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.

16 conditions filed under O, showing 11–16 (page 2 of 2).

O

Otitis externa

Also called Swimmer's ear, Outer ear infection

Infection of the ear canal. Painful, usually straightforward, and in diabetes it can become a serious skull-base infection.

Otitis media

Also called Middle ear infection, Ear infection

Very common in small children, usually viral, and usually better without antibiotics. The complications are rare and worth recognising.

Glue ear

Also called Otitis media with effusion, OME

Fluid behind the eardrum, muffling hearing. Very common, usually temporary, and a hidden cause of speech and behaviour problems.

Otosclerosis

Abnormal bone growth fixing one of the hearing bones. A treatable, often surgically curable, cause of hearing loss in younger adults.

Ovarian cancer

Not silent, as it is often called. It has symptoms; they are just persistently mistaken for irritable bowel syndrome.

Ovarian cyst

Very common and usually harmless. Sudden severe one-sided pelvic pain is the exception and is an emergency.