Endocrine Abstracts

Having been diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia at the age of 5. I have been lucky enough to turn out as an adult with minimal impact from the condition, and lead a broadly normal life. This brief talk intends to provide a brief diagnostic background for my case, but mainly to focus on the lasting benefits that medical professionals can provide to a patient.

When dealing with children, the importance of providing factual education to the parents is broadly common place, but beyond facts, what about the attitude to a condition? Parents’ fears of harm coming to their children, and patients’ lack of understanding over consequences to low adherence to medication regimes can undermine excellent treatment at any age. The importance of the support is no less than the importance of medicinal treatment.

This talk is largely subjective, although based on my own experiences. Hopefully it will give some food for thought about how, even though contact time with a patient will often be <1% of the time in a year, the importance of care can provide a lasting benefit for 100% of the year.