Many people have a hard time taking slight discomforts seriously. When it comes to our bodies, we are often afraid to overreact over short-term illness or pain. But there are some health issues that you should never ignore.

Intense Headaches

While headaches come and go from time to time, but if you find yourself having the worst headache of your life, you should see a doctor immediately. Intense headaches can be very serious, and come as a result of a variety of issues.

Central nervous system infection or intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) can both cause serious headaches. Concussions or other serious head injuries also cause headaches and migraines, and should not be taken lightly.

Unexplained weight loss

While some weight loss is healthy and normal if you are exercising and eating well, weight loss that occurs without reason could come from underlying illnesses.

Some sorts of cancers can present themselves with weight loss. Hormonal imbalances can also be to blame. Viral infections can also cause someone to lose weight, even if they are not presenting any other symptoms.

Sharp pains at your sides

Sometimes stomach aches and cramps just happen, and are not worrisome at all. But a sharp pain at your side could be something worse, like appendicitis or even gastrointestinal diseases like IBS, Crohn’s disease, gastritis, pancreatitis, or other.

Pelvic pain

Pelvic pain can be serious in both women and men. Hernias, STDs, kidney stones, bladder infections, among other things can occur in both sexes.

In men, inflammation of the prostate can cause serious pelvic pain, which can become very serious.

In women, there are more pelvic and lower abdominal pain causes, including:

• Ectopic pregnancy
• Miscarriage
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Ovarian cysts or other ovarian disorders
• Endometriosis
• Uterine cancer
• Cervical cancer

Pelvic pain coupled with fever can usually determine some sort of inflammation or infection within the body which should be cared for immediately.

Other conditions like open wounds or lacerations that don’t heal in a timely manner, persistent sore throats, fever, and sinus issues, or unbearable pain should be treated as soon as physically possible by a board-certified physician at your primary doctor’s office or an emergency care location.

Often times primary care and family medicine providers are not available on weekends or after normal business hours. The same care that your family medicine provider would have given is also available at most urgent care facilities — 99% of which are open seven days per week.