Invisible illness

An invisible illness or hidden illness is any physical or psychological illness that has no obvious physical signs, for example cancer or depression. Some invisible illnesses are well understood by medical professionals and have clear medical tests, for example diabetes, but others are poorly understood and often go undiagnosed, for example ME/CFS, fibromyalgia.

People with invisible illnesses may experience increased levels of stigma and discrimination, a lack of social support from family or friends, and difficulty accessing disability supports.

Many invisible illnesses are chronic illness, meaning that they are long term health conditions and do not ha known cure.

Signs and symptoms
Invisible illnesses can have many different signs and symptoms, but people usually don't look "visibly ill", for example they generally do not present with obvious signs of mobility problems such as poor coordination or leg braces, and they don't have obvious skin or facial changes such as yellowed skin, extreme pallor, swelling or excessive bruising.

Effects
Some invisible illnesses do not have a particular diagnostic test or are relatively rare, which can mean that some doctors doubt patients, and neglect their basic needs. An invisible illness is not necessary a mild or non-serious illness, for example when HIV/AIDS first emerged it caused many deaths and had few visible signs until the disease was in the later stages.

Treatment
Treatment usually depends on the illness diagnosed, but if there is no clear diagnosis then treatment can be aimed at particular symptoms.

News and articles

 * [2020, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-51467408 Chronic fatigue syndrome: Living with an invisible illness] - BBC News
 * 2020, How To Talk To Your Doctor If You're Experiencing Chronic Pain - Huffington Post
 * Patient Voices: Fibromyalgia - New York Times
 * 2000, What Happens When You're Disabled but Nobody Can Tell - New York Times
 * 2009, Hidden disorder 'stripped me of life'