In the context of patient care, what are signs?

In the context of patient care, signs refer to observable and measurable facts that can be identified by a healthcare provider through examination or tests. These can include physical findings such as a patient's vital signs (like blood pressure and heart rate), visible symptoms (like swelling or rash), and results from diagnostic procedures (like lab tests or imaging studies). Signs provide critical information regarding a patient’s health status and can help guide treatment decisions.

In contrast, the other options represent feelings or accounts that may vary significantly from person to person. For instance, emotional responses and personal accounts of pain involve subjective experiences that cannot be directly measured or observed by healthcare providers. Therefore, they do not fall under the definition of signs in patient care, which focuses on objective evidence gathered through clinical assessment.