In medicine, a prodrome is an early non-specific symptom (or set of symptoms) indicating the start of a disease before specific symptoms occur. For example fever, malaise, headache and anorexia (lack of desire to eat) are part of the prodrome for mumps or a variety of infective disorders. A prodrome can be the precursor to the onset of a chronic neurological disorder such as migraine or epilepsy, where prodrome symptoms include scotoma, disorientation, aphasia, or photosensitivity.
It also refers to the initial in vivo round of viral replication.
Prodromal labour, mistakenly called "false labour," is the early signs before labour starts.
