- An inability to drink fluids

Yes, one or more of those is true for me.

No, none of those is true for me.

Good. That makes a serious or dangerous cause of fever less likely.

Along with fever, do you have a significant cough?

Yes, I do have a bad cough.

Nope, no cough.

Everyone forgets things from time to time. It tends to happen more often as you get older, which can be worrisome. Normal memory loss, though, doesn't cause significant problems with your day-to-day functioning or your independence.

Through a series of questions and the answers you select, this guide will help determine if your forgetfulness is within the realm of the expected or if it is more problematic. It will also explore causes of memory loss and help identify any items that you might be able to change in order to improve your memory.

There are many things that can affect one's memory. Whatever path your answers take, we suggest following it to the end of the guide.

Let's get started.

It is normal to have some difficulty remembering names and summoning specific words as you get older. This may gradually worsen as you age, but it should not prevent you from getting around in your daily life. Normal memory loss does not affect a person's daily function. Abnormal or worrisome memory loss is different--it can affect daily function.

Other than forgetting people's names, words for things, and where you left your keys, is your memory generally okay?

Yes, my memory is generally okay.

No, I am more forgetful than this.