Complicated grief is long-lasting grief that occurs after a loss. It causes intense emotions and consuming thoughts that don’t fade over time and can affect your daily life. Grief is a natural way of coping with a loss. It can feel like you’re stuck in the mud, lost in a fog or trudging through water. You may experience pain, sadness and/or …

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a condition that causes pain, changes in skin color and other symptoms in a certain part of your body — usually in your extremities. Your extremities include your arm, leg, hand or foot. The symptoms of CRPS can greatly impact the function of your affected limb, sleep, daily activities and your mental health. Experts …

Common warts are small, grainy skin growths that occur most often on the fingers or hands. They’re rough to the touch and often have tiny black dots. These dots are clotted blood vessels. Common warts are caused by a virus and are transmitted by touch. It can take 2 to 6 months for a wart to develop. The warts are …

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a group of genetic disorders that affect your immune system. People with CVID have low levels of antibodies (proteins that fight infections) in their blood. When you don’t have enough antibodies, you can get sick more often and more severely than other people. People with CVID have frequent respiratory, ear and sinus infections. Vaccines are also ineffective because your immune system …

A common cold is a viral infection of your baby’s nose and throat. Nasal congestion and a runny nose are the main signs of a cold. Babies are especially likely to get the common cold, in part because they’re often around older children. Also, they have not yet developed immunity to many common infections. Within the first year of life, …

Being in a coma means you’re unconscious, unaware and unresponsive to what’s happening around you. It also blocks your awareness of yourself, including your body’s status and anything your body needs. At the most basic level, a coma means your brain isn’t working as it should. Comas are a possible complication of conditions that can severely disrupt or damage your …

Color blindness (color vision deficiency) is a fairly common condition in which you don’t see colors in the traditional way. This happens when cones (a type of nerve cell in your eye retina) aren’t working correctly. Cones process light and images as they enter your eye and send signals to your brain that allow you to perceive color. Color blindness usually doesn’t mean you …

Colon polyps are growths on the inside lining of your colon (large intestine). They’re a type of tumor, a cluster or mass of abnormal cells. Polyps are tumors that grow out of the mucous lining inside your hollow organs, like your gastrointestinal tract, your nose or female reproductive organs. Colon polyps are common, and many are harmless. But some types can grow into cancer if …

A pneumothorax (collapsed lung) happens when there’s air in the space between your chest wall and your lung (pleural space). Air in the pleural space can build up and press against your lung, causing it to partially or fully collapse. Pneumothorax is also called a punctured lung. A pneumothorax can be a medical emergency. Go to the nearest emergency department right …

Microscopic colitis (MC) is one of the lesser-known types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These are chronic conditions of inflammation inside your bowels (intestines). “Colitis” means inflammation of your colon (large intestine) — specifically, the inner lining. Many things can cause temporary colitis, but MC causes it on an ongoing basis. It’s called “microscopic” because it can only be seen under a microscope. If you …