What can a doctor tell by looking at a patient?

Question

Serious answers please.

Medically.

Answer 1

A good doctor is capable if discerning a great deal just by looking at the patient. Your hair, skin, mucous membranes, fingernails can all give clues about whats going on inside. For example, if you're dehydrated, anemic, hypo/hyperthyroid, have hepatitis, certain cancers, peripheral artery disease, and many others, there are often external clues. You can also see how uncomfortable someone is by the look on their faces and their body language.

These diagnosis, based on how someone looks, can only be made if the examining doctor is astute enough to pick up on it.....For example, if the doctor never asks you to put on an examination gown, they won't likely notice the characteristic skin changes on a patient with peripheral arterial disease. Even if you're in a gown, if you're there for bronchitis or a sore throat, the doctor may be so rushed that the condition of the skin on your legs may not register.

Certain conditions (Down syndrome, Marfan syndrome, acromegaly, etc) can make people look a particular way, as well. We call the respective looks "dysmorphic facies", which almost literally means that their faces aren't right.

Answer 2

There are strong indicators displayed by a patient that provide accurate information to the doctor about the disorder the patient is seeking intervention for. Skin color, the color of the lips, the respiratory pattern, ie; effort, rate, comfort, the color of the sclera of the eyes, the tint of the fingernails, the shape of the end of the fingers, the way the patient walks, talks, sits, the posture, the smell of the breath, and other subtle clues used to help the clinician identify the strongest contributors to the patients disorder. It's really more telling than the oral history contributed by the patient.

Answer 3

"Augenblick diagnosis" is pretty robust when the clinician is well-trained, attentive, and experienced. A lot of the information transferred is even on a subliminal level. Check around a teaching hospital, and you'll find the best attendings can often come up with a better diagnosis in no time at all than the doctors in training can manage after an extensive history and physical.

Answer 4

Allot, The color of the skin as well as the pallor, texture, elasticity, Hair if there are balding spots, posture, there are alot of different things that doctors can look at and get an idea of what is going on.

Take a look at Medical Surgical Nursing books it will help answer you more.

Answer 5

Good grief, you need your homework done. He can see skin condition, nutritician deficiencies, eye clarity is a predictor of health concerns, ie drug, diabetes,stoke etc., the color of pallor, the way skin hangs or droops, he can check balance problems, mood indicators from facial , ticks, tremmors, bone misshapes, breathing sounds are indicators by watching chest compressions, dry cough wet cough etc. fingernail color can mean lead poisoning. And the list goes on, bruising, hairline redness, its endless babe.

Answer 6

if he is breathing