Asthma
Asthma is a common lung condition that causes occasional breathing difficulties.
It affects people of all ages and often starts in childhood, although it can also develop for the first time in adults.
There’s currently no cure, but there are simple treatments that can help keep the symptoms under control so it doesn’t have a big impact on your life.
When to See a GP
See your GP if you think you or your child may have asthma.
Several conditions can cause similar symptoms, so it’s important to get a proper diagnosis and correct treatment.
Your GP will usually be able to diagnose asthma by asking about symptoms and carrying out some simple tests.
Asthma is a common lung condition that causes occasional breathing difficulties.
It affects people of all ages and often starts in childhood, although it can also develop for the first time in adults.
There’s currently no cure, but there are simple treatments that can help keep the symptoms under control so it doesn’t have a big impact on your life.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of asthma are:
- Wheezing (a whistling sound when breathing);
- Breathlessness;
- A tight chest, which may feel like a band is tightening around it;
- Coughing.
The symptoms can sometimes get temporarily worse. This is known as an asthma attack.
Treatments
Asthma is usually treated by using an inhaler, a small device that lets you breathe in medicines.
The main types are:
- Reliever inhalers – used when needed to quickly relieve asthma symptoms for a short time.
- Preventer inhalers – used every day to prevent asthma symptoms occurring.
Some people also need to take tablets.
Causes and Triggers
Asthma is caused by swelling (inflammation) of the breathing tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. This makes the tubes highly sensitive, so they temporarily narrow.
It may occur randomly or after exposure to a trigger. Common asthma triggers include:
- Allergies – to house dust mites, animal fur or pollen, for example.
- Smoke, pollution and cold air.
- Exercise.
- Infections like colds or flu.
Identifying and avoiding your asthma triggers can help you keep your symptoms under control.
Useful Links
Cancer
Cancer is a condition where cells in a specific part of the body grow and reproduce uncontrollably. The cancerous cells can invade and destroy surrounding healthy tissue, including organs.
Cancer sometimes begins in one part of the body before spreading to other areas. This process is known as metastasis.
More than 1 in 3 people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. In the UK, the 4 most common types of cancer are:
- Breast cancer;
- Lung cancer;
- Prostate cancer;
- Bowel cancer.
There are more than 200 different types of cancer, and each is diagnosed and treated in a particular way.
Spotting Signs of Cancer
Changes to your body’s normal processes or unusual, unexplained symptoms can sometimes be an early sign of cancer.
Symptoms that need to be checked by a doctor include:
- A lump that suddenly appears on your body.
- Unexplained bleeding.
- Changes to your bowel habits.
But in many cases, your symptoms won’t be related to cancer and will be caused by other, non-cancerous health conditions.
Reducing Your Risk of Cancer
Making some simple changes to your lifestyle can significantly reduce your risk of developing cancer.
For example:
- Healthy eating.
- Taking regular exercise.
- Not smoking.
The Macmillan Cancer Support website has more information about how a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your chances of developing cancer, their web link can be found at the bottom of this page.
Cancer Treatment
Surgery is the first treatment to try for most types of cancer, as solid tumours can usually be surgically removed.
Two other commonly used treatment methods are:
- Chemotherapy – powerful cancer-killing medication.
- Radiotherapy – the controlled use of high-energy X-rays.
- Waiting times.
Accurately diagnosing cancer can take weeks or months. As cancer often develops slowly over several years, waiting for a few weeks won’t usually impact the effectiveness of treatment.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced referral guidelines for suspected cancer.
You shouldn’t have to wait more than 2 weeks to see a specialist if your GP suspects you have cancer and urgently refers you.
In cases where cancer has been confirmed, you shouldn’t have to wait more than 31 days from the decision to treat to the start of treatment.
Useful Links
Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major cause of death both in the UK and worldwide. CHD is sometimes called ischaemic heart disease.
Symptoms of CHD
The main symptoms of CHD are:
- Angina (chest pain).
- Heart attacks.
- Heart failure.
However, not everyone has the same symptoms and some people may not have any before CHD is diagnosed.
Causes of Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease is the term that describes what happens when your heart’s blood supply is blocked or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries.
Over time, the walls of your arteries can become furred up with fatty deposits. This process is known as atherosclerosis and the fatty deposits are called atheroma.
Atherosclerosis can be caused by lifestyle factors and other conditions, such as:
- Smoking.
- High cholesterol.
- High blood pressure (hypertension).
- Diabetes.
Diagnosing Coronary Heart Disease
If your doctor feels you’re at risk of CHD, they may carry out a risk assessment. This involves asking about your medical and family history, your lifestyle and taking a blood test.
Further tests may be needed to confirm a diagnosis of CHD, including:
- A treadmill test.
- A radionuclide scan.
- A CT scan.
- An MRI scan.
- A coronary angiography.
Treating Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease can’t be cured but treatment can help manage the symptoms and reduce the chances of problems such as heart attacks.
Treatment can include:
- Lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise and stopping smoking.
- Medication.
- Angioplasty – using balloons and stents to treat narrow heart arteries.
- Surgery.
