Essential tremor occurs when parts of your body begin to shake against your control, usually the hands, though the head or voice may be affected. This is the "tremor" part – the "essential" part basically means this is not linked to a serious disease or any medical condition such as Parkinson’s disease. It’s a neurological condition that occurs out of the blue and begins with signals in the brain leading to the nervous system. Essential tremors usually affect both hands from the beginning and become more pronounced with movement. With the hand, it’s more obvious when you carry out simple tasks like carrying a drink or writing something down. They typically get worse over time and for some people it can really affect their day to day activities. Essential tremors can be caused by a genetic mutation and can be inherited from one of your parents. It’s more common in those over the age of 40. Stress and tiredness can make the symptoms worse, and alcohol can improve things (use this more as a diagnostic tool than a treatment). Many people worry about Parkinson’s disease, but they are very different diseases with different outcomes. Essential tremor is much more common than Parkinson’s disease, there’s usually a family history, and it typically starts around the age of 40, rather than Parkinson’s in your 60s or older.

Failure to thrive describes when a child is not growing or developing as they should. It is commonly diagnosed in babies and toddlers, when they haven’t met the height or weight we would expect for their age, compared to the national average. It’s more of a symptom than a condition, and requires a bit of investigation to work out what the underlying reason might be.

A febrile seizure (sometimes called a febrile convulsion or febrile fit) happens when some babies and toddlers have a high temperature (fever).) It can be alarming and scary to see, but it's usually harmless, and most children make a complete recovery. It’s best to get your child checked out the first time this happens, so take them to the nearest hospital or call an ambulance if your child is having a seizure. Children aged between 6 months and 3 years are most commonly affected, and around 5% of children have a febrile seizure before the age of 6. It doesn’t affect every child, but once they’ve one febrile convulsion, they have a higher chance of having a seizure with the next feverish illness – the chance is about 1 in 3. They are rare under the age of 3 months and after the age of 6.

You have clusters of lymph nodes all over the body, and people often refer to these as glands. Most people have experienced them swelling at the time of a cold or tonsilitis, just under the jawline on either side of the neck. When you’re well, you can’t usually feel lymph nodes (although it is possible to feel ones that are close to the surface of the skin!). They swell up in a normal response to infection, which is when you can feel them more prominently in the neck, armpits or groin. They also sit in the chest and tummy. There are some occasions when one or more lymph nodes may be concerning, and need to be checked out.

Anosmia is a condition that describes failure of our sense of smell. Although there are many other conditions that can cause anosmia, it has become well-known since the pandemic started, as it was classified as one of three typical symptoms of COVID-19 before people were vaccinated. Loss of sense of smell occurs during the acute COVID illness but can last long after you have since recovered. Your ability to smell is closely linked to your taste buds so it can make your food taste bland or alter your smell so that things either don’t smell of anything or smell very different. You may detect a charred or burning smell, and can have a knock-on effect on your appetite. You may only be able to smell or taste a little – partial anosmia – or you may find certain smells or tastes unpleasant. You may experience a bad smell all the time, like smelling smoke or petrol, even if it’s not present.

Vertigo the sensation that you are in motion, even when you are standing still, or that everything around you is moving. It feels similar to being on a boat, and can result in the same feeling of loss of balance, nausea and vomiting. The attack typically lasts from a few seconds to minutes, but it can last days. Effects range from minimal to severe enough to affect your daily life, but it's more than just dizziness. Vertigo has nothing to do with a fear of heights. This is a popular misconception that started from the Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name. Acrophobia means fear of heights, but it may cause a spinning sensation when looking down from a high place that is similar to some aspects of vertigo.

Swelling in the ankles, feet or legs is often caused by fluid build-up and we call it oedema. Your legs might look puffy, shiny or stretched, and they might feel a bit sore or heavy and cause difficulty walking. It's quite common in very warm weather, especially if you've been on your feet all day. It often goes away on its own within, but it’s reasonable to see your doctor if it does not improve after a few days or your symptoms are getting worse.

Sweaty palms are also known as palmar hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis, a condition characterised by excessive sweating beyond what is necessary for thermoregulation, can significantly impact the quality of life physically, emotionally and psychologically. Sweating is one of the key ways our body regulates its temperature and effectively cools down. Overactive sweat glands cause individuals to sweat more than needed - this can lead to the experience of sweaty palms. Sweaty palms do not usually indicate a serious problem but on occasion, it can be caused by an underlying condition.

As doctors, we talk about seizures, but the general public use the terms seizures and fits interchangeably. Most people think of a seizure as when someone falls to the ground and their body starts shaking and jerking uncontrollably. But seizures can be more subtle, affecting just one side of the body or one limb, or even repetitive finger or eye movement, or there may be no visible signs, and in an absence seizure a person zones out for a few seconds or minutes without movements. Seizures all have in common a disruption to normal brain activity, and the person affected is unable to control a seizure, put it off, bring it on, or pull themselves out of one. Some occur in sleep, others while awake, some people may become unconscious during a seizure, which can cause a dangerous drop in oxygen levels. Some last momentarily, whilst others last for longer. If you have two or more seizures more than 24 hours apart, this is considered to be epilepsy until proven otherwise. Any seizure which lasts longer than five minutes is a medical emergency and needs immediate medical attention. Medications are used to help control the symptoms as best as possible.

Seizures occur when the brain’s normal communication of electrical activity is interrupted. Seizures in children can occur for several reasons, and the first time they need to go to the emergency department for urgent assessment as to why they’ve had a fit. If no clear cause is found and they have two or more seizures, this is diagnosed as epilepsy.

Nosebleeds are also known by their medical name epistaxis and are extremely common. In most cases, nosebleeds are not concerning and tend to stop on their own within a couple of minutes or with the help of self-administered first aid. The majority of nosebleeds are caused by damage to the lining of the inside of the nose due to picking it or minor damage when you blow your nose. Other causes of a nosebleed include suffering trauma to the nose or head, high blood pressure, poor blood clotting (this can be due to medication or medical conditions), or pregnancy where changes of hormones lead to increased blood flow in your nose and an increased chance of getting a nosebleed. Nosebleeds are also more common in young children and the elderly due to the lining of the nose being more fragile.

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.