10 Visual Signs You May Have a Health Problem

In every man's life there is one conversation that never ends: the one between you, your body, and the world around you. After all, your body's
number-one job (other than luring female fauna to your plumage) is to provide you with updates about your environment. Am I hot? Cold? Wet? Is she really looking at my plumage?

Amid this barrage of immediate information lies a stream of hints about your health as well. You just have to learn how to spot them—and translate them. Use the list at the left to find out what the mirror might be trying to tell you.

Your Legs

What you see: You have short legs and a longer upper body.

What it might mean: For the athletes among us, these proportions translate into a lower center of gravity and a greater ability to change direction quickly. Think Allen Iverson, John Stockton, and a world full of soccer stars. Still, according to a 15-year British study, this body type also means an increased possibility of heart disease.

"There's a directly proportional risk between leg length and heart disease," says George Davey Smith, M.D., a physician at the University of Bristol in England and one of the study's authors. "We followed 2,512 Welshmen over 15 years and found that for every half inch shorter your legs are in proportion to those of other men with the same length upper bodies, you have a 10 percent higher risk of coronary heart disease."

But there's some good news as well: Many Welshmen report feeling relieved that they can now leave their houses without being followed.

Your Waist

What you see: Your waist is bigger than your hips.

What it might mean: For men, this is the double whammy.

Whammy #1: "We're not sure precisely why, but men who are 'apple-shaped' instead of 'pear-shaped' have a higher incidence of heart disease," says Richard Stein, M.D., a professor of clinical medicine at Cornell University. Which means too many guys are eating the apples without leaving off the pie, strudel, and fritter part.

Whammy #2: A round, Santa-type belly is also a primary indicator of type-2 diabetes. "Abdominal fat causes a man's naturally produced insulin to work less efficiently," says Christopher D. Saudek, M.D., a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University and president of the American Diabetes Association. It also keeps you and the sack of toys from fitting down the chimney.

Bonus Whammy: You're fat!

Your Ears

What you see: You have a deep, vertical crease down the middle of your earlobe.

What it might mean: You're a hobbit. Check your birth certificate. If there are no Middle-Earth references, consider your heart health. Some studies have shown that people who have creases in their earlobes have a high incidence of heart disease. Doctors don't know why, and some don't subscribe to the idea at all, but it's worth looking into.

Your Cornea

What you see: There's a whitish-colored ring along the outer edge of your cornea.

What it might mean: Your blood's a fat river, baby. "That's arcus senilis," says Monica L. Monica, M.D., Ph.D., an ophthalmologist in New Orleans. "For men in their 30s or 40s, it's a sign that you likely have high cholesterol: That white line is cholesterol lodging in the fine tissues of your corneas. As we age, we all get this a little bit--but younger men who see it should have their cholesterol tested."

Your Eyes

What you see: Your eyes are bloodshot.

What it might mean: Yeah, we know the obvious reasons. But it also may mean you're taking too much aspirin for those repeated hangovers. "Aspirin slows clotting and thins your blood, and that ends up flooding the small vessels in your eyes," says Dr. Monica.

Your Hands

What you see: There are very small hemorrhages—which look like wood splinters—under your fingernails.

What it might mean: Ask yourself, "Have I been tortured recently?" If the answeris no, you may have endocarditis, an infection in one of the valves in your heart, says Edmund Chitwood, M.D., an emergency-department physician at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Splinter hemorrhages are blood clots that have been thrown off by the infection and then have lodged in the small blood vessels. Sorry, getting a manicure won't help.

Your Face

What you see: In flat, white light, your skin and eyes have developed a yellowish tint.

What it might mean: You're lucky: You may have picked up on the only obvious symptom of hepatitis, liver disease, or jaundice. "The liver is a noncomplaining organ," says Thelma King Thiel, of Hepatitis Foundation International. "So most people don't know they have a problem until the damage is advanced—then it's nearly too late." Too late for what? To use an organ that does complain: your mouth. See your doctor immediately.

Your Skin

What you see: You have a large or colorful mole. (And we don't mean a flamboyant double agent.)

What it might mean: Melanoma—the most common skin cancer men get. Examine your hide for moles once a month, says Stephen Webster, M.D., a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota's school of medicine.

Apply the A-B-C-D rule: Look for asymmetry—anything that's not perfectly round; the border—i.e., an irregularly shaped one; the mole's color—whether its hue changes across the mole; and its diameter—you're looking for anything larger than a pencil eraser. If you find cause for concern under any of these letters, look in the phone book under "D" for dermatologist.

Your Package

What you see: Your scrotum is "fuller" and "heavier" on one side than the other.

What it might mean: A few extra family jewels in the ol' money sack? Nope. More likely, you have a varicocele. "This is nothing more than a varicose vein around your testicle," says Larry Lipschultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine and surgery at Baylor college of medicine in Houston.

Symptoms include loss of testicular size, some testicular discomfort, lowered testosterone levels, and, in many cases, poor sperm production. Which could reduce your chances of being honored on Father's Day. An outpatient surgery can put your swimmers back in the water in no time (and give you an impressive scar to show your friends . . . uh, maybe not).

Your Noggin

What you see: You have a wide, round head, like a partially deflated soccer ball.

What it might mean: You may have a higher risk of sleep apnea. "People with wide, short heads have shorter airways, which are easier to obstruct," says Mark Hans, D.D.S., chairman of the department of orthodontics at Case Western Reserve University's school of dentistry.

And that puts you—and 10 million other men—at risk of sleep apnea, which can cut your energy, torch your memory, and make you impotent. Your doctor can help you with a diagnosis and refer you to a sleep specialist. Leave your noggin the way it is, though. No one likes a guy with an inflated head.