Health A to Z

Food poisoning

Also called Gastroenteritis, Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli

Usually settles by itself. The danger is dehydration, and anti-diarrhoeal medicines are wrong in the cases that matter most.

Foot problems

Also called Bunions, Corns and calluses, Ingrown toenail, Morton's neuroma, Flat feet

Bunions, corns, ingrown nails and nerve pain. Mostly caused by footwear, and on a diabetic foot none of them are minor.

Foreskin problems

Also called Balanitis, Phimosis, Paraphimosis, Tight foreskin

Soreness, tightness and inflammation. A foreskin retracted and stuck behind the head of the penis is an emergency.

Fractures and sprains

Also called Broken bone, Sprain, Strain, Soft tissue injury

A broken bone in an older person is rarely just an accident. The fracture gets treated; the reason for it usually does not.

Fragile X syndrome

The commonest inherited cause of learning disability, and the commonest single-gene cause of autism.

Frailty

Not the same as being old. A reduced reserve, where a small problem causes a large loss of function.

Frontotemporal dementia

Also called FTD, Pick's disease, Behavioural variant FTD

Dementia that takes personality and language before memory. The commonest dementia in people under 60.

Frozen shoulder

Also called Adhesive capsulitis

A shoulder that stiffens, hurts and then slowly frees. It takes one to three years, and knowing that changes how people cope.

Fungal skin infections

Also called Ringworm, Athlete's foot, Fungal nail infection, Thrush, Tinea

Common, treatable, and routinely mistaken for eczema. Steroid cream on a fungal rash makes it spread.