Stabbing abdominal pain, night sweats, rapid weight loss and developing a massive blue lump on the palm of your hand are almost never signs of anything good. Which is exactly what one Canadian discovered when he paid a visit to his GP.
The 27-year-old began to notice a bizarre, blue swelling growing on the palm of his left hand which, oddly enough, seemed to have appeared at around the same time that he'd endured a trip to the dentist.
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Turns out the two seemingly unrelated things had something to do with one another after all.
It all started when the unidentified man noticed a red mark on his hand. In a short space of time, the mark had become swollen and taken on a worrying blue colour.
Accompanying the unusual growth, the man reported suffering from symptoms including night sweats, fevers and a decreased appetite over a six-week period.
Becoming increasingly concerned (as you would) the man scheduled an appointment with his doctor to try to get to the bottom of his unsettling symptoms. This is when he discovered that there was something sinister going on.
The doctor diagnosed the man with endocarditis, a heart infection which can be deadly if left untreated.
Cultures of his blood samples came back positive for streptococcus salivarius, a bacterium mainly found in the mouth.
Endocarditis is often caused when bacteria from the mouth get into the bloodstream. This led experts to come to the conclusion that the man had developed the infection as a result of poor oral hygiene and his recent dental procedure.
The infection must've then triggered an aneurysm in his hand which presented itself as a big blue bulge.
As grim as the lump may have looked, it's actually lucky that it appeared, as its presence alerted the doctor to the fact that something was seriously wrong.
The man underwent an aortic valve replacement, a surgical procedure to remove the aneurysm and was put on a course of antibiotics which cleared the infection up.
So, next time you're thinking of skipping brushing your teeth because 'what's the worst that could happen'... well, now you know.
Featured Image Credit: The New England Journal of MedicineTopics: World News, Weird, Canada, Health