Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind of care you may need. These include:

• Your age. Babies and older adults tend to get sicker quicker.
• Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care sooner.
• Medicines you take. Certain medicines, such as blood thinners (anticoagulants), medicines that suppress the immune system like steroids or chemotherapy, or natural health products can cause symptoms or make them worse.
• Recent health events, such as surgery or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them more serious.
• Your health habits and lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug use, sexual history, and travel.

Pain in adults and older children

• Severe pain (8 to 10): The pain is so bad that you can't stand it for more than a few hours, can't sleep, and can't do anything else except focus on the pain.
• Moderate pain (5 to 7): The pain is bad enough to disrupt your normal activities and your sleep, but you can tolerate it for hours or days. Moderate can also mean pain that comes and goes even if it's severe when it's there.
• Mild pain (1 to 4): You notice the pain, but it is not bad enough to disrupt your sleep or activities.

Pain in children under 3 years

It can be hard to tell how much pain a baby or toddler is in.

• Severe pain (8 to 10): The pain is so bad that the baby cannot sleep, cannot get comfortable, and cries constantly no matter what you do. The baby may kick, make fists, or grimace.
• Moderate pain (5 to 7): The baby is very fussy, clings to you a lot, and may have trouble sleeping but responds when you try to comfort him or her.
• Mild pain (1 to 4): The baby is a little fussy and clings to you a little but responds when you try to comfort him or her.

To stop a nosebleed:

• Gently blow your nose to clear any clots.
• Sit up straight, and tip your head slightly forward. (Do not tilt your head back. This may cause blood to run down your throat and make you vomit.)
• Pinch the front, soft part of your nose shut with your thumb and index finger for at least 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, check to see if your nose is still bleeding. If it is, pinch it shut for 10 to 15 more minutes. Most nosebleeds will stop after 10 to 20 minutes of pressure.

Symptoms of infection in the nose may include:

• Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness around the nose.
• Pus or smelly drainage from the nose.
• Fever.

Certain health conditions and medicines weaken the immune system's ability to fight off infection and illness. Some examples in adults are:

• Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS.
• Long-term alcohol and drug problems.
• Steroid medicines, which may be used to treat a variety of conditions.
• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer.
• Other medicines used to treat autoimmune disease.
• Medicines taken after organ transplant.
• Not having a spleen.

A nosebleed is severe if:

• You have moderate to large amounts of blood even after you have pinched the nose shut for 10 minutes.
• Your nose is still bleeding even after 15 full minutes of direct pressure.

A nosebleed is moderate if:

• You have some bleeding, but direct pressure stops it within 15 minutes.
• The nose bleeds small amounts of blood more than 3 times in 24 hours.

A nosebleed is mild if:

• You have a little bleeding, but direct pressure stops it within 10 minutes.
• The nose bleeds no more than 3 times in 24 hours, and each time the bleeding is mild.

Usually found in dirt and soil, tetanus bacteria typically enter the body through a wound. Wounds may include a bite, a cut, a puncture, a burn, a scrape, insect bites, or any injury that may cause broken skin. Tetanus can also happen with other infections, like dental infections. It can happen during a surgery or pregnancy and delivery.

A wound can be so small, you may not notice you have one. Or a skin blister could break and become an open wound. If there is any delay in finding or cleaning a wound, there is an increased risk for skin infection and a chance for tetanus to get in the wound. A tetanus infection can start 3 to 21 days after the bacteria enter the wound. Be especially careful about wounds on your fingers and toes.

Many people may not know when they got their last tetanus shot. So it's a good idea to call your doctor to see if you need one.

Make sure to stay up to date on your tetanus shots. A tetanus shot is recommended:

• For a dirty wound that has things like dirt, saliva, or feces in it, if you haven't had a tetanus shot in the past 5 years.
• For a clean wound, if you haven't had a tetanus shot in the past 10 years.

Symptoms of a skull fracture may include:

• Clear or bloody fluid draining from the ears or nose.
• Bruising under the eyes or behind the ears.
• Drooping of the face.
• A dent anywhere on the head.

The symptoms of a skull fracture may appear at the time of the injury or hours or days later.

Symptoms of difficulty breathing can range from mild to severe. For example:

• You may feel a little out of breath but still be able to talk (mild difficulty breathing), or you may be so out of breath that you cannot talk at all (severe difficulty breathing).
• It may be getting hard to breathe with activity (mild difficulty breathing), or you may have to work very hard to breathe even when you're at rest (severe difficulty breathing).

Severe trouble breathing means:

• You cannot talk at all.
• You have to work very hard to breathe.
• You feel like you can't get enough air.
• You do not feel alert or cannot think clearly.

Moderate trouble breathing means:

• It's hard to talk in full sentences.
• It's hard to breathe with activity.

Mild trouble breathing means:

• You feel a little out of breath but can still talk.
• It's becoming hard to breathe with activity.

Severe trouble breathing means:

• The child cannot eat or talk because he or she is breathing so hard.
• The child's nostrils are flaring and the belly is moving in and out with every breath.
• The child seems to be tiring out.
• The child seems very sleepy or confused.

Moderate trouble breathing means:

• The child is breathing a lot faster than usual.
• The child has to take breaks from eating or talking to breathe.
• The nostrils flare or the belly moves in and out at times when the child breathes.

Mild trouble breathing means:

• The child is breathing a little faster than usual.
• The child seems a little out of breath but can still eat or talk.

Shock is a life-threatening condition that may quickly occur after a sudden illness or injury.

Adults and older children often have several symptoms of shock. These include:

• Passing out (losing consciousness).
• Feeling very dizzy or light-headed, like you may pass out.
• Feeling very weak or having trouble standing.
• Not feeling alert or able to think clearly. You may be confused, restless, fearful, or unable to respond to questions.

Shock is a life-threatening condition that may occur quickly after a sudden illness or injury.

Babies and young children often have several symptoms of shock. These include:

• Passing out (losing consciousness).
• Being very sleepy or hard to wake up.
• Not responding when being touched or talked to.
• Breathing much faster than usual.
• Acting confused. The child may not know where he or she is.