Altitude sickness is also known as acute mountain sickness and can happen to anyone, no matter what your fitness level, age or experience of climbing is. It affects your breathing and your ability to take in oxygen. This can be life-threatening. It happens when you travel to a higher altitude too quickly, typically greater than 2,500m above sea level, often when mountain climbing but also if travelling to cities that are high above sea level. (It isn’t possible to get altitude sickness in the UK because no mountain in the country is anywhere near 2,500m above sea level).

Abdominal pain, commonly referred to as a stomach ache, is a discomfort or ache felt anywhere between the chest and pelvis. It is one of the most frequent reasons people visit their doctor or seek medical advice. While abdominal pain can be mild and short-lived, it can sometimes indicate a more serious underlying condition. Understanding the causes and symptoms of abdominal pain is essential for managing it effectively. The nature of the pain—whether it is sharp, dull, crampy, or constant—can provide important clues about its origin. By learning to identify what might be causing your discomfort, you can make informed decisions about whether to manage it at home or seek professional care. This guide will help you navigate the possible causes of abdominal pain, when it might be a cause for concern, and practical ways to find relief. Whether it’s a simple case of indigestion or something more serious, being informed is the first step to feeling better.\ \ You can also get pain that feels like colic – waves of sharp pain that can stop and start suddenly and common causes of this abdominal pain are kidney stones and gallstones.

Vomiting is common in children and can happen for a number of reasons. It’s usually due to an infection in the gut – gastroenteritis – and will clear in a day or two. Occasionally it can indicate something serious, but other signs also guide you to recognise this. Gastroenteritis can also cause diarrhoea – this may appear a few hours or a day after vomiting starts – and abdominal pain or cramps. Children are usually off their food, and they may have a mild fever. If it lasts longer than a couple of days or they are struggling to keep fluids down, it’s time to contact your doctor.

Stomach ache is very common and there are many causes of it, however, the majority are not caused by anything worrying and improve on their own or with simple over-the-counter treatment. The most common causes are: trapped wind - bloating indigestion stomach irritation constipation diarrhoea food poisoning - Rotavirus irritable bowel syndrome (IBS can also be a normal part of many women’s menstruation symptoms There are more serious causes of stomach aches however these are less common. Some examples of these include appendicitis, kidney infection or stones, and gallstones.

Possetting is when your baby brings back up undigested milk after each feed. It's really common in the first few months of life. This happens because your baby's digestive system is not very well developed after birth. The valve between the food pipe and the stomach normally works to prevent the backflow of milk. However, as this mechanism takes time to develop, your baby may spit up milk frequently in the meantime. Coupling this with the fact that babies have little stomachs, and breastfeeding mothers tend to have an oversupply of milk at first, it’s easy to understand how possetting comes to occur. 

Pregnancy can bring on unexpected changes, and unfortunately piles – or haemorrhoids as we doctors call them – are one of these surprises. Piles occur when a swelling forms of the blood vessels (veins) around the back passage. These can become engorged with blood, and look and feel like little pink cushions. Piles are very common in the general population, affecting both men and women, but pregnancy makes them more likely, due to the pressure from your growing baby, increased hormones such as progesterone that cause veins to relax, and straining to do a poo, as you’re more likely to be constipated in pregnancy.

Experiencing pain when urinating can be both alarming and uncomfortable. This symptom, medically known as dysuria, is fairly common and can affect both men and women, though it is more prevalent in women. Dysuria can range from a mild burning sensation to severe discomfort and can be caused by various underlying issues. Understanding the potential causes of pain during urination is crucial for finding the right treatment and relief. While some causes are relatively benign and can be easily treated, others may indicate a more serious condition requiring medical attention. It’s important to identify the specific cause of dysuria to ensure appropriate care. For women, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a frequent culprit. These infections occur when bacteria enter the urinary tract, leading to inflammation and pain. Women are more susceptible to UTIs due to their shorter urethra, which allows bacteria to reach the bladder more easily. Men, on the other hand, may experience dysuria due to issues like prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate gland. Other common causes of pain when urinating include sexually transmitted infections (STIs), kidney stones, and various types of vaginal infections. Additionally, irritation from harsh soaps, lotions, or sexual activity can also lead to discomfort during urination. Recognising the symptoms associated with these conditions can help in determining the cause and seeking the appropriate treatment. Early intervention is key to preventing complications and alleviating pain. This article will explore the common causes, symptoms, and treatment options for pain when urinating. We will also guide you on when to seek medical advice and offer practical tips for managing symptoms at home. Understanding dysuria can help you take the proper steps towards finding relief and maintaining your urinary health.

