Health Issues

Acne vulgaris (commonly called acne) is a common skin condition, caused by changes in pilosebaceous units, skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland, via androgen stimulation. It is characterized by noninflammatory follicular papules or comedones and by inflammatory papules, pustules, and nodules in its more severe forms. Acne vulgaris affects the areas of skin with the densest population of sebaceous follicles; these areas include the face, the upper part of the chest, and the back.

Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components. These components combine to create an unpleasant feeling that is typically associated with uneasiness, fear, or worry.

The postpartum blues, maternity blues, or baby blues is a transient (usually dissolves in a few days) condition that 75-80% of mothers could experience shortly after childbirth with a wide variety of symptoms which generally involve mood lability, tearfulness, and some mild anxiety and depressive symptoms. Baby blues is not postpartum depression, unless it is abnormally severe.

The menopause is sometimes known as the "change of life", and is marked by the ending of menstruation (when a woman's periods stop). In the UK, the average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 52.

The menopause is the end of egg production (ovulation). This occurs as a result of falling levels of the female sex hormone, oestrogen, which regulates menstruation.

Blacking out also known as fainting. Syncope is the medical term for fainting, a sudden, usually temporary, loss of consciousness generally caused by insufficient oxygen in the brain either through cerebral hypoxia or through hypotension, but possibly for other reasons. Typical symptoms progress through dizziness, clamminess of the skin, a dimming of vision or brownout, possibly tinnitus, complete loss of vision, weakness of limbs to physical collapse. These symptoms falling short of complete collapse, or a fall down, may be referred to as a syncoptic episode.

Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors. Blindness is frequently used to describe severe visual impairment with residual vision.

A bone fracture (sometimes abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone. While many fractures are the result of high force impact or stress, bone fracture can also occur as a result of certain medical conditions that weaken the bones, such as osteoporosis, certain types of cancer, or osteogenesis imperfecta, where the fracture is then termed pathological fracture. Although broken bone and bone break are common colloquialisms for a bone fracture, break is not a formal orthopedic term.

A burn is a type of injury that may be caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation, or friction. Burns can be highly variable in terms of the tissue affected, the severity, and resultant complications. Muscle, bone, blood vessel, dermal and epidermal tissue can all be damaged with subsequent pain due to injury to nerves. Depending on the location affected and the degree of severity, a burn victim may experience a wide number of potentially fatal complications including shock, infection, electrolyte imbalance and respiratory distress. Beyond physical complications, burns can also result in severe psychological and emotional distress due to scarring and deformity.

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth (division beyond the normal limits), invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues), and sometimes metastasis (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood). These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize. Most cancers form a tumor but some, like leukemia, do not.

The common cold (viral upper respiratory tract infection (VURI), acute viral nasopharyngitis, acute viral rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza, or a cold) is a contagious, viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, primarily caused by rhinoviruses, (picornaviruses) or coronaviruses. It is the most common infectious disease in humans; there is no known cure, but it is very rarely fatal.

Collectively, colds, influenza, and other infections with similar symptoms are included in the diagnosis of influenza-like illness. Often, influenza and the common cold are mistaken for each other, even by professional healthcare workers, but most of the recommended home treatments (drinking plenty of warm fluids, keeping warm, etc.) are similar if not the same. The symptoms of influenza often include a fever and are more severe than the cold.

Crabs is a sexually transmitted disease in which pubic lice infest the genital area of males or females, creating an itching sensation. Sometimes the public lice can be seen crawling in the pubic area.

Strabismus or tropia are the medical terms for eye conditions commonly called by various names: eye turns, crossed eyes, cross-eyed, wall-eyes, wandering eyes, deviating eye, etc. Strabismus is not the same condition as "lazy eye" (amblyopia).

Dementia describes the effects of certain conditions and diseases on a person’s mental ability, personality and behaviour. People with dementia commonly experience problems with memory and the skills needed to carry out everyday activities. There are many different causes of dementia but Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing.

About 500,000 people in England have dementia and although it can occur at any age, it's more common in older people. About one in 20 people over 65 has dementia.

Fever (also known as pyrexia or controlled hyperthermia) is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of 36.5–37.5 °C (98–100 °F) due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point.

6,000 to 8,000 people drown in the United States each year. Most drownings occur within a short distance of safety. Immediate action and first aid can prevent death.

A state of mental or emotional balance

Red eyes are caused by enlarged, dilated blood vessels, leading to the appearance of redness on the surface of the eye. There are many possible causes of a red eye or eyes. Some are cause for concern; some are medical emergencies. Others are of no consequence or concern at all. The degree of redness or appearance of blood usually does not correlate to how serious the situation is. It is generally more important whether you also have eye pain or impaired vision.

Also known as Hot Flushes!

Gout is more common in men aged 30 to 60 and in older people. Overall, more men than women get gout. Young people can also get gout but this is rare. Some people only ever have one attack of gout in their lifetime, but for many people it does return. An attack of gout is often spontaneous but may be triggered by illness, alcohol or too much exercise.

Vaginal thrush is an inflammation caused by a type of yeast called Candida albicans. Vaginal thrush is very common. Three out of four women in the UK will have it at some point during their life.

There are different types of worms some affecting humans and others affecting animals. The three main types that affect humans are called the threadworms (sometimes known as the pinworm), the roundworm and the tapeworm

Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. Sleepwalkers arise from the slow wave sleep stage in a state of low consciousness and perform activities that are usually performed during the day. These activities can be as benign as sitting up in bed, walking to the bathroom, and cleaning, or as hazardous as cooking, driving, violent gestures, or even homicide. Other activities that may attend sleepwalking include: moaning, talking, gesturing, and grabbing at apparently hallucinated objects.

Stress is a term in psychology and biology, first coined in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become a commonplace of popular parlance. It refers to the consequence of the failure of an organism – human or animal – to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined.

Stress symptoms commonly include a state of alarm and adrenaline production, short-term resistance as a coping mechanism, and exhaustion, as well as irritability, muscular tension, inability to concentrate and a variety of physiological reactions such as headache and elevated heart rate.