Symptoms indicate the presence of disease or illness, and symptomatology is the science of studying symptoms to formulate a diagnosis. Mental illnesses rely on careful evaluation, and psychiatric symptomatology is measured by screening tests. Different mental health problems have their own unique symptomatology, and physical illnesses are diagnosed through medical tests and symptoms. Symptomatology also has forensic applications, including identifying simulated symptoms.
In medicine, a symptom is any evidence or affliction that indicates the presence of a disease or illness. In many cases, the evidence is subjective and can only be detected by the patient, such as in the case of nausea, weakness, or pain. Symptomatology is the science dedicated to the study of symptoms in order to formulate a diagnosis. This term is also used to describe the combined symptoms of a particular disease.
Mental illness is a condition that can rarely be diagnosed with physical testing, but must rely on careful evaluation of health history, behavior, patient interviews, family observations, and psychological evaluations. Psychiatric symptomatology is measured by various screening tests that take into account the subjective responses of patients to determine mental health conditions and proscribe treatment plans. Some symptoms, if present for an extended period of time, may indicate mental health problems. These include large mood swings, confusion, prolonged irritability, drastic changes in eating or sleeping patterns, rages, or hallucinations.
Different mental health problems have their own unique symptomatology in the same way as physical illnesses. Schizophrenia, for example, is diagnosed through positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are those that occur as a result of the condition, such as hallucinations, delusions, extreme agitation, social withdrawal, and disorganized thinking. Negative symptoms, or symptoms that the patient has ceased to experience, include loss of initiative, social withdrawal, unresponsiveness, and apathy. This differs from depressive symptoms, which include prolonged sadness, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, exhaustion, hopelessness, and lack of interest in previous activities.
Many physical illnesses can be diagnosed through medical tests, however doctors look at symptoms and signs to isolate possible conditions and determine which tests should be administered. If a patient describes episodes of jitters, shaking, sweating, weakness and lightheadedness between meals, she may be suffering from hypoglycemia, a condition caused by low blood sugar. Conversely, if a patient has experienced unexplained weight loss, increased urination, constant thirst, fatigue, and tingling in the hands and feet, she may be suffering from hyperglycemia or diabetes, which is caused by too much sugar in the blood.
There are other physical conditions for which there are no definitive diagnostic tests. Some of these include chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome; the diagnosis is mainly made on the symptoms and on the patient’s response to the various treatments. In these cases, doctors generally conduct a series of tests to rule out the possibility of other physical conditions that may manifest similarly.
The symptomatology also has forensic applications. One of the challenges faced in settling claims is to determine the veracity of the complainant in describing his symptoms and to make a valid assessment of the damages. In a number of cases people have feigned more serious injuries or impairments in an attempt to obtain greater compensation, a situation which is referred to as malingering. Some individuals facing prosecution have been found to feign symptoms indicating mental incapacity in order to avoid or mitigate prosecution. Screening tools have been developed to identify simulated symptom(s) of a condition.
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