Health A to Z

Oral thrush

Also called Oral candidiasis, Thrush in the mouth

A fungal infection of the mouth. Common, easily treated, and usually a sign of something else worth finding.

Osteoarthritis

Also called OA, Degenerative joint disease, Wear and tear arthritis

The commonest joint condition in the UK. And the phrase wear and tear has done a great deal of harm.

Osteogenesis imperfecta

Also called Brittle bone disease, OI

A genetic condition causing fragile bones. And a family history that has to be documented, because safeguarding processes will ask.

Osteomyelitis and septic arthritis

Also called Bone infection, Joint infection, Septic arthritis

Infection in a bone or a joint. A hot, swollen, exquisitely painful joint is an emergency, and every hour of delay destroys cartilage.

Osteoporosis

Also called Brittle bones, Fragile bones

Bones losing density silently until one breaks. Half of women over 50 will have a fragility fracture.

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.