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 71–80 (page 8 of 50).

C

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Also called CO poisoning, The silent killer

Colourless, odourless, and it mimics flu. An alarm costs less than a takeaway and is the only way to detect it.

Cardiomyopathy

Also called Heart muscle disease, HCM, DCM

Disease of the heart muscle itself, often inherited. It is the commonest cause of sudden cardiac death in young people, and relatives need testing.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

A nerve compressed at the wrist. Night pain is the giveaway, and a splint often solves it.

Cataracts

The lens of the eye clouding. The commonest cause of reversible sight loss, and surgery takes about twenty minutes.

Cauda equina syndrome

Also called CES, Cauda equina compression

The one back problem measured in hours. Saddle numbness, bladder or bowel changes, or new weakness in both legs is a 999 or A and E matter tonight.

Cavernoma

Also called Cavernous malformation, Cavernous angioma

A cluster of abnormal blood vessels in the brain. Most never cause trouble; the ones that bleed do so unpredictably.

Cellulitis

A bacterial infection spreading through the skin and the tissue beneath it. Common, and it turns serious fast.

Cerebral palsy

Also called CP

A permanent difference in movement and posture, caused once, early. It does not get worse, and it is not an intellectual disability.

Cervical screening

Also called Cervical cancer, Smear test, HPV

One of the few cancers we could largely eliminate. Screening plus the HPV vaccine is how, and uptake is falling.

Cervical spondylosis

Also called Neck arthritis, Neck pain, Degenerative disc disease

Age-related wear in the neck, present on scans in almost everybody over 60. The findings are normal; what matters is whether the spinal cord is being squeezed.