Fight Dependency

As I’ve never been especially good at human biology, I have to admit that the only medical terms I’m really aware of are the few that I’ve come across via personal experience. I consider myself fortunate that I don’t suffer from too many health problems of my own, but I do have friends who experience more than their fair share.

Recently it dawned on me at how non-existent my medical understanding was when I got a call from my job agency asking me if I was interested in a temporary assignment at a podiatrist’s office. ‘Something to do with feet’ was all of the description that the member of staff at the agency could provide, so after I had ended the call I decided that I had better do some research. My first thought was that it was supposed to be a chiropodist who did things with feet, and it seems I am not the only person under that impression. But it seems that nowadays the preferred term for those who advisepeople about their feet and lower legs is a podiatrist. I don’t know why this renaming of the title of the profession was necessary, but the NHS website tells me that there is no difference between the two.

So then I started wondering about other medical names. For example, what is the difference between a dentist and an orthodontist? I’ve only ever seen a dentist to have some fillings and a couple of crowns. But this time there is a difference between the two, as I discovered when someone I know started a new job as a dental receptionist. A dentist carries out work on the teeth and gums, usually things like fixing damaged teeth, treating tooth decay and giving advice with hygiene issues which can cause gum complaints.

An orthodontist begins by training as a dentist, but then moves on more in depth studies to learn about jaw and tooth alignment, so they do work such as fixing braces to rectify the problem of crooked teeth. This might explain why I hadn’t previously realised the difference. When I was a child, very few of my contemporaries were ever given braces for their teeth, whereas these days it looks like the majority of children end up with them at some point. I can only assume that the practice has become more widespread as each generation is more obsessed with physical looks and correcting defects as soon as possible.

Another topic where I had no clue until recently is the treatment of eye defects. Optician and ophthalmologist, exactly the same – right? No, completely wrong, as I’ve discovered since an elderly relation was referred for Laser eye surgery. Initially, she went to see an optician for a standard eye test and this is when her eye problems were diagnosed. The optician outlined the different options for treatment, amongst which was Laser eye treatment, but advised that as an optician he could not administer the treatment himself. So he sent a referral to her GP, who then had to forward on the referral to the Ophthalmology Department at the nearest hospital so that she could have the operation.

By then, I’d researched the subject and confirmed what was now becoming quite obvious – that the ophthalmologist is the specialist who can perform the conventional and Laser eye surgery operations, whereas the optician is basically able to test the eyes and identify any defects. Simple problems including needing a prescription for glasses can be processed by the optician. More complicated problems which need Laser eye treatment, conventional surgery or other medical intervention do need to be handled by an ophthalmologist.

So I’ve had the chance to improve my medical knowledge a little recently because of things happening to me or to people I know. It’s confirmation that it’s a lot easier to learn and take things in if they have affected you, instead of simply reading a book or searching for information online. Mind you, I’m more then happy to remain ignorant about some of the more gruesome areas of medicine if it means that no-one that I know has to deal with serious health problems!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Tags: diseases, Fitness, health, laser eye surgery, medical