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.

500 conditions, showing 91–100 (page 10 of 50).

C

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Also called CTE, Punch-drunk syndrome

Brain degeneration linked to repeated head impacts, mainly in sport. It can only be confirmed after death, which does not make the risk imaginary.

Cirrhosis

Also called Liver disease, Fatty liver, Scarring of the liver

Scarring of the liver, usually silent until it is advanced. Liver disease is the one major cause of early death in the UK still rising, and much of it is preventable.

Cleft lip and palate

The commonest craniofacial condition in the UK. Surgery is early; speech, hearing and dental care run for two decades.

Clostridioides difficile infection

Also called C. diff, C. difficile, Pseudomembranous colitis

Diarrhoea caused by the antibiotics given for something else. Alcohol gel does not kill it, and that single fact explains most outbreaks.

Cluster headache

Attacks of extreme one-sided head pain, in clusters. Called suicide headache, and frequently misdiagnosed as migraine or sinusitis.

Coeliac disease

An immune reaction to gluten that damages the gut. Not an intolerance, not a preference, and not optional.

Cold sores

Also called Herpes simplex, Fever blisters

Caused by a virus most adults already carry. Harmless in most people, and genuinely dangerous around newborns and eczema.

Colour vision deficiency

Also called Colour blindness

Affects around one boy in twelve, is usually undiagnosed at school, and is an education problem long before it is a medical one.

Common cold

Also called Upper respiratory tract infection, URTI

The most common illness there is, and the one antibiotics are most often wasted on. Worth knowing when it is not a cold.

Compartment syndrome

Pressure building inside a limb after injury or a cast, strangling the muscle from within. Pain that keeps increasing despite painkillers is the alarm.