Health A to Z

Progressive supranuclear palsy

Also called PSP, Multiple system atrophy, MSA, Parkinson's-plus

Two conditions mistaken for Parkinson's for years. Backward falls early, and eye movement problems, are the clues that it is something else.

Pelvic organ prolapse

Also called Prolapse, Vaginal prolapse

Pelvic organs dropping into the vagina. Around half of women who have given birth have some, and most say nothing for years.

Prosopagnosia

Also called Face blindness

Difficulty recognising faces, including familiar ones. Affects around one person in fifty and is almost always mistaken for rudeness.

Prostate cancer

The commonest cancer in men in the UK. Some kill, many never would, and telling them apart is the whole difficulty.

Prostatitis

Also called Chronic pelvic pain syndrome, Prostate inflammation

Pelvic pain in men, usually not an infection despite the name, and usually treated with repeated antibiotics that do not work.

Psoriasis

An immune condition causing skin cells to build up in plaques. Not contagious, and not just a skin problem.

Psoriatic arthritis

Also called PsA

Arthritis that comes with psoriasis, often years after the skin. Joint damage is preventable, and delay is what causes it.

Psychosis

Also called Schizophrenia, First episode psychosis

Losing contact with shared reality. Frightening, treatable, and surrounded by a great deal of nonsense.

Pudendal neuralgia

Nerve pain in the area you sit on, worse sitting and better standing. Frequently dismissed, and treatable by people who know what it is.

Pulmonary embolism

Also called PE, Blood clot on the lung

A clot that has travelled to the lungs. Sudden breathlessness with chest pain that is worse on breathing in is a 999 call.