Health A to Z

Advance care planning

Also called Advance decision, Living will, ReSPECT, Advance statement

Saying now what you would want later, while you can. Four different documents, and only some of them are legally binding.

Agoraphobia

Not a fear of open spaces. A fear of being somewhere escape would be difficult, which slowly shrinks a life.

Alcohol dependence

Also called Alcoholism, Alcohol use disorder

When stopping causes withdrawal, willpower stopped being the relevant question some time ago.

Alcohol poisoning

Too much alcohol too fast, suppressing breathing and the gag reflex. Never let somebody sleep it off on their back.

Allergies and anaphylaxis

Also called Allergy, Anaphylactic shock, Food allergy

An immune reaction to something harmless. Usually mild. Occasionally, within minutes, fatal.

Alopecia areata

Also called Hair loss, Alopecia totalis, Alopecia universalis

The immune system attacking hair follicles. Physically harmless, and it can end careers and friendships.

Alzheimer's disease

The most common cause of dementia. It takes memory first, then more, and the person remains a person throughout.

Amputation

Also called Limb loss, Limb difference

Around 6,000 lower limb amputations a year in England. Most follow diabetes, and most of those were preventable.

Anabolic steroid misuse

Also called Image and performance enhancing drugs, Steroids, IPEDs

Widely used and rarely disclosed. The harms are real, and the person most likely to help is a needle exchange rather than a lecture.

Anaemia

Also called Iron deficiency anaemia, Low haemoglobin

Too few healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen. Common, easily treated, and often a signpost to something else.