Asthma
Asthma is a long-term condition that affects your airways - the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. You could say that someone with asthma has 'sensitive' airways that are inflamed and ready to react when they come into contact with something they don't like.
Asthma tends to run in families, especially when there's also a history of allergies and/or smoking.
To control Asthma, patients need to work closely with their doctor's surgery to develop an effective therapeutic regime to manage and control their condition. If asthma is not well controlled the chances of an asthma attack are significantly increased.
Useful Links
There is now a useful website and an app created by RightBreathe, to download on Apple and Android products. This has been designed to aid patients in using their inhaled therapy and devices more efficiently.
Note: Please ensure that when you are downloading the app, that you select the correct one - please see RightBreathe's company logo, detailed on their website:-
Chronic Heart Disease (CHD)
Cardiovascular disease includes all the diseases of the heart and circulation including coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, congenital heart disease and stroke. Making lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, following a healthy diet and maintaining regular exercise are all crucial factors to consider when managing chronic heart disease. Taking responsibility for your CHD will enable you to manage your CHD more effectively. Regular reviews with our CHD specialist nurse are essential in managing your CHD.
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Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a long-term condition where the kidneys don't work as well as they should.
It's a common condition often associated with getting older. Anyone can get it, although it's more common in black people and people of south Asian origin.
CKD can get gradually worse over time and eventually the kidneys may stop working altogether, but this is uncommon. Many people with kidney disease are able to live long, largely normal lives.
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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (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.
Useful Links
There is now a useful website and an app created by RightBreathe, to download on Apple and Android products. This has been designed to aid patients in using their inhaled therapy and devices more efficiently.
Note: Please ensure that when you are downloading the app, that you select the correct one - please see RightBreathe's company logo, detailed on their website:-
Dementia
Dementia is a common condition. Your risk of developing dementia increases as you get older, and the condition usually occurs in people over the age of 65.
Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an on-going decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with:
- memory loss
- thinking speed
- mental agility
- language
- understanding
- judgement
People with dementia can become apathetic or uninterested in their usual activities, and have problems controlling their emotions. They may also find social situations challenging, lose interest in socialising, and aspects of their personality may change.
A person with dementia may lose empathy (understanding and compassion), they may see or hear things that other people do not (hallucinations) or they may make false claims or statements.
As dementia affects a person's mental abilities, they may find planning and organising difficult. Maintaining their independence may also become a problem. A person with dementia will therefore usually need help from friends or relatives, including help with decision making.
Your GP will discuss the possible causes of memory loss with you, including dementia. Other symptoms can include:
- increasing difficulties with tasks and activities that require concentration and planning
- depression
- changes in personality and mood
- periods of mental confusion
- difficulty finding the right words
Most types of dementia can't be cured, but if it is detected early there are ways you can slow it down and maintain mental function.
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Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly. Effective diabetes care can only be achieved through working closely with your diabetes healthcare team. We have a specialised Nurse here to support you and help you in self-managing your diabetes. Although regular check up with the surgery to monitor your diabetes is crucial, the most important person in the team is you. The decisions you make will affect you. Taking responsibility for your diabetes will enable you to manage your diabetes more effectively.
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Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and causes repeated seizures.
Epilepsy is estimated to affect more than 500,000 people in the UK. This means that almost one in every 100 people has the condition.
Seizures
The cells in the brain, known as neurons, conduct electrical signals and communicate with each other in the brain using chemical messengers. During a seizure, there are abnormal bursts of neurons firing off electrical impulses, which can cause the brain and body to behave strangely.
The severity of seizures can differ from person to person. Some people simply experience an odd feeling with no loss of awareness, or may have a "trance-like" state for a few seconds or minutes, while others lose consciousness and have convulsions (uncontrollable shaking of the body).
Some people may only have a single seizure at some point during their life. If they do not have a high risk of having further seizures, they would not be regarded as having epilepsy.
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Hyperthyroidism
An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) is where your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough hormones.
Common signs of an underactive thyroid are tiredness, weight gain and feeling depressed.
An underactive thyroid can often be successfully treated by taking daily hormone tablets to replace the hormones your thyroid isn't making.
There's no way of preventing an underactive thyroid. Most cases are caused either by the immune system attacking the thyroid gland and damaging it, or by damage to the thyroid that occurs during some treatments for an overactive thyroid or thyroid cancer.
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Hypertension
High blood pressure, or hypertension, rarely has noticeable symptoms. But if untreated, it increases your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
More than one in four adults in the UK have high blood pressure, although many won't realise it.
The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked.
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Learning Disabilities
A learning disability affects the way a person learns new things in any area of life, not just at school. Find out how a learning disability can affect someone, and where you can find support.
A learning disability affects the way a person understands information and how they communicate. Around 1.5m people in the UK have one. This means they can have difficulty:
- understanding new or complex information
- learning new skills
- coping independently
It is thought that up to 350,000 people have severe learning disabilities. This figure is increasing.
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Mental Health
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:
- Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
- Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
- Family history of mental health problems
Mental health problems are common but help is available.
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Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common condition, in which a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries restricts blood supply to leg muscles. It's also known as peripheral vascular disease (PVD).Useful Links
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. The symptoms usually affect the hands, feet and wrists.
There may be periods where symptoms become worse, known as flare-ups or flares.
A flare can be difficult to predict, but with treatment it's possible to decrease the number of flares and minimise or prevent long-term damage to the joints.
Some people with rheumatoid arthritis also experience problems in other parts of the body, or more general symptoms such as tiredness and weight loss.
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