Health A to Z

Post-herpetic neuralgia

Also called PHN, Nerve pain after shingles

Pain that outlasts the shingles rash, sometimes for years. The vaccine prevents it, and early antiviral treatment reduces it.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Also called PTSD, Complex PTSD, CPTSD

A memory that has not been filed as past. The body keeps responding as though the danger is now.

Postnatal depression

Also called Perinatal mental illness, PND, Postpartum depression

More than baby blues, and it happens to fathers and partners too. Postpartum psychosis is a different thing entirely and is an emergency.

PoTS

Also called Postural tachycardia syndrome, Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome

The heart races on standing up. Mostly affects young women, and takes an average of several years to diagnose.

Prader-Willi syndrome

A genetic condition where the sense of fullness never arrives. Food security is a safeguarding matter, not a diet.

Pre-eclampsia

Also called Pregnancy-induced hypertension, Eclampsia

A pregnancy complication that gets dangerous quickly and often has no symptoms until it does. This is why blood pressure and urine are checked at every appointment.

Premenstrual syndrome

Also called PMS, PMDD, Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PMT

Symptoms in the two weeks before a period. PMDD is the severe form, it is a recognised diagnosis, and it carries a real suicide risk.

Pressure ulcers

Also called Pressure sores, Bedsores, Decubitus ulcers

Skin and tissue damaged by unrelieved pressure. Mostly preventable, and a reliable indicator of how good the care is.

Primary biliary cholangitis

Also called PBC, Primary biliary cirrhosis

An autoimmune liver condition, mostly in women. Itching and fatigue are the symptoms, and the itch is treatable when anybody asks about it.

Problems swallowing pills

Also called Pill dysphagia, Difficulty taking tablets

Very common, rarely asked about, and a major hidden cause of medicines simply not being taken. Crushing tablets can be dangerous.