Health Advice
- Weight Management
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- First aid
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- Leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic
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- Addiction
- Addison's disease
- Adenoids and adenoidectomy
- Frozen shoulder
- Agoraphobia
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- Alcohol misuse
- Alcohol poisoning
- Alexander technique
- Rhinitis, allergic
- Indoor allergy
- Mountain sickness
- Alzheimer's disease
- Lazy eye
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- Amniocentesis
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- Steroid misuse
- Iron deficiency anaemia
- Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia
- Anaesthesia
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- Angelman syndrome
- Anger management
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- Arteriography
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- Dog bites
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- Smell sense, loss of
- Antacid medicines
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- Wrist, broken
- Arterial thrombosis
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- Hearing tests
- Bird flu
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- Skin rashes in babies
- Weaning
- Lumbago (low back pain)
- Septic arthritis
- Halitosis (bad breath)
- Weight loss surgery
- Barium enema
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- Bedbugs
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- Behçet’s disease
- Facial paralysis
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- Prostate enlargement
- Beta-blockers
- Bicarbonate test
- Binge eating
- Biopsy
- Bipolar disorder
- Spider bite
- Eye, black
- Bladder cancer
- Cystitis
- Bladder stones
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- Blood donation
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- Blood groups
- Coughing up blood
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- Urine, blood in the
- Vomiting blood
- Septicaemia
- Hypertension
- Low blood pressure
- Blood tests
- Blood transfusion
- Blushing
- Bromhidrosis (body odour)
- Bone cyst
- DXA scan
- Bone marrow donation
- Stem cell transplant
- Borderline personality disorder
- Bottle feeding
- Botulism
- Rectal cancer
- Polyps, bowel
- Leaky gut syndrome
- Orthodontics
- Brain abscess
- Head injury, severe
- Brain tumour, benign (non-cancerous)
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- Brain tumours
- Breast abscess
- Breast cancer
- Male breast cancer
- Screening for breast cancer
- Nipple discharge
- Mastitis
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- Breastfeeding
- Shortness of breath
- Osteoporosis
- Fractured collarbone
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- Leg, broken
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- Toe, broken
- Tooth, broken or knocked out
- Smelly feet (bromodosis)
- Bronchitis
- Teeth grinding
- Thyroid eye disease
- Bulimia
- Burns and scalds
- Heart bypass
- Caesarean section
- Food poisoning
- Cancer
- Thrush
- Thrush, men
- Thrush, oral - adults
- Thrush, oral - babies
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cartilage damage
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- Rib, cervical
- Smear test
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- Chemotherapy
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- Chest pain
- Herpes zoster virus
- Statins
- Kidney disease, chronic
- Leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic
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- Cirrhosis
- Claustrophobia
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- White coated tongue
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- Herpes simplex virus
- Cold
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- Combined contraceptive pill
- Pneumonia
- CT scan
- Concussion
- Hole in the heart
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- Vegetative state
- Topical corticosteroids
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- Undescended testicles
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- Date rape drugs
- Thyroiditis
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- Fluoride
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- Depression
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- Nutrition
- Rectal examination
- Double vision
- Nummular eczema
- Shoulder dislocation
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- Ebola virus disease
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- Epilepsy
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- Seasonal flu
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- Tendon repair, hand
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- Nits
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- Hearing and vision tests for children
- Myocardial infarction
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- Heart transplant
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- Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
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- Periods, heavy
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- Hernia, femoral
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- Painkillers, ibuprofen
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- Natural family planning
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- Type 2 diabetes
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- Obesity
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- Poisoning
- Reflux in babies
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- Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC or transferrin) test
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- Traction
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- Vitamins, minerals and supplements
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- Weight loss (unexpected and unplanned)
- Whiplash
- Wisdom tooth removal
- X-ray
- Yellow fever
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Every parent’s heart sinks when they receive the dreaded note from school warning about head lice. Don’t worry – Jane Brennan from Brennan’s Life Pharmacy in Donabate is here to to give us advice and tips. The first thing to do is to check the child’s head. You will need some tea tree conditioner, a... Read more >
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Read moreNHS Choices - Introduction
(27/04/2015)
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver caused by continuous, long-term liver damage.
Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver and prevents the liver from working properly.
The damage caused by cirrhosis can't be reversed and eventually can become so extensive that your liver stops functioning. This is called liver failure.
Cirrhosis can be fatal if the liver fails. However, it usually takes years for the condition to reach this stage and treatment can help slow its progression.
Each year in the UK, around 4,000 people die from cirrhosis and 700 people with the condition need a liver transplant to survive.
Signs and symptoms
There are usually few symptoms in the early stages of cirrhosis. However, as your liver loses its ability to function properly, you're likely to experience a loss of appetite, nausea and itchy skin.
In the later stages, symptoms can include jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes), vomiting blood, dark, tarry-looking stools and a build-up of fluid in the legs (oedema) and abdomen (ascites).
Read more about the symptoms of cirrhosis.
When to see your GP
As cirrhosis doesn't have many obvious symptoms during the early stages, it's often picked up during tests for an unrelated illness.
See your GP if you have any of the following symptoms:
- fever and shivering
- shortness of breath
- vomiting blood
- very dark or black, tarry stools (faeces)
- periods of confusion or drowsiness
Read more about diagnosing cirrhosis.
What causes cirrhosis?
In the UK, the most common causes of cirrhosis are:
- drinking too much alcohol (alcohol misuse) over many years
- being infected with the hepatitis C virus for a long time
- a condition called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) that causes excess fat to build up in the liver
NASH is on the rise in the UK due to increasing levels of obesity and reduced physical activity. It's likely that it will overtake alcohol and hepatitis C as the most common cause of cirrhosis.
Less common causes of cirrhosis include hepatitis B infection and inherited liver diseases, such as haemochromatosis.
Read more about the causes of cirrhosis.
Treating cirrhosis
There's currently no cure for cirrhosis. However, it's possible to manage the symptoms and any complications, and slow its progression.
Treating underlying conditions that may be the cause, such as using anti-viral medication to treat a hepatitis C infection, can also stop cirrhosis getting worse.
You may be advised to cut down or stop drinking alcohol, or to lose weight if you're overweight. A wide range of alcohol support services are available.
In its more advanced stages, the scarring caused by cirrhosis can make your liver stop functioning. In this case, a liver transplant is the only treatment option.
Read more about treating cirrhosis.
Preventing cirrhosis
Not exceeding the recommended limits for alcohol consumption is the best way of preventing alcohol-related cirrhosis.
Men should drink no more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day. Women should drink no more than 2-3 units a day. Read more about alcohol units.
Hepatitis B and C are infections you can get by having unprotected sex or sharing needles to inject drugs. Using a condom during sex and not injecting drugs will reduce your risk of developing hepatitis B and C.
A vaccine for hepatitis B is available but there's currently no vaccine for hepatitis C.
Read more about preventing cirrhosis.