Diseases share many of the same symptoms. A complete history of symptoms, along with a physical examination, gives the doctor information to define a disease process. Symptoms such as headache, backache, abdominal pain, jaundice, fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain and swollen joints are indicators of many types of diseases.
Headache
Headaches come in a variety of onset types such as tension, cluster, throbbing, recurring, occasional and sudden. Diseases associated with a headache include the common cold, flu, sinus infection, migraine, brain tumor, high blood pressure, aneurysm, glaucoma, Paget's disease, toothache, stroke and glaucoma. The sudden onset of a severe headache after a head injury, or if it is accompanied by symptoms such as fever, confusion and double vision, requires immediate medical attention.
Backache
The National Institutes of Health states that low back pain is second only to colds and the flu for doctor visits in the United States. A backache is an indicator in a number of underlying diseases and disorders including arthritis, herniated disc, spinal fractures, muscle spasms and spinal cancer. Other conditions related to backache include kidney stones, endometriosis and an abnormal aortic aneurysm.
Joint Pain
Joint pain results from swelling and inflammation in any joint in the skeletal system. Pain level varies from mild to extremely severe, depending on the underlying disease process. Diseases with joint pain as a symptom include Lyme disease, gout, osteoarthritis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Jaundice
MerckSource.com, an online medical dictionary, defines jaundice as an excessive level of bilirubin in the blood and bile pigments in the skin, mucous membranes and whites of the eyes that cause a yellow appearance. Diseases associated with jaundice as a symptom include gallstones, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, acute hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and Dubin-Johnson syndrome.
Abdominal Pain
Abdominal pain presents from the chest to the groin and covers organs such as the stomach, intestines, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, kidneys, spleen and appendix. Abdominal pain is a symptom of many diseases and disorders including hernia, gallstones, shingles, kidney stones, colitis, pancreatic cancer, liver disease, endometriosis, hepatitis, gastritis, cancer, ulcers, bladder infection, sickle cell disease and parasites.
Fatigue
Fatigue occurring from overwork, lack of sleep or poor eating habits is different from fatigue that occurs because of some type of disease process. Underlying diseases with symptoms of fatigue that does not go away with rest or lifestyle changes include low thyroid, cancer, medications, fibromyalgia, flu, anemia, depression, kidney failure, stress, Addison's disease, lupus, congestive heart failure, eating disorders and diabetes.
Chest Pain
The American Academy of Family Physicians health information website states that acute chest pain is a sudden, severe onset that can indicate a life-threatening disease. Some of the diseases with symptoms of chest pain include pneumonia, pleurisy, pneumothorax, congestive heart failure, angina, hernia, heartburn, blood clot and heart attack.
