Unusual Names for Medical Diagnoses

Nurses General Nursing

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I am doing a speech on making the most of a visit to a doctor. I want to emphasize the importance of knowing the proper name for diagnoses. I need some help coming up with unusual, weird, cultural, or just plain improper names for diagnoses...things like "piles" instead of hemorrhoids, "high blood" instead of high blood pressure, or "the sugar" instead of diabetes. I've searched the Internet and am just not finding what I am looking for.

Can anyone help me out? I am not asking people to do my homework for me...LOL...I have been a nurse for a long time...just furthering my education. ?

Thanks!

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Specializes in retired LTC.

ammonia = pneumonia?

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Old timers disease.

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Maybe you could talk about the difference between MI and cardiac arrest because people call both of those things heart attacks? I think you already came up with the best ones.

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Oh!! What about the clap?? Lol

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Oh oh oh...what about the clap? Lol

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"High blood" is NOT the same as "high blood pressure." This is straying into cultural nursing, and you might want to include some of those concepts in your talk. I will leave you to look it up.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.
"High blood" is NOT the same as "high blood pressure." This is straying into cultural nursing, and you might want to include some of those concepts in your talk. I will leave you to look it up.

In my neck of the woods high blood means hypertension to a lot of lay people, what does it mean for you?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Walking Corpse Syndrome.

I kid you not. The nurse who showed me this syndrome told me in your near 40 years of nursing she had NEVER come across "Walking Corpse Syndrome."

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"Low blood" which would mean anemia or low iron. I've heard people say to me "you must have low blood" because I tend to be cold natured and freeze a lot :-)

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the change = menopause

blue balls = vasocongestion in the testicles

"the runs" = diarrhea

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Specializes in retired LTC.

dropsy = edema

consumption = pulmonary tuberculosis

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