Diplomate, Board Certification of Emergency Medicine
Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine Ma'ayenei
Hayeshua Hospital
Doctors and patients do not speak the same language. I
remember in my pre-medicine days hearing many terms that
people used and not knowing what diseases they referred to.
It took me some time but I think I have discovered the
meaning of many of them.
A "heart attack" in medical language is a myocardial
infarction or an MI. It means part of the heart has been
deprived of oxygen for a long enough period that it dies and
is replaced by scar tissue.
A "stroke" is a CVA, when the same thing happens in the
brain. A "nervous breakdown" and "exhaustion" seem to mean
the same thing: an acute episode of psychosis.
The "grippe" is an old term which refers to the flu or
influenza.
A "miscarriage" is a completed abortion; one should not be
insulted by this term which does not refer to a procedure
that is against Jewish law, despite using a similar name.
A "lazy eye" is strabismus; it is a problem of one of the
muscles that move the eye.
Old people often complain that their "rheumatism" is acting
up, it seems to me that they are referring to arthritis
despite the similarity of the word to rheumatic disorder
which is a disease like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoid
and other rare entities.
"Lumbago" is another term often used by the elderly
referring to back pain.
"Exposure" is a literary term which refers to hypothermia, a
dangerous lowering of body temperature.
The 24-hour virus and food poisoning are terms for
gastroenteritis; this is a vomiting and diarrheal disease
that usually resolves on its own.
"Mongoloidism" is an old term for Down's syndrome which is a
disorder of birth where a child has an extra chromosome. The
term mongoloidism is now considered derogatory.
"Hyperactivity" likewise is considered derogatory, the
correct term is ADD or attention deficit disorder. Also we
don't call people "mentally retarded." Mentally challenged
is more acceptable.
The common "cold" is a number of viruses causing similar
symptoms, the fact that they are so diverse makes finding a
cure difficult.
"Cold sores" are herpes, and treatment is available.
Sun poisoning is probably an extensive sunburn that makes
people feel lousy all over. Many treatments are available,
but liberal pain relief is a must.
On the doctor side, "Lannec's Cirrhosis" is a nice way of
saying alcoholic cirrhosis.
Then we have my three favorites -- idiopathic, noscomial,
and iatrogenic. Idiopathic means a disease that we don't
know how you got it, noscomial means you got it from being
in the hospital, and iatrogenic means you got it from
something the doctor did. This won't make communication
between physicians and patients better but maybe it will
help a little. Write me in care of the Yated.
A message from Glaxo, sponsor of this column.
Migraine sufferers; I have tried Imitrex for my
migraines and it does work well. One of my readers has
complained about the price -- Glaxo has been given your
letter and is preparing an answer for my column.