Recovering From the Effects of CHD
If you have a heart attack or have had angioplasty or heart surgery, it’s possible to eventually resume a normal life.
Advice and support are available to help you deal with aspects of your life that may have been affected by CHD.
Preventing CHD
You can reduce your risk of getting CHD by making some simple lifestyle changes. These include:
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet.
- Being physically active.
- Giving up smoking.
- Controlling blood cholesterol and sugar levels.
Keeping your heart healthy will also have other health benefits, such as helping reduce your risk of stroke and dementia.
Useful Links
COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties.
It includes:
- Emphysema – damage to the air sacs in the lungs.
- Chronic bronchitis – long-term inflammation of the airways.
COPD is a common condition that mainly affects middle-aged or older adults who smoke. Many people don’t realise they have it.
The breathing problems tend to get gradually worse over time and can limit your normal activities, although treatment can help keep the condition under control.
Symptoms of COPD
The main symptoms of COPD are:
- Increasing breathlessness, particularly when you’re active.
- A persistent chesty cough with phlegm – some people may dismiss this as just a “smoker’s cough”.
- Frequent chest infections.
- Persistent wheezing.
Without treatment, the symptoms usually get slowly worse. There may also be periods when they get suddenly worse, known as a flare-up or exacerbation.
When to Get Medical Advice
See your GP if you have persistent symptoms of COPD, particularly if you’re over 35 and smoke or used to smoke.
Don’t ignore the symptoms. If they’re caused by COPD, it’s best to start treatment as soon as possible, before your lungs become significantly damaged.
Your GP will ask about your symptoms and whether you smoke or have smoked in the past. They can organise a breathing test to help diagnose COPD and rule out other lung conditions, such as asthma.
Causes of COPD
COPD occurs when the lungs become inflamed, damaged and narrowed. The main cause is smoking, although the condition can sometimes affect people who have never smoked.
The likelihood of developing COPD increases the more you smoke and the longer you’ve smoked.
Some cases of COPD are caused by long-term exposure to harmful fumes or dust, or occur as a result of a rare genetic problem that means the lungs are more vulnerable to damage.
Treatments for COPD
The damage to the lungs caused by COPD is permanent, but treatment can help slow down the progression of the condition.
Treatments include:
- Stopping smoking – if you have COPD and you smoke, this is the most important thing you can do.
- Inhalers and medications – to help make breathing easier.
- Pulmonary rehabilitation – a specialised programme of exercise and education.
- Surgery or a lung transplant – although this is only an option for a very small number of people.
Outlook for COPD
The outlook for COPD varies from person to person. The condition can’t be cured or reversed, but for many people treatment can help keep it under control so it doesn’t severely limit their daily activities.
But in some people COPD may continue to get worse despite treatment, eventually having a significant impact on their quality of life and leading to life-threatening problems.
Useful Links
Diabetes
Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high.
There are 2 main types of diabetes:
- Type 1 diabetes – where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin.
- Type 2 diabetes – where the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have type 2.
During pregnancy, some women have such high levels of blood glucose that their body is unable to produce enough insulin to absorb it all. This is known as gestational diabetes.
Pre-diabetes
Many more people have blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed as having diabetes.
This is sometimes known as pre-diabetes. If your blood sugar level is above the normal range, your risk of developing full-blown diabetes is increased.
It’s very important for diabetes to be diagnosed as early as possible because it will get progressively worse if left untreated.
When to see a doctor
Visit your GP as soon as possible if you experience the main symptoms of diabetes, which include:
- Feeling very thirsty.
- Urinating more frequently than usual, particularly at night.
- Feeling very tired.
- Weight loss and loss of muscle bulk.
- Itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush.
- Cuts or wounds that heal slowly.
- Blurred vision.
Type 1 diabetes can develop quickly over weeks or even days.
Many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because early symptoms tend to be general.
Causes of diabetes
The amount of sugar in the blood is controlled by a hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas (a gland behind the stomach).
When food is digested and enters your bloodstream, insulin moves glucose out of the blood and into cells, where it’s broken down to produce energy.
However, if you have diabetes, your body is unable to break down glucose into energy. This is because there’s either not enough insulin to move the glucose, or the insulin produced doesn’t work properly.
Although there are no lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes is often linked to being overweight.
Living With Diabetes
If you’re diagnosed with diabetes, you’ll need to eat healthily, take regular exercise and carry out regular blood tests to ensure your blood glucose levels stay balanced.
You can use the BMI healthy weight calculator to check whether you’re a healthy weight.
You can find apps and tools in the NHS Apps Library to help you manage your diabetes and have a healthier lifestyle.
People diagnosed with type 1 diabetes also require regular insulin injections for the rest of their life.
As type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition, medication may eventually be required, usually in the form of tablets.
Diabetic Eye Screening
Everyone with diabetes aged 12 or over should be invited to have their eyes screened once a year.
If you have diabetes, your eyes are at risk from diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can lead to sight loss if it’s not treated.
Screening, which involves a half-hour check to examine the back of the eyes, is a way of detecting the condition early so it can be treated more effectively.