What are the Signs and Symptoms?
A symptom is a sign of disease, illness, injury, or that something is wrong in the body. Symptoms are felt or noticed by the person experiencing them, but may not be easily noticed by outsiders. For example, shivering, weakness, muscle pain, and shortness of breath may be symptoms of pneumonia.
A sign is also a sign that something is wrong in the body. But the signs are signs which are seen by a doctor, nurse or other health care professional. Fever, rapid breathing, and abnormal breathing sounds are heard through a stethoscope may be signs of pneumonia.
A single symptom or sign may not be sufficient to determine the cause. For example, the rash in a child could be a sign of a number of things, such as exposure to poisonous plants, an infectious disease like measles, an infection of the skin or an allergy caused by food. However, if the child has a rash with other signs and symptoms such as high fever, chills, muscle pain and irritation of the throat, then the doctor will have a better picture of the disease. In many cases, the signs and symptoms in a patient alone can not provide enough clues to determine the cause of a disease. You may be required after clinical examination and x-rays, blood tests or a biopsy.