Health A to Z

Most health pages tell you what a condition is. Very few tell you what it is like to sit beside somebody who has one. This library does both. Search by name, or by the name you know it under.

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice, and it is not a diagnosis. If you are worried about your health or someone else's, speak to a GP, pharmacist, or call 111. In an emergency, call 999.

35 conditions filed under M, showing 1–10 (page 1 of 4).

M

Macular degeneration

Also called AMD, Age-related macular degeneration

Central vision failing while the edges stay. The leading cause of sight loss in the UK, and the wet type is an emergency.

Macular hole

A small hole in the centre of the retina, distorting and blanking central vision. Surgery works, and works better the sooner it is done.

Malaria

A fever after travel to a malaria area is malaria until proven otherwise. Falciparum malaria kills within days and is a same-day emergency.

Mallet finger

Also called Dropped fingertip, Baseball finger

A fingertip that will not straighten after a knock. Eight weeks in a splint, never removed, or it does not heal.

Malnutrition

Also called Undernutrition

Around 3 million people in the UK, most of them living at home. Almost entirely preventable, and routinely missed.

Marfan syndrome

A connective tissue condition that stretches the aorta. Tall and long-limbed is the recognisable part; the annual heart scan is the part that saves lives.

Mastitis

Also called Breast inflammation, Blocked duct

A painful, inflamed breast, usually while breastfeeding. The advice has changed: gentle handling and cold, not deep massage and heat.

Mastoiditis

Infection spreading into the bone behind the ear. A pushed-forward ear with a red swollen mastoid is a same-day emergency.

ME/CFS

Also called Myalgic encephalomyelitis, Chronic fatigue syndrome

A serious, long-term condition defined by symptoms getting worse after exertion. Not tiredness, and not deconditioning.

Measles

One of the most infectious diseases known. It is back in the UK because vaccination coverage fell.