Just by reading your face, a doctor is able to see what is going well or what is not going well. An important observation which intervenes in its diagnosis. Here are 8 signs revealed by your face, sometimes in spite of yourself, according to Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of TipsForWomens.
The face, the first thing the doctor sees about you
Medicine is a story of symptoms, treatment but also observation. So in his office, before even taking your blood pressure, your doctor looks at you, and your face is always a first indication. “The face is of course the first thing we see of the patient and the first thing we observe. It can give us a general state but also details about it. It is even the basis of the clinical examination. This is why, despite all the progress, artificial intelligence will never be able to completely replace the observation of a health professional. There are interpretations that only come from experience.” tells us Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of TipsForWomens.
Tics, tremor, paralysis… Neurological information
The first thing a face reveals, especially in an emergency department, is the patient’s state of consciousness. “The evaluation of the Glasgow score (which describes the patient’s state of consciousness at a given moment) gives us this indication. Other details can also tell us about the patient’s neurological condition: observation of the oculomotor nerves, which provide information on the activity of the eyes, facial paralysis which can be a sign of stroke or even involuntary tics and tremors. of the face which are just as many signs of neurological damage.
A pale face: iron deficiency
By observing the color of your face, the doctor can also consider a failure or deficiency. So a very pale face will be a sign of anemia, an iron deficiency, or a hematological problem.
Yellow skin: a liver problem
A yellower color of the skin on the face may indicate a liver problem, or cirrhosis in the patient, which must be confirmed by more in-depth analyses.
Blue skin: a respiratory problem
Still regarding the color of the face, the blue color observed, particularly when it settles around the lips, indicates cyanosis and therefore a respiratory problem in the patient.
Edema on the face: an allergy or kidney problem
A patient who arrives with facial swelling may experience an allergic reaction, of course. But this edema can also indicate a kidney problem in the patient.
A localized rash: an allergy or autoimmune disease
A rash seen on a patient’s face can also be a sign of allergy, such as contact eczema. “But it can also put us on the path to autoimmune disease” reveals our doctor. Thus, a localized reaction in the shape of a wolf, a mask around the eyes suggests lupus.
Swollen eyes: the presence of an allergy
When the eyes are swollen, red, irritated, the doctor quickly thinks of a seasonal allergy for example, conjunctivitis, but can also foresee acute glaucoma. What patients don’t always think about.
A concerned expression: fragile mental health
Finally, the doctor is often the one who perceives a suffering state of mental health in his patient, simply by observing his face. “Our patient’s facial expression, whether it is his furrowed eyebrows, his sad look, a stressed face, will evoke to us a situation of stress, depression, fragile mental health which we must worry about and take into account. , our doctor confirms.