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 161–170 (page 17 of 50).

E

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Also called Hypersomnia, Daytime sleepiness

Falling asleep in the day is a symptom, not a personality. Sleep apnoea is the commonest treatable cause and is massively under-diagnosed.

Excessive sweating

Also called Hyperhidrosis

Sweating far beyond what the body needs. Genuinely disabling socially, dismissed as trivial, and there is a treatment ladder that works.

Conjunctivitis

Also called Pink eye, Red eye

Usually harmless and self-limiting. The point of this entry is the red eyes that are not.

Eye injuries

Chemicals in the eye need irrigating immediately, before anything else and before travelling. Minutes decide whether sight is kept.

Eyelid problems

Also called Stye, Blepharitis, Ectropion, Entropion, Chalazion

Lumps, crusting and lids turning in or out. Mostly minor, and lid hygiene done properly is the treatment people are told about least.

F

Fainting

Also called Syncope, Blackout, Passing out

Usually harmless. The exceptions are fainting while lying down, during exercise, or with no warning at all, and those need a heart tracing.

Falls

The commonest reason older people end up in hospital. Almost never simply bad luck.

Febrile seizures

Also called Febrile convulsions, Fever fits

A fit during a fever in a young child. Terrifying to watch, almost always harmless, and not epilepsy.

Female genital mutilation

Also called FGM, Female genital cutting

Illegal in the UK, including taking a girl abroad for it. Health professionals have a mandatory duty to report it in under-18s.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Also called FASD, Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Brain differences caused by alcohol before birth. Probably the most under-diagnosed condition in this library.