The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. and Death.

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The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. and Death. Page 19

by Gene Weingarten

lachrymal caruncle, 169

  lactose intolerance, 179

  laughter, 195

  resulting in incontinence, 66

  laxatives, 45

  leukemia, 37, 68, 129

  Levitt, Michael D., 177-80

  Lhermitte’s peduncular hallucinosis, 93-94

  Lileks, James, 92, 118, 119n

  lipstick on one’s teeth, 70-71

  liptospirosis (Weils disease), 81

  liver disease, 65, 69, 71, 72, 106, 126, 129, 185-97

  biopsy for, 189-90

  cirrhosis, 69, 74, 193

  liver transplants, 193-94

  Lockhart-Mummery, J. P., 174n

  loiasis, 166

  Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), 91n

  lungs, 65, 68, 70, 72, 106, 108, 147

  Lupus, Peter, 99

  lupus enthematosus, 26, 129, 143, 154

  Lyme disease, 96-97

  macular degeneration, 165, 166

  mad cow disease, 95-96

  magnesium, dietary, 52

  malaise, 71

  “Management of Colorectal Foreign Bodies” (Sackier), 174

  Marchiafava-Bignami disease, 113

  Markle sign, 127

  maroon stools, 177

  marshmallow enema, 44

  medical insurance, 32, 47-48, 133

  megacolon, 177

  melanomas, 120

  Mendelson, Steven T., 194-96

  Meniere’s disease, 67

  meningitis, 79, 167

  Miami Herald, 13-17

  micturition syncope, 122n

  Minds That Came Back (Alvarez), 32

  mnemonic devices, medical, 98n

  moles, 26

  as malignant melanomas, 120

  monsters, fetal, 157

  Mortimer, John, 171n

  Mosby Guide to Physical Examination, The (Seidel et al.), 126-27

  Mueller’s sign, 24

  multiple sclerosis, 60, 66, 67, 86, 89, 97, 154

  musculoskeletal problems, 138-146

  behavioral signs of, 141-42

  diagnosis of, 140-43, 144-46

  fibromyalgia, 143-46

  myasthenia gravis, 108, 166

  mycosis fungoides, 69

  Mylar pantaloons, 178

  myxoma, 122

  nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, 74

  nausea, 71-72

  nearsightedness, 161-63, 164

  nephritic gingivitis, 72

  neurology, 72, 91-101

  diagnostic tests in, 92, 97-98

  New England Journal of Medicine, 121, 178

  New York Times, 49, 170n

  nitrous oxide, meaning of life revealed by, 55-56

  noncardiac chest pain, 175

  nonulcer dyspepsia, 175

  Norway, 41-42

  nose, 66, 74, 165

  nosebleeds, 73-74

  nutrition, 52, 131, 186

  asparagus in, 54

  cannibalism in, 95

  deadliness of fruits and vegetables in, 45-46

  eggshells in, 45

  squirrel brains in, 96

  Obstetrical Journal of Great Britain and Ireland, 45

  o’clock, as term, 55n

  onchocerciasis (river blindness), 166

  organ donors, 193-94

  orgasm, headache at, 82

  Orkin, Bruce, 172-74, 176

  osteosarcoma, 140

  Paget’s disease, 140

  palliative treatment, 85, 89

  Pancake, John, 168

  pancreas, 65, 68, 112, 130, 147, 177, 183-85

  Papua New Guinea, 95

  paralysis, 78, 94-95

  parasitic diseases, 79, 175

  Pasteur, Louis, 48

  patellar reflex, 98

  Pemberton’s sign, 108-9

  pemphigus vulgaris, 67-68

  pencil-thin stools, 176

  penis, 69n, 119, 149

  broken chicken bone in, 173

  farting through, 122n

  pericarditis, 110

  peripheral neuropathies, 96-98

  diagnostic tests for, 97-98

  peritonitis, 126, 127, 129, 154

  Perot, Ross, 147

  personality patterns, 39-40

