This symptom got its name from the well-known scientist and doctor Hippocrates. The mask can only appear when a person is very ill, and serious processes are taking place in the body, not for the better.
What is a symptom?
The Hippocratic mask is a set of certain changes on the face of a person who has been suffering from some serious illness for a long time. This concept would be more correctly attributed to symptoms, because it is precisely by changes in the face that a doctor can often determine the presence of an ailment, carry out the necessary diagnostics and prescribe timely treatment. Such traits can appear in a person who has diseases in the abdominal organs, suffers from exhaustion of the body or long-term insomnia, and they can also be harbingers of imminent death.
Reason for the manifestation of the mask
The Hippocratic mask was first described in the 5th century in the writings of the scientist, where he considered in more detail the topic of facial changes, which may indicate an incorrect distribution of blood and lymph in the body. He also said that all this could indicate intoxication, because it was during this periodthe inflammatory process begins to develop.
The mask can appear in many ways, but the main ones are listed below:
- If a person has peritonitis, as a rule, the inflammatory process develops in the peritoneum, it affects the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, and may touch the kidneys. Most often, the cause is hidden in the perforation of the digestive tract. For example, this can be a rupture of the appendicitis, the opening of a stomach or intestinal ulcer.
- When an ulcer opens in the intestines or in the stomach, but only if a hole appears, after which the contents of the organ begin to flow freely into the abdominal cavity.
- In intestinal obstruction, when something interferes with the movement of food, the cause may be a mechanical effect on the intestine.
- When the body is too exhausted, for example, for a long time the patient had to go without food for various reasons. In medicine, this condition is commonly called cachexia.
- The Hippocratic mask can appear when a person suffers from insomnia for a long time. Chronic sleep deprivation very quickly passes into a complex stage of the disease, while appetite is lost, irritability appears. It is difficult to recognize this particular condition, since it occurs at a psychological level.
If all the diseases listed above are absent, then the appearance of a mask on the face may indicate that the person will die soon, as Hippocratesgave another definition of it - as a symptom indicating an imminent death.
The main characteristics of the Hippocratic mask
The Hippocratic mask has its own characteristics, so before you determine it on a person's face, you should pay attention to some of its characteristics:
- First of all, the facial expression changes: it becomes inexpressive, in some cases even motionless, the eyes can look at one point for a long time.
- Cheeks and eyes become sunken, cheekbones begin to clearly appear.
- When a patient simply loses weight due to a disease, he has a sparkle in his eyes, with a Hippocratic mask there is none, his eyes become dull.
- It is worth paying attention to the cornea: it becomes cloudy, a veil falls over the eyes.
- The lips turn white and the corners of the mouth droop down, facial expressions lose their attractiveness, while the lips of a person may be too cold and parched, ulcers form from the fact that the skin bursts.
- The Hippocratic mask is a symptom in which the complexion necessarily changes: it becomes greenish, in some cases even leaden, the blush disappears forever.
- The patient's lower jaw may droop and the nose becomes pointed.
- If you touch the patient's ears, you can feel how cold they are, while the lobes will look protruding.
- The skin on the face seems to be stretched, while it is too dry to the touch, peeling appears.
- Small drops of sweat may appear on the forehead, but the skin will nothydrate.
What does a mask look like before death
If the Hippocratic mask appeared before death, then all of the above characteristics of this symptom can be supplemented by signs of agony. The patient's condition begins to take on a slightly different character, all his vital functions gradually fade away. It is not at all difficult to distinguish this, since a person may experience tremors throughout the body, there is a problem with breathing, it may become hoarse, the pulse slows down, the body temperature drops, and sometimes it can rise immediately to 40 degrees, feelings begin to disappear. This state can last from 2 minutes to two days.
How the face changes during illness
If you pay attention to the signs of the disease in time, you can try to cure the disease. As a rule, an experienced doctor will immediately look at the patient who came to see him and begin to diagnose he alth problems. When a person has a haggard face and a dull expression, eyes sink deeply and there is no shine in them, and cheeks are sunken, and the skin has become gray, then it would be quite logical to suspect problems in the internal organs.
In cases where the Hippocratic mask appears, the face immediately begins to change and lose weight. The doctor, after examining the patient, will definitely pay attention to permanent changes in features for some time: if the symptoms that appeared on the first day will only worsen, then in this case, urgent measures must be taken to eliminatemask-causing disease.
Diagnosis of disease
The Hippocratic mask may not appear immediately after the first manifestations of the disease. But as soon as a person begins to feel he alth problems, you should immediately seek help from a specialist, because in this way the patient has more chances to save his life.
Diagnosis will help to avoid complications, especially if the Hippocratic mask has already begun to appear. The description of all the symptoms and the observation of the doctor are superficial studies, therefore, additional emergency diagnostics may be prescribed:
- Physician history taking and physical examination.
- The delivery of laboratory blood tests is mandatory, since this method can tell a lot about the inflammatory process in the abdominal organs.
- As a rule, the doctor prescribes fluoroscopy and ultrasound of the abdominal cavity.
- To get a complete picture of the disease, the patient will also need to undergo endoscopy and laparoscopy of the peritoneum.
Once all the results are in, the doctor can begin treatment and schedule immediate surgery.
Hippocratic Symptom Elimination
Don't think that the mask can only appear before death, in fact it is not. It can occur with manifestations of various diseases, and in many cases a person can recover if timely measures are taken to eliminateunderlying illness. Asking the question of what the Hippocratic mask is, what it really is, we can safely say that this is a symptom that requires special attention and study, because in many cases the patient's life depends on it. If it occurs after a disease in the abdominal cavity has been identified, then urgent surgery may usually be required.
If the symptom arose due to insomnia, which led to the exhaustion of the body, you should immediately contact a psychotherapist who will conduct psychocorrection and be able to prescribe suitable medications.
Cachexia is also treated, this requires the help of a specialist, he selects a special diet, prescribes drugs that can restore metabolism in the body, and careful care is also required.
What does the symptom look like in the photo
With the development of the disease, the Hippocratic mask may begin to appear (you see the photo in the article). It is clearly seen that the human body may not be completely depleted, but all the signs of the disease may well be on the face. You should not immediately panic, as the forecasts can be quite favorable if you pay attention to the main symptoms in time and seek help. The doctor will help identify the disease and provide timely assistance. The mask appears only if the pathologies are really serious. But with timely assistance, the patient can survive.
How to prevent the appearance of the Hippocratic mask?
To prevent the Hippocratic mask fromappeared, you should follow a few simple rules. First of all, it is important to remember that this symptom appears when the disease enters the terminal stage. If a person at the first symptoms of the disease turns to a specialist, then the disease will be recognized at the initial stage, which means that there will be a chance to avoid long-term treatment, which may require surgical intervention.
