Signs & Symptoms, please explain

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Please excuse my ignorance, but could someone please explain the

difference between a " sign " and a " symptom " ?

For example, I sometimes get a foreign body sensation in my eyes due

to corneal swelling and irritation. It has nothing to do with my

rosacea, and thankfully, I'm being treated successfully for the

condition that does cause it.

Often " foreign body sensation " is mentioned here in this group, but

it's generally in relation to ocular rosacea.

I'm wondering, is " foreign body sensation " a sign or a symptom?

Are there signs and symptoms which are part of rosacea and NOT PART

OF ANY OTHER DISEASE?

How many signs or symptoms does it take to make a diagnosis of a

condition or disease?

Also, can one condition or disease make up part of the diagnosis of

another? I am thinking here of blepharitis, which apparently occurs

with ocular rosacea also, but I believe you can get blepharitis all

by itself, that it is a disease or condition all it's own. If you get

it with ocular rosacea, does it remain a separate entity, or does it

become part of the ocular rosacea diagnosis?

This may seem like little more than semantics, but I don't know how

we can even begin to understand something as complicated and variable

as rosacea without at least a basic understanding of the terminology.

(I'm lost, anyway...)

Thanks for any help any of you can give.

~Jan