Health Blog
Written by Dr. Heo Ji-young. Each piece takes a single symptom and follows what is actually happening in the body.
When the Back of the Neck Stiffens, the Head and Breath Follow
A patient comes in for a headache, and pressing on the neck changes the pain. Another comes in short of breath, yet the chest X-ray is clear. Why? Tension in the neck spreads along two branches — head pain and breathing burden. I separate the spark (sleep, meals, heat), the tight spot, and the loop itself. A sudden, severe headache, weakness, or fever calls for testing first.
My Breathing Feels Tight, but They Tell Me My Lungs Are Normal
The chest X-ray is normal, the lung capacity is normal — so why does breathing still feel tight? The lungs have no muscle of their own to expand themselves, so when the rib cage does not open well, breathing feels tight regardless. I sort out which of three sites is involved: the accessory breathing muscles of the neck, pressure pushing up from the abdomen, or how well the chest wall stretches. Shortness of breath even at rest, or bluish lips, calls for testing first.
When the Epigastrium Is Pressed, the Breath Grows Shallow
Why does the epigastrium feel so full it pushes upward, and the breath grow tight along with it, even without eating very much? When food enters, the stomach normally relaxes its wall to make room — when that ability declines, whatever comes in turns directly into pressure. I look at three layers together: the stomach wall, the abdominal wall, and the chest wall. Weight loss, black stools, or difficulty swallowing call for a stomach examination first.
When the Gut Keeps Talking to the Brain
Lower abdominal pain one week, epigastric tightness the next, acid rising the week after — the tests come back normal each time, so why does the symptom just keep moving? There is a human study showing that, two years after gastroenteritis had healed, the nerves of the gut remained oversensitive. I look not at quantity but at where the threshold for feeling sits. Weight loss, blood in the stool, or nighttime pain call for a colon examination first.
When the Heart Races and the Cold Sweat Comes
When the heart suddenly races, the hands tremble, and a cold sweat breaks out, is that an autonomic problem? I ask first, “about what time does this happen to you?” The list of signals low blood sugar produces overlaps almost exactly with the “autonomic” list, and sometimes the issue is not the number itself but how fast it is falling. If consciousness has ever grown foggy, checking the blood sugar at that moment comes first.
When Palpitations Are Not About the Mind
If palpitations, hand tremor, heat intolerance, and weight loss arrive together, is that a matter of the mind? This cluster overlaps almost exactly with the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, and there are times I recommend a blood test before I even take the pulse. Even the same signal is experienced differently when the receiving side has changed. If this cluster continues for several weeks, a thyroid blood test comes first.
Sleep Is Both Cause and Result
“If I could just sleep, I think I’d get better” — is sleep really the place to start? Sometimes poor sleep unsettles the body, and sometimes an unsettled body ruins the sleep. Not being able to fall asleep and waking up partway through are two different things, and where to break the loop differs from person to person. If snoring is joined by breathing that stops, or by severe daytime sleepiness, a sleep study comes first.
The Autonomic Nervous System Is Not a Diagnosis
If palpitations, digestive discomfort, and cold hands and feet arrive together while every test comes back normal, why is “autonomic” the only name left standing? This name is not a diagnosis — it is a word that tells you where to look. I examine four branches together: the gut, pressure, metabolism, and hormones. Unexplained weight loss, fainting, or a fever that will not go away call for testing first.
The Child Who Says Their Legs Hurt at Night
In the evening they say their legs hurt, and by morning they are running about. We commonly call it growing pains, but the evidence that growing taller is itself what hurts is weaker than you might think. Some children feel more pain from the same stimulus, and how much they feel shifts with how the day has gone.
The Child Who Wets the Bed in Their Sleep
Bedwetting is not a habit. The hormone that reduces urine at night, the amount the bladder holds at night, and the power to wake from sleep at the signal that the bladder is full — which of these three is not yet grown in is what makes it look different from child to child.
A Child Who Eats Sweet Things Often Says Their Head Hurts
A child fond of sweet things saying their head hurts is not rare in the consulting room. I read it less as a matter of how high the blood sugar is than of how steeply it rises and falls.
A Child's Body Is Not a Scaled-Down Adult's
How many times a child's heart should beat to count as normal — even that reference table was for a long time something adults had guessed at. When it was actually measured, it differed. When I see a child, I see not a smaller adult but a body under different conditions.