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 421–430 (page 43 of 50).

S

Shingles

Also called Herpes zoster

Chickenpox virus reactivating along a nerve. Treatment within 72 hours substantially reduces the risk of lasting pain.

Short-sightedness and long-sightedness

Also called Myopia, Hypermetropia, Astigmatism, Refractive error

The commonest reason people cannot see clearly, and entirely correctable. Free eye tests exist for the groups most likely to miss out.

Sickle cell disease

Red blood cells that change shape and block vessels. The commonest inherited condition in the UK, and its pain is routinely disbelieved.

Sinusitis

Also called Sinus infection, Rhinosinusitis

Usually viral, usually better in two to three weeks, and one of the most common reasons antibiotics are prescribed when they do nothing.

Sjögren's syndrome

The immune system attacking the glands that make tears and saliva. Dismissed as dryness, and it is a systemic disease.

Non-melanoma skin cancer

Also called Basal cell carcinoma, Squamous cell carcinoma, Rodent ulcer

By far the commonest cancer in the UK. Rarely fatal, and it disfigures faces when it is left.

Skin lumps and cysts

Also called Lipoma, Sebaceous cyst, Epidermoid cyst, Skin tags

Most lumps under the skin are harmless. The features that matter are size, depth, growth and pain, and they are worth knowing.

Slapped cheek syndrome

Also called Fifth disease, Parvovirus B19, Erythema infectiosum

A mild childhood rash that matters for three groups: pregnant women, people with sickle cell, and anybody immunosuppressed.

Sleep apnoea

Also called Obstructive sleep apnoea, OSA

Breathing repeatedly stopping during sleep. Around 1.5 million UK adults, and most are undiagnosed.

Slipped disc

Also called Prolapsed disc, Herniated disc, Sciatica

Nothing slips. Most settle within weeks without surgery, and the scan findings frighten people far more than the condition warrants.