Health A to Z

Rotator cuff problems

Also called Shoulder impingement, Rotator cuff tear, Subacromial pain

The commonest cause of shoulder pain. Exercise beats surgery for most people, and most people are offered neither promptly.

Rubella

Also called German measles

Mild in the person who has it and devastating for a baby in early pregnancy. Eliminated by MMR, and returning as uptake falls.

Salivary gland stones

Also called Sialolithiasis, Blocked salivary duct

A stone blocking a salivary duct, so the gland swells at mealtimes. Distinctive, treatable, and easily mistaken for mumps.

Sarcoidosis

Inflammation that forms small lumps, most often in the lungs. Many people need no treatment at all, which is hard to be told.

Sarcopenia

Age-related loss of muscle mass and strength. Not inevitable, and the single biggest lever on independence in later life.

Scabies

A mite burrowing under the skin. Nothing to do with cleanliness, and outbreaks in care homes are common and mishandled.

Scarlet fever

Also called Scarlatina, Group A strep

A sandpaper rash with a sore throat in a child. Antibiotics are genuinely needed here, which makes it an exception among childhood rashes.

Schizoaffective disorder

Psychosis and a mood disorder occurring together. A diagnosis that shifts, and treatment has to address both halves.

Schizophrenia

The most misunderstood diagnosis in medicine. It does not mean a split personality, and most people with it are far more likely to be harmed than to harm anybody.

Scleroderma

Also called Systemic sclerosis, Morphoea

Hardening of the skin, and sometimes of internal organs. Cold white fingers years earlier are usually the first sign anybody had.