This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Catarrh is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Catarrh (pronounced /kəˈtɑr/) is a thick exudate of mucus and white blood cells caused by the swelling of the mucous membranes in the head in response to an infection. It is a symptom usually associated with the common cold and chesty coughs, but can also be found in patients with infections of the adenoids, middle ear, sinus or tonsils. The catarrh may either discharge or cause a blockage which may become chronic.
Contents |
Problems caused by catarrh
A catarrh blockage may result in discomfort with (and what is known as ear fear of):
- elevators
- airplanes
- traveling at elevation
- baths such as swimming pools, jumping baths and other activities associated with a change in pressure.
Even the shallow end of a swimming bath can be troublesome; barotrauma -- a problem linked to head pressure changes which is affected by catarrh blockages -- can occur in as little as 4 feet (1.2 m) of water depth.
Etymology
The word "catarrh" comes from the Greek "katarrhein": kata- meaning "down" and rhein meaning "to flow."
External references
See also
References
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 24 August 2008, at 07:35.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Catarrh".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.