Health Advice
- Weight Management
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- First aid
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- Leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic
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- Addiction
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- Adenoids and adenoidectomy
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- Alexander technique
- Rhinitis, allergic
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- Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia
- Anaesthesia
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- Arteriography
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- Antacid medicines
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- Bird flu
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- Weaning
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- Septic arthritis
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- Weight loss surgery
- Barium enema
- Bartholin's cyst
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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
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- Spider bite
- Eye, black
- Bladder cancer
- Cystitis
- Bladder stones
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- Blood donation
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- Blood groups
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- Urine, blood in the
- Vomiting blood
- Septicaemia
- Hypertension
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- Blood tests
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- 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
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- Male breast cancer
- Screening for breast cancer
- Nipple discharge
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- Breastfeeding
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- Osteoporosis
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- Smelly feet (bromodosis)
- Bronchitis
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- Burns and scalds
- Heart bypass
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- Thrush, oral - adults
- Thrush, oral - babies
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
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- Rib, cervical
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- Chest pain
- Herpes zoster virus
- Statins
- Kidney disease, chronic
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- Cirrhosis
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- Pneumonia
- CT scan
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- Vegetative state
- Topical corticosteroids
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- Thyroiditis
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- Fluoride
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- Depression
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- Rectal examination
- Double vision
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- Shoulder dislocation
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- Lightheadedness
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- Periods, painful
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- Dyspraxia (adults)
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- Ebola virus disease
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- Endoscopy
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- Epidural
- Epilepsy
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- Ocular cancer
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- Frostbite
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- Herpes, genital
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- Ingrown hairs
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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
- Hepatitis A
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- Hernia, femoral
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- HIV and AIDS
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- Inquest
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- Natural family planning
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- Type 2 diabetes
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- Obesity
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- Paracetamol
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- Poisoning
- Reflux in babies
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- Radiation
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- Roundworm
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- Sexual health clinics
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- Vomiting in children and babies
- Sinus headache
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- Sleep paralysis
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- Spina bifida
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- Tension-type headaches
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- Thyroid cancer
- Tics
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- Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC or transferrin) test
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- Traction
- Travel vaccines
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- Vitamins, minerals and supplements
- Vomiting in adults
- Warfarin
- 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 - Diagnosing ulcerative colitis
(20/03/2014)
To diagnose ulcerative colitis, your GP will first ask about your symptoms, general health and medical history.
They will also physically examine you, checking for signs such as paleness (caused by anaemia) and tenderness in your tummy (caused by inflammation).
A stool sample can be checked for signs of infection, as gastroenteritis (infection of the stomach and bowel) can sometimes have similar symptoms to ulcerative colitis. Blood tests may also be carried out to check for anaemia and to see if there is inflammation on any part of your body.
Further tests
If your GP suspects you may have inflammatory bowel disease (a term mainly used to describe two diseases: ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease), you may be referred to hospital for further tests. These could include an X-ray and a detailed examination of your rectum and colon.
The two types of examination you may have are described below.
Sigmoidoscopy
A diagnosis of ulcerative colitis can be confirmed by examining the level and extent of bowel inflammation. This is initially done by using a sigmoidoscope, which is a flexible tube containing a camera that is inserted into your rectum (bottom).
A sigmoidoscopy can also be used to remove a small sample of tissue from your bowel, so it can be tested in a laboratory. This is known as a biopsy.
The procedure is not painful, but it can be uncomfortable, and you can be given a sedative to help you relax. It usually takes around 15 minutes and you can often go home the same day.
A sigmoidoscope is only capable of looking at the rectum and lower part of the colon. If it is thought your ulcerative colitis has affected more of your colon, another examination will be required. This is known as a colonoscopy.
Colonoscopy
A colonoscopy uses a longer and more flexible tube called the colonoscope, which allows your entire colon to be examined. As with a sigmoidoscope, a colonoscope can also be used to obtain a biopsy sample.
Before having a colonoscopy, your colon needs to be completely empty. Therefore, you will need to take strong laxatives beforehand.
A colonoscopy is not painful, but you may feel some initial discomfort. You will be given sedatives to help you relax. The procedure takes around half an hour, after which you will be able to go home.
- Anus
- The anus is the opening at the end of the digestive system where solid waste leaves the body.
- Biopsy
- A biopsy is a test that involves taking a small sample of tissue from the body so it can be examined.
- Blood tests
- During a blood test, a sample of blood is taken from a vein using a needle, so it can be examined in a laboratory.
- Enema
- An enema is an injection of fluid into the large intestine/colon to empty the bowel. It can also be used to make the bowels show up more clearly in an X-ray.
- Inflammation
- Inflammation is the body's response to infection, irritation or injury, which causes redness, swelling, pain and sometimes a feeling of heat in the affected area.
- Stool
- Stool (also known as faeces) is the solid waste matter that is passed from the body as a bowel movement.
- Ulcers
- An ulcer is a sore break in the skin, or on the inside lining of the body.
- X-ray
- An X-ray is a painless way of producing pictures of the inside of the body using radiation.