Exploring the catarrh experience

Despite being prevalent throughout the centuries chronic catarrh remains a medically unexplained symptom. This is due in part to catarrh having no accepted definition in the medical literature and due also to the term meaning different things to different people. Although not everyone with catarrh will seek medical help for it, those who do are not infrequently disappointed by the apparent inability of the medical profession to alleviate their symptoms. This book aims to demystify the subject of catarrh by examining in detail the symptoms that chronic catarrh patients experience as well as exploring the beliefs that they hold about their problem and the expectations that they have of the medical profession whose help they seek regarding their catarrh. In doing so the book proposes new theory on the evolution of symptoms with particular regard to the transition from physiological body sensation to symptom proper. Although the subject of the book is catarrh, the concepts could apply equally to other chronic symptoms and as such the book should appeal to any clinician or health sciences researcher who deals with, or has an interest in, chronic illness.