Olde Tyme Illnesses

Fibromy-what? Ventricular tachy-who?

Bored with medical terms steeped in science and Latin roots? For those who prefer more intuitive monikers for what ails them, here are some of history’s more colorful disease names:

King’s Evil: Tuberculosis (it was believed that the royal touch- could cure the disease)

Bad Blood: Syphilis

Canine Madness: Rabies

Camp Fever: Typhus

Falling Sickness: Epilepsy

Gripe: The Flu

Kissing Disease: Mononucleosis

Horrors: Delerium Tremens

Dropsy: Edema

Glanders: Swollen Glands

Cerebral Softening / Softening of the brain: Stroke

Tetter: Any of various skin diseases, such as eczema, psoriasis, or herpes, characterized by eruptions and itching.
Sloes: milk sickness / lactose intolerance

Milk Leg: thrombosis of the veins

Contributed by: Maghan Cook