“Sausage Fingers”: 40 Symptoms People Realized Weren’t Just Weird Quirks

To find out how this thread started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user u/minbye, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda about what inspired them to start this conversation. "I myself have a few health issues that influence my day to day life, so I think about them a lot," the OP shared.

"For one, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety three years ago. Now I’m on medication and going to therapy to work through my problems," minbye continued. "Even though I’ve been in therapy for so long, I still learn a lot of new things. And the topic of my thoughts, feelings and reactions being just symptoms, and not actually me or my 'quirks,' is a big one in my life."

"I found out that it’s very important to understand the difference [between quirks and symptoms] in order to be successful in battling the problem," the OP continued. "So as I was trying to fall asleep, I was just reflecting on my day and thinking about this when I thought that it might be interesting to hear what others have to say about this. I honestly didn’t think I would get so many answers."

We also asked minbye why they believe so many of us assume our health problems are actually just quirks. "We often normalize the things we live with — being scared to talk on the phone, not having the energy to get out of bed, regular migraines or even lack of appetite," they noted.

"I often see posts where people share their stories saying, 'don’t we all?' about the things that they do or feel, and learning that they are not actually a universal experience," the OP continued. "As Dostoyevsky said, 'Man grows used to everything, the scoundrel.' For that reason, I find it almost impossible to understand that something’s wrong even if it’s obvious, as long as it’s not a sudden change."

"Reading the answers to the question was actually a great experience — seeing the stories of people changing their lives after finding out what’s wrong, sharing their experiences with each other and realizing they’re not the only ones," the OP shared.

"I still think about many of the answers, but the one that really stands out for me is the comment by u/lemonlemoncherry. They told about how they would always have irregular periods and didn’t think much of it. Turned out they had a brain tumor," minbye noted. "Thankfully, it was benign and shrunk with medication, so they’re fine now."

The OP also says that they'll be more willing to book doctor's appointments after reading through all of the experiences on this list. "I was always quite anxious about my health, but now I can’t stop thinking about tumors and stomach problems," they told Bored Panda.

"I’m genuinely glad I posted that question," minbye added. "I learned a lot myself, and I watched people share important information with each other in the comments, so I really hope it helped someone."

We also were lucky enough to get in touch with Senior Emergency Physician Dr. Shahina Braganza to hear her thoughts on this topic. She shared a few odd quirks that can sometimes mean medical issues are present.

"For example, extreme flexibility or hyper mobile joints [can be] part of a connective tissue disorder (e.g. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) or episodes of odd behavior (e.g. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy that manifests not as jerky limb movements but affects a part of the brain related to memory and emotion)," Dr. Shahina explained. "Or beige cafe au lait skin spots, which can be related to a condition called neurofibromatosis."

"These quirks can be interesting on their own, but if they are connected to a diagnosis, they can be related to other concerns," the doctor continued. "For example, people with connective tissue disorders can be prone to organ or blood vessel abnormalities. Because each human body is so wonderfully unique, there are no real trademark signs."

While it may not always be necessary to take a trip to your doctor, Dr. Shahina does believe it's important to get curious about your body. "The 'something different' may just be part of your make-up and you may otherwise feel great, or you may also notice other features or changes e.g. energy levels, tendency to bruise or bleed more easily, or change in your mood. Definitely seek professional advice if you are concerned," she explained.

Dr. Shahina also noted that it may be useful to look for patterns or trends once you notice a quirk. "Are you more tired than you used to be? Is it getting worse? And as for the quirk itself, e.g. if it’s a lump or a skin lesion, is it changing in appearance, is it getting bigger in size, is it getting painful?" she asks. "How your quirk is behaving over a period of time is vitally useful information to share with your doctor to help them work out how concerned we need to be, what tests to conduct, and how closely to monitor the person."