Here's what your doctor's looking for when he . . . Asks you to say "ahh." He's looking for swelling or discoloration in your mouth and throat, which may indicate oral cancer. This test also checks if your palate and uvula—the punching bag at the back of your throat—contract at the same time.
But why do you have to say “ahh?” For a very simple reason: It contracts the muscles in the back of the throat, giving your doc a better view.
Opening up and saying "ah" shows off your throat and tonsils. The quality of your teeth and gums also provides information about your overall health. Ears, nose, sinuses, eyes, lymph nodes, thyroid, and carotid arteries may also be examined.
But checking the throat and neck can help your provider diagnose many illnesses and disorders. These can range from a routine case of strep throat to a life-threatening cancer.
Physicians often ask their patients to "Please stick out your tongue." The tongue can betray signs of illness, which combined with other symptoms such as a cough, fever, presence of jaundice, headache or bowel habits, can help the physician offer a diagnosis.
A pink tongue is healthy and normal. A red tongue may indicate heat in the body like a fever or a hormonal imbalance. A reddish purple tongue is a sign that there may be inflammation or an infection in the body. A pale pink tongue may be a sign of a vitamin deficiency, a weak immune system or a lack of energy.
What is the Tibetan culture of tongue greetings? Sticking out your tongue is traditionally a sign of respect or agreement and has also been used as a greeting in Tibetan culture, according to the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
By examining your eyes in this way, your eye doctor can often detect conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, arterial plaque, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, stroke, leukemia and many other conditions.
Fluid in the lungs: Doctors listen for absent or decreased breath sounds to determine if you have fluid blocking your breathing, which can be caused by pneumonia, heart failure, and pleural effusion. Rhonchi, a snoring-like sound: This sound occurs when air is blocked or inhibited through your large airways.
It is likely that your doctor may conduct some basic examinations including checking your lower eyelids. This is because they're looking for paleness in the lower eyelids, which can be an indicator of iron deficiency. The hemoglobin in the red blood cells is what gives the blood its colour.
A lumbar puncture can help diagnose serious infections, such as meningitis; other disorders of the central nervous system, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome and multiple sclerosis; bleeding; or cancers of the brain or spinal cord.
Imaging procedures — such as X-rays, computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging — can help pinpoint diagnoses and rule out other conditions that may be causing symptoms.
A diagnosis is typically obtained by a doctor or other healthcare provider and usually begins with a physical examination and an exploration of the patient's history. From there, tests and other diagnostic procedures are recommended in order to determine the underlying illness or injury that is causing the symptoms.
Hospital staff are naturally keen to reduce excessive potential workload in order to ensure their ability to provide safe care and therefore try to avoid using the word 'quiet', even if no hard evidence exists to prove its effect on subsequent workload.
These could be visits to monitor your condition or even additional tests to further evaluate its progression. Sometimes, these follow-ups can be scheduled over the phone or online. However, in many cases, your doctor will want to review your options in person to inform you about why you need the additional care.
A chest X-ray is a fast and painless imaging test to look at the structures in and around your chest. This test can help diagnose and check conditions such as pneumonia, heart failure, lung cancer, tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, emphysema, and lung tissue scarring, called fibrosis.
Normal lung or vesicular breath sound: A doctor can hear this sound over most of the chest with a stethoscope, a device for listening to a person's internal body sounds. Vesicular breath sounds occur when air flows into and out of the lungs during breathing. The sound is soft, low pitched, and rustling in quality.
Lung function tests (also called pulmonary function tests) include a variety of tests that check how well the lungs work. The most basic test is spirometry. This test measures the amount of air the lungs can hold. The test also measures how forcefully one can empty air from the lungs.
Have you been to the doctor before and they have shined light in your eyes? This is called a pupillary light test. This test is designed to look at the constriction of your pupils when exposed to light.
When your provider presses on your belly, he or she may get clues to possible problems. This exam with the hands gives healthcare providers information about important parts of the body. These are the liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, stomach, pancreas, bladder, gallbladder, appendix, and the abdominal aorta.
For example, a person who sticks their tongue out during a photo is probably not being rude. It may be a sign of playfulness or an attempt to take a silly picture.
Yes, it's bad to sleep with your mouth open. Breathing and sleeping with the mouth open are signs that airway health has been compromised. These symptoms can potentially lead to other health problems throughout the body.