DIAGNOSIS OR TRANSLATION ?


Recently a patient cam e saying she has paroxysmal postural vertigo. It was amusing. When asked what did you tell the doctor ? she said I told him when I suddenly get up I get dizziness. Little did she realise that the doctor had only translated her description in Latin. Suddenly means paroxysmal, get up means when changing posture and dizziness means vertigo. This is obviously no diagnosis, but the poor patient thought that she has some dreadful disease. Patient come with complaints of neck pain and doctor says it is spondylitis. Patients come with joint pains and doctor tells them this is arthritis. Patients come with running nose and doctor tells them they have coryza.

All this is translation into Latin and no diagnosis as such. Most of the times when a doctor hears patients complaints he knows there is no diagnosis. He takes the blood pressure if it is high he says you have hypertension. If the pulse rate is fast he says you have tachycardia. All this is hiding behind Latin language translation. As doctors one must realise that there cannot be any diagnosis as such because diagnosis is coming to a conclusion. Life whether in health or disease is a process. A process never concludes as such. Especially in third world countries where English is also a foreign language Latin is almost extra terrestrial. The so called diagnosis not only confuses patients but confuses the doctor as well. When a patient approaches a doctor the proper approach is to alleviate his suffering to start with temporarily and later permanently through proper cues regarding his physical, mental and spiritual health. Giving translations as diagnosis not only terrifies a patient but makes the doctor succumb to his folly so repeatedly that finally he also starts believing that translation is diagnosis.