2 results
Vomiting and nausea
- from Medical topics
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- By David J. De Lancy Horne, University of Birmingham and Cancer Centre, Elizabeth A. Coombes, University of Birmingham and Cancer Centre
- Edited by Susan Ayers, University of Sussex, Andrew Baum, University of Pittsburgh, Chris McManus, Stanton Newman, Kenneth Wallston, John Weinman, Robert West
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- Book:
- Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine
- Published online:
- 18 December 2014
- Print publication:
- 23 August 2007, pp 929-932
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- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Phenomenology of vomiting and nausea
Feelings of nausea (N) and actual vomiting (V) are universal experiences of human beings and probably also of many animals. Most of the time both N and V are acute experiences that pass quickly and are of little medical or health significance. However, severe and/or prolonged N and/or V can be very distressing and even life threatening; for example in children when V is associated with diarrhoea and dehydration, or people who die through choking on their vomit.
As Stern (2002) has recently highlighted, N, like pain, fatigue and itchiness, is a private, subjective experience but one which is highly dependent upon the interplay of profound physiological and psychological factors. Both V and N share much in common as far as causal factors are concerned but V, unlike N, is an observable and objectively verifiable event. This has implications for medical assessment and treatment so that N may be under-recognized and under-treated compared with V. This is particularly pertinent in chemotherapy for cancer (e.g. Sun et al., 2002) (see ‘Chemotherapy’).
N and V are associated with many aspects of illness and healthcare and frequently are of clinical significance (e.g. bulimia with induced vomiting; viral infections; side effects of treatments, such as chemotherapy (Osaba et al., 1997) and in pregnancy (Chou et al., 2003), where clear relationships have been found between depression and N and V.
Eczema
- from Medical topics
-
- By David J. De Lancy Horne, University of Birmingham and Cancer Centre, Elizabeth A. Coombes, University of Birmingham and Cancer Centre
- Edited by Susan Ayers, University of Sussex, Andrew Baum, University of Pittsburgh, Chris McManus, Stanton Newman, Kenneth Wallston, John Weinman, Robert West
-
- Book:
- Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine
- Published online:
- 18 December 2014
- Print publication:
- 23 August 2007, pp 693-696
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
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Summary
Introduction: prevalence and prognosis
Atopic eczema has been defined as ‘an inflammatory disease, characterized by an itchy, erythmatous, poorly demarcated skin eruption, which has a predilection for the skin creases’ (Williams, 1994, cited in Charman, 1999). Symptoms include intractable itching, skin damage and soreness. Where it lasts into adulthood it becomes a lifelong disease where the typical pattern is of a labile course resulting in some uncertainty and insecurity. Eczema or atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common childhood condition. It usually presents during the first year of life (Barnetson & Rogers, 2002) and in 60–70% of cases clears up during teenage years, although relapses may occur (Charman, 1999). The remaining sufferers are older children, adolescents and adults with a chronic skin condition. Symptoms can be mild or severe, and if severe can have both physical and psychological repercussions for the sufferer and the whole family.
Eczema is probably the most common of the atopy diseases to come to the attention of psychologists and psychiatrists for treatment and may co-exist with other atopy disorders in up to 48% of cases (Diepgen & Fartasch, 1992). Eczema affects 15–20% of children in the United Kingdom and 2–3% of adults (Charman, 1999), with a rising trend of incidence of twofold to threefold over the past three decades (Barnetson & Rogers, 2002). A large cross-sectional survey of 715 033 children and adolescents, in 56 countries, revealed a range of prevalence rates from less than 2% in Iran to over 17% in Nigeria.