Chronic Illnesses

noun a person who suffers from asthma

adjective relating to or suffering from asthma

• The asthmatic patient requires regular monitoring and medication to manage their condition.
• My friend is asthmatic and always carries an inhaler with them.
• I can't hang out in that smoky bar, I'm asthmatic and it will trigger an attack.
• Her fear of failure was like an asthmatic's struggle for breath, overwhelming and suffocating.

noun a medical condition characterized by difficulty breathing, wheezing, and coughing

• Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition characterized by difficulty breathing.
• My friend has asthma and always carries an inhaler with them.
• I can't hang out with them tonight, they're having an asthma attack.
• The city's pollution problem is like asthma, suffocating its residents.

noun a condition in which the air sacs of the lungs are damaged and enlarged, causing breathlessness

• Emphysema is a chronic lung condition characterized by the damage of the air sacs in the lungs.
• My grandfather has emphysema from smoking for many years.
• I heard that smoking can give you emphysema, so I'm trying to quit.
• The pollution in the city was like a slow poison, causing emphysema in the environment.

adjective Long standing is used as an adjective to describe something that has existed or been in place for a long time.

• The company has a long standing tradition of excellence in customer service.
• That restaurant has a long standing reputation for serving the best pizza in town.
• My grandma has been a long standing member of the book club for years.
• The long standing feud between the two families finally came to an end.

noun a sleep disorder characterized by sudden and uncontrollable episodes of deep sleep

• Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep.
• My friend has narcolepsy, so he often falls asleep unexpectedly during the day.
• I heard that narcolepsy is like having a superpower that makes you fall asleep at any moment.
• His narcolepsy causes him to drift off into dreamland at the most inconvenient times.

noun a condition characterized by persistent symptoms that continue for weeks or months after the acute phase of a COVID-19 infection has resolved

• Long Covid refers to the lingering symptoms that persist long after the initial infection has resolved.
• Have you heard about long covid? It's when people still have symptoms even after recovering from Covid-19.
• Long Covid sucks, man. It's like the gift that keeps on giving.
• Dealing with long covid is like navigating through a never-ending maze of symptoms and challenges.

noun a medical condition that exists simultaneously with and independently of another condition in a patient

• The patient's diagnosis was complicated by the presence of comorbidity.
• The doctor said the other health issues are making things more complicated.
• Having comorbidity sucks, it's like dealing with multiple health problems at once.
• Comorbidity is like having unwanted guests at a party, they just make everything more difficult.

noun Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a type of lung disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the airways.

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that makes it hard to breathe.
• My grandpa has COPD from smoking for so many years.
• COPD is like having a permanent smoker's cough.
• Living with COPD feels like trying to breathe through a straw.

noun a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own moisture-producing glands, leading to symptoms such as dry eyes and mouth

• Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune condition that affects the body's moisture-producing glands.
• My friend was recently diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, which explains her dry eyes and mouth.
• Dealing with Sjögren’s syndrome can be a real pain in the neck, literally.
• Living with Sjögren’s syndrome sometimes feels like being stuck in a desert without water.

noun named after Thomas Addison, the British physician who first described the condition in 1855

• Addison's disease is a rare disorder of the adrenal glands.
• My friend was recently diagnosed with Addison's disease.
• I heard that Addison's disease can really mess with your energy levels.
• Dealing with Addison's disease feels like constantly running on empty.