4 ms·

> absent symptoms A positive blood test is a symptom. One which you'll miss if you don't do the blood test regularly. And looking for symptoms (other than a b

• jacquesm 5y ago
  Just so we are using the same definitions for the words we write, here is the definition of 'symptom' in a medical context: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/symptom https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-term... "A physical or mental problem that a person experiences that may indicate a disease or condition. Symptoms cannot be seen and do not show up on medical tests. Some examples of symptoms are headache, fatigue, nausea, and pain."
  • nybble41 5y ago
    That still sounds like a subset of medical testing to me, where you're using the patient as your test equipment and ignoring anything the patient cannot sense directly (or fails to report). Perhaps you don't call the results of medical tests "symptoms", but to me this is an insignificant distinction. Either way we're talking about an observable result of some underlying condition; only the means of observation varies. Jargon aside, this approach still means waiting until after the condition has already affected the patient's quality of life, and perhaps beyond the point where it can be treated effectively, when it could have been treated and perhaps even cured before any symptoms manifested.
• rocho 5y ago
  That's not what symptoms are.