Modern illnesses

[simon c]

Have you noticed how people no longer have simple illnesses, they get mucj more serious ones.

Eg
nobody has a cold, they have flu
nobody has a stomach ache, they have gastro
nobody has a headache, it's always a migraine
nobody has a sore throat, they have laryngitus

I was wondering why this could be:

1. People are sicker today than in the old days
2. People think they are sicker today than in old days
3. In today's world you need a better excuse for taking a day off work than just a cold
4. We are obsessed with jargon and using a more technical term to describe a simple event even if the word we use is wrong
5. More medical shows on the TV have given people knowledge about a wider range of illnesses

Any thought or examples that you are aware of?

Simon

[bitingmidge]

Well spotted Simon...

About a fortnight ago I spent a weekend building a loft in my daughter's unit, and came away with a damaged knee for my troubles.

Knee was a bit sore and became seriously enlarged, and I have an aversion to self-diagnosis (or any other form of diagnosis for that matter) so after a fortnight went to the Doctor.

His first Question?

"Have you any idea what this may be...have you checked it out on the net?"

"No" says I, "That's your job"

"Good", he replied..." You have a breast growing on your knee!"

I almost became incontinent laughing.

P :D :D :D

[Barry_White]

I have Type II diabetes which after it was diagnosed I was sent along to a diabetic clinic. That caused me to deny it for about 10 years because all they wanted to do at the clinic was have a pity party and I just couldn't stand all that negative crap.

I do now have it pretty well controled but stay away from they other people with it because all they want to do is talk about it.

[simon c]

I almost became incontinent laughing.

Is that some modern jargonism for "I nearly p!ssed myself"

Simon

[jackiew]

3. In today's world you need a better excuse for taking a day off work than just a cold


I reckon its option 3. management crawl into work with a stinking cold and give it to the rest of us. then when us meer mortals want to do the sensible thing and stay at home for a day then we have to say we've got flu.

[Christopha]

I loves it! All that whinging, moaning and wailing about how the pimple on their botty may be leprosy and how their sniffle is poomoanya..... Fantastic stuff! thye crooker they are the better I like it! My words of consloation are always the same, "Good morning sir/madam, can I help you or do you need to speak to the Pharmacist?"

[gemi_babe]

Just last night I experienced my second migraine ever. The blind spot appears, speach is slowed, the nausea sets in, then the ache starts. Wake up this morning and still have slight ache but is bearable.

I would never call a headache a migraine and now if anyone says they have a migraine, I will ask them questions to catch them out of exaggeration :D

The problem today is that kids are too clean. I read in the Time Life mag that 30 years + ago kids were out eating dirt, playing in it etc, and today, mum's are so clean, disinfect this and that, that the body cannot build up the resistance against small germs that cause things like gastro. My son never got gastro. I had him outside as much as the weather would allow and if he picked up a handful of dirt (sand some may call it) so be it, I let him eat it.

Get down and get dirty! ;)

[silentC]

the body cannot build up the resistance against small germs that cause things like gastro
For this very reason we refuse to do house work. Our house is a mess, there's dust and dirt and crap everywhere. Frankly, it's embarrassing when people come to visit. But our kids are healthy. :D :D

[Termite]

A quotation from the James A. Michener book "Caravans" which is set in Afghanistan.
When one of the local officials overheard a comment on the poor hygene in the country, he replied "If a child in this country reaches five years old then nothing short of a bullet will kill them".
QED
Kind regards
Termite

[PAH1]

Just last night I experienced my second migraine ever. The blind spot appears, speach is slowed, the nausea sets in, then the ache starts. Wake up this morning and still have slight ache but is bearable.

I would never call a headache a migraine and now if anyone says they have a migraine, I will ask them questions to catch them out of exaggeration :D



That is the true desription of a migraine and it brings a twinge of fear every time I read/hear about it. I do not get them all that frequently, about every year or so but they are very little fun. Long live Maxolon and codeine is all I can say.

[Alastair]

Gemi

A girl after my own heart!

I had a colleague (dietician/nutritionist) who put her newborn straight onto soy infant formulation, "just in case she might be allergic to lactose"

Alastair

[jackiew]

an elderly relative always reckoned you had to eat a peck of dirt in your lifetime.

just out of interest i went and found a site that would allow me to convert a peck into metric - its 32 cups ( its a measure of dry materials ) ... that's a lot of dirt :eek:

Apparently quentin crisp ( of naked civil servant fame ) reckoned that after 2 years the dust doesn't get any deeper .. you just have to hold your nerve. I'm working on it :-)

I do know people with small kids who disinfect their kitchen floor EVERY DAY. Is it just me that thinks they need to get a life?

[Termite]

I deal with customers every day so I have to eat a lot of s**t. It hasn't done me too much harm although I do have a few beers at night to clear the throat.
Kind regards
Termite

[Caliban]

You are all the cause of my grief. Whinge whinge whinge.Send your bloody kids to school full of dirt and s#$t, coughing all over me, complaining about their rights. What about their responsibilities?
I mean the responsible action that sane people take when they are sick.
Stay home and keep your pestilence to yourselves, none of this soldier on crap!
Getting off soap box, taking prozac.
:D

[gemi_babe]

That is the true desription of a migraine and it brings a twinge of fear every time I read/hear about it. I do not get them all that frequently, about every year or so but they are very little fun. Long live Maxolon and codeine is all I can say.
The slow speach hit as I was talking to my new neighbour and she was looking at me as if to say "what drugs you on girl" Had to explain that I can only see half her face and that I need to go take some nurofen.

PAH1 I can't have codiene, lucky for those that can. I will have to go to the doc and get stuff for them. This being my second one, I feel I will be up for more of them in the future. The last one hit me last year, so guess we suffer the same problem.:(

[jackiew]

bad luck gemi-babe. Friends I know who get full blown migraines really seem to suffer. I'm a lucky bunny in that I (apparently) get the migraine without the headache if that makes sense.

Vision goes completely distorted - everything is zig/zag lines like a tv between channels. First time it happened to me was about 20 years ago ( and it happens about once a year ) and I was terrified. Beetled along to an optician ( optometrist to you guys ) who gave my eyes a thorough check up and he said as far as he could tell I was having a migraine attack.

Got no idea if he was fobbing me off but at least it does as an explanation at work when all of a sudden I can see squat and have to go find someone to take me home. If you're a programmer and you can't see the screen you aren't exactly useful. A few hours lying down in a darkened room and I'm back to normal again ( or as normal as I get anway :D ).

and for the suspicious among you it has nothing to do with drink or drugs!

anyone else get the same thing?

[gemi_babe]

Jackie i get the zig zag line in a half circle and its size is about 2cm when I try to focus on things. First time it happened i freaked out. thought it was the onset of going blind due to cigarettes, that being the only drug I smoke LOL

But then the rest of the symptons started :(

[Rocker]

According to the Pope, there are other reasons for going blind :D

Rocker

[ozwinner]

The blind spot appears, speach is slowed, the nausea sets in, then the ache starts. Wake up this morning and still have slight ache but is bearable.
I get that too, but I think it is cheap wine induced. :D

Cheers, Al Caholic

[Caliban]

and for the suspicious among you it has nothing to do with drink or drugs!



Al
hello
Jackiew already beat you to it.
You need to get out of your new shop more, you're getting slow.
But don't worry, I got three quarters of the way through a similar smart al response before I read the above disclaimer she unsportingly inserted.
Don't you hate that?

[RETIRED]

:D