Lung / Chest Conditions

UK sources of information and / or support

 Patient UK

Has the following information:

• Information leaflets on a number of lung and chest disorders
• A directory of patient support and self help groups.
• Web directory pages for individual lung disorders such as lung cancer, asthma etc.

In addition, the following sites are major providers of information on lung disorders.

 British Lung Foundation

Provide information on a number of topics including:

Air pollution, Allergy, Lung cancer, Asthma, Occupational lung disease, Bronchiectasis, Pneumonia, Inhalers, Sarcoidosis, Chronic bronchitis and emphysema (COPD), Smoking, COPD, Snoring and sleep apnoea, Exercise and the lungs, Steroid treatment for asthma, Fibrosing alveolitis, Tuberculosis, Flu, Children's lung disease, Alpha-1-antitrypsin Deficiency, Lung transplant, ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome), Mesothelioma, Asbestos, Aspergillosis, Bronchiolitis, Oxygen, Farmers Lung, Pneumothorax, Pulmonary embolism, Pulmonary fibrosis, LAM (lymphangioleiomyomatosis), Travelling to high altitudes, Legionnaires disease.

 British Thoracic society

Is a professional organisation for doctors who specialise in chest diseases, but the patient information section of their website provides information on a number of topics including:

About Chest Diseases, Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, COPD, Tuberculosis, Lung Cancer, Bronchoscopy, Transbronchial Biopsy, Lung Needle Biopsy.

 Lower respiratory tract infection

A patient guide to complement the SIGN national guideline for health professionals.

 Asthma UK

Is a major provider of asthma information

 Health Protection Agency

The Health Protection Agency provide information on a number of respiratory infections and methods of vaccination and treatment.

 Medicine Guide for Respiratory conditions (other)

Provides detailed information about the drugs available to treat this condition. Medicine Guides provide reliable information about medicines, conditions and the different treatment options available. They have been developed in the UK as part of the Medicines Information Project.

Further sources / more detailed information

Some non-UK sites

The following list popular non-UK health information sites with content aimed at the general public. They are mainly from the US. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included but these large sites are comprehensive.

• Non-UK disease / illness sites
• Non-UK self-help / support group sites

More detailed medical information

The following list online sources of more detailed medical information, mainly from the UK. These sites are mainly aimed at health professionals, but are of interest to all. They have not been checked to see if information about the above topic is included, but information about most medical topics can usually be found.

• PatientPlus - hundreds of medical reference articles provided by Patient UK.
• Evidence Based Medicine - such as from Clinical Evidence, The Cochrane Library, etc.
• Database of UK Clinical Guidelines - from NICE, SIGN, Clinical Knowledge Summaries, etc.
• Medline - abstracts available from thousands of journals.
• Sites listing free online medical textbooks and journals.
• Sites listing free medical images - pictures, atlases, anatomy, skin diseases, etc.