Nausea and vomiting are common symptoms that can be caused by various factors such as motion sickness, migraine, anxiety, alcohol, medicines, and recent surgery.  The symptoms associated with nausea depend on the underlying cause. Some common symptoms include an urge to vomit, or actual vomiting, not feeling like eating, severe headache, abdominal pain, vomiting blood, extreme weakness, high fever (over 38.5°C) blurred vision or eye pain, confusion, or stiff neck. How does occur? The mechanism for nausea and vomiting is complex and involves many physiological processes. The vomiting centre in the brainstem controls vomiting. The inner ear, intestines, and chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) send information to the centre. The brain's CTZ contains dopamine, serotonin, opioid, acetylcholine, and substance P receptors. Activating these receptors can cause nausea and vomiting. When activated, the CTZ sends signals to the brainstem vomiting centre. The hub coordinates activities that cause vomiting. Increased salivation, deep breathing to prevent aspiration, heaving or retching before vomiting, and pyloric sphincter relaxation, which guards the lower end of the stomach, are examples of these phenomena.

Motion sickness, or travel sickness, occurs when the movement of a car, train or boat you are travelling in causes a mismatch between the signals from the balance sensors in your ear and the sense of balance you get through eyesight. Think of being on a boat - it feels like it's rocking (the sensor in your ear tells your brain you're in motion) but when you look at the horizon, it's flat and still (your eyes tell your brain that you're stationary). This mismatch can cause some people to have symptoms of nausea, dizziness, headaches and feeling genuinely unwell. If you are on a mode of transport for more than a couple of days (such as on a cruise), the majority of people will find their body adapts and the symptoms improve. It is not known why some people suffer from motion sickness more than others. It is more common in women and people who suffer from migraines. It is also very common in children however the majority will grow out of it through their teenage years.

Morning sickness is very common in the early stages of pregnancy. It is estimated that 3 in 4 mothers experience nausea or vomiting, typically within the first 3-5 months of their pregnancy. Nausea is when you feel sick and vomiting is when you are sick. Contrary to popular belief, morning sickness does not only happen in the morning but any time of the day. It is quite unpleasant and depending on the severity can really affect your daily activities but thankfully does not tend to negatively affect your baby.  The cause is largely unknown, but it is suggested that it is related to the increased levels of pregnancy hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, and hCG.

Having regular pale stools is not usually normal. It can indicate that there could be problems with the gallbladder, liver or pancreas. Bile salts are stored in the gallbladder and are produced and released by the liver and pancreas - they give poo its normal brown colour. Any problem in the drainage system involving any one of these organs will cause your poo to become light or pale coloured. It is therefore important to see your doctor if this persists.

If you have a kidney stone stuck, you are likely to know about it. The stones are solid lumps, often with a high calcium content (think limescale clumps). They cause no problems when small or sitting in the kidney. But they cause excruciating pain if they get stuck moving from one of your kidneys, down a tube called the ureter, to your bladder. Most people describe the pain as coming in sharp or cramping waves, causing them to double over until the spasm passes after a few seconds or minutes. This is when your ureter is blocked but this muscular tube is trying to force the stone down by squeezing. You'll feel this from one side of your lower back, round to the front lower part of the abdomen. It sometimes radiates to the vagina, testicle or tip of the penis. This is called loin-to-groin pain. Stones then have to move from the bladder via another tube, the urethra, and out in your urine. This may correspond to more painful spasms as the urethra contracts.