Common misunderstood terms

General
1

Medical terminology is easily confused. So, here’s a list of such words and their meaning :

  • Symptoms - Refers to what the person feels. eg. - fatigue, nausea. Signs - Refers to what the doctor observes/ measures. eg. - blood pressure, fever

  • Syndrome - a group of symptoms that occur together but have unidentified causes or have multiple causes. eg. - down syndrome. Disease - a clear medical condition with a known specific cause. eg. - diabetes. Disorder - An abnormality or disruption in the normal working of the bodily functions. eg. - sleep disorder

  • Tolerance - The body adapting to the medication over time. Higher dosage required to get the same effect. Dependence - The body needing the drug. Withdrawal symptoms if stopping the medication.

  • Infectious - caused by invasion of microorganisms in the body. Contagious - subcategory of infectious diseases that spread from human to human

  • Epidemic - A sudden spike in disease cases within a certain area or region. Pandemic - An epidemic that spreads across the world crossing international borders

:speech_balloon: Have you ever used any of these terms interchangeably? What are some terms you used to get confused with

MBH/PS

3 Likes
2

Thank you for clarifying the terms. Informative!

3

very informative guide especially for non medicos, written is simple and easy to understand,

4

It’s surprising how many terms we take for granted in science and medicine that mean something completely different in everyday language. Improving health literacy starts with breaking down these exact misunderstandings.

5

Very informative post, these are definitely the most common terms that are misunderstood but most of the people.

6

Yes, it happens many times when we are in hurry, as they are quite confusing. Even while texting, some words are directly selected which are similar and the text is just unknowingly forwarded :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

7

Thanks for explaining medical terminology simply.

8

Common Misunderstood Terms

“Very informative and easy to understand.

A useful read for clearing common health misconceptions.”