Common Symptoms

Common symptoms are various reactions that represent a systemic response of the body to changes in homeostasis. They can be physiological in nature (for example, thirst or sweating in hot weather) or serve as a reflection of a wide range of pathological processes (fever, intoxication syndrome, chills). Clinical and epidemiological anamnesis plays a primary role in the diagnosis, additional data from analyses and instrumental studies. Therapeutic tactics have a nosological orientation, symptomatic means are widely used to alleviate the condition.

Any pathological process is accompanied by a change in the functioning of almost all body systems. Local symptoms reflect the response of the affected organ itself, general symptoms reflect the body as a whole. Common symptoms develop when the main constants of homeostasis change: ambient temperature, CBS, oncotic and osmotic pressure, hydration level, BCC, pressure, blood gas composition, etc. The following groups of systemic reactions are distinguished:

• Thirst. A person can experience intense thirst in a hot climate, dehydration, eating salty food, alcohol – in this case, the sensation is a physiological signal indicating the need to replenish water reserves in the body. Pathological symptoms include constant thirst and polydipsia, which occurs in diabetes mellitus.
• Intoxication. The formation or ingestion of toxins in infectious diseases, poisoning, cancer processes primarily disrupts the work of the central nervous system, so the first signs of intoxication syndrome are lethargy, weakness, drowsiness, severe headache. An increase in vascular tone and a violation of the water-electrolyte balance leads to a feeling of ache throughout the body (especially often in muscles, joints).
• Weight change. It can occur both in the direction of gaining extra pounds, and in the direction of losing weight up to exhaustion (with anorexia, oncological pathology). If a person deliberately does not follow a diet, then a progressive increase or decrease in weight should be a reason to visit a doctor. Fluctuations (frequent changes) in weight are also possible with hormonal dysfunction.
• Violations of thermoregulation. An increase in body temperature is one of the most common common symptoms of infectious pathologies. In various diseases, subfebrile, febrile, pyretic, hyperpyretic fever, chills may be noted. Hypothermia is less common (for example, with hypothyroidism). Signs of thermoregulation disorders may also be excessive sweating or, conversely, its decrease (hypohidrosis, anhidrosis).

General symptoms are nonspecific, they accompany the course of most diseases of various nature (infectious, tumor, endocrine-metabolic, etc.). It is impossible to make an accurate diagnosis only on the basis of general symptoms, so it is necessary to compare it with other, more pathognomonic (specific) signs and clarify the nature of the disease using instrumental laboratory techniques.