  pheochromocytoma, 121-22

  pica, 100

  pickles, deadliness of, 46

  pimples, 53, 119

  pineal gland, 80

  pins and needles, 68

  placebo effect, 39

  pneumaturia, 122n

  poisoning, 72, 97, 175

  ptomaine, 131

  polycythemia rubra vera, 80, 129

  potato bazookas, 159-60

  precocious puberty, 89

  pregnancy, 44, 45, 149-57

  amniocentesis and, 185

  birthing process of, 151-52

  bodily changes during, 153-54

  diseases complicated by, 154-56

  fetal monsters produced by, 157

  questions about, 156-57

  presbyopia, 168

  press coverage, 117, 170

  of bad medical news, 49-53

  prions, 65

  Prokop, James, 91-92

  proptosis, 165

  Proust, Marcel, 34-35

  psychiatric disorders, 100

  psychotherapy, 100, 128n

  ptomaine poisoning, 131

  pulse deficit, 106

  radial keratotomy, 162-63

  Reder, Anthony, 65-66, 94

  reduplicative paramnesia, 93

  referred pain, 126, 128-31

  Reiter’s syndrome, 166

  retinitis, 164

  ringing in the ears, 67

  Rodale, J. I., ironic death of, 58n

  Roosevelt, Franklin, 77

  Rorschach tests, 100-101

  Sackier, Jonathan, 173, 174

  saddle nose, 66

  Schadenfreude, 188

  schwannoma, 67

  scientific studies, 147-48

  anecdotal evidence vs., 147, 148

  of consciousness after decapitation, 99

  proliferation of, 48-49

  of WWI soldiers with jaw pain, 58

  seasonal affective disorder, 29n

  Sedgwick, John, 77

  seizures, 69, 78

  sexuality, 82, 127n

  anal autoeroticism in, 172-74

  eye problems caused by, 183-84

  indiscriminate, 100

  Shaw, George Bernard, 41

  Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 33

  Showalter, Elaine, 29n

  Simons, Howard, 182-85

  Sjogren’s syndrome, 70-71

  skin, 60, 68-69, 97-98

  sleep disorders, 74-75

  insomnia, 65-66

  smell, sense of, 54n

  hallucinations of, 92-93

  Smith, Mark, 94-95

  Smith, Roy Bruce, 52

  smoking, 92, 147-48

  snoring, 74-75

  snorting out food, 72

  Sound Princess, 171

  soy, ill effects of, 52

  spatial disorientation, 93

  spleen, ruptured, 126, 128-29

  spongiform brain, 95-96

  Stark, Karen, 102-3, 105

  stereognosis, 92

  Stevens-Johnson syndrome (erythema multiforme), 71

  stiff neck, 76

  stools, appearance of, 176-77

  strokes, 35, 64, 77, 78, 79, 92-95, 99, 108, 147, 154

  “Studies of a Flatulent Patient” (Levitt), 178

  suicide, 35, 191

  superstitious behavior, 48n

  sweating, 37, 60

  symmetry test, 118

  syphilis, 86, 167

  systemic sclerosis, 24

  tapeworms, 79

  Teasdale, Sara, 35

  teeth, 49, 55-56, 72, 75-76

  lipstick on, 70

  loose, 58

  temporomandibular joint syndrome, test for, 24

  teratoma, 122

  testicles, 132, 149

  epididymis in, 119

&n
bsp; swollen, 33

  tetanus, 76

  cold water cure for, 45

  thinking, pathological, 100

  thumbs, 104, 105

  green, 121

  thyroid disease, 78, 108, 155, 165

  Tinel test, 24

  tinnitus, 67

  tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, 71

  toes, proposed names for, 73n

  toilet paper squares, 172

  toothache, 75-76

  tranquillity, 45

  transplants, organ, 109, 193-94

  Trendelenburg’s sign, 143

  tumors, 59, 69, 70, 74, 116-23, 140, 155, 165, 175, 185

  diagnosis of, 120

  hiccups and, 64, 65

  “insidious,” 75-76

  normal lumps vs., 118-19

  symmetry test for, 118 see also brain tumors; cancer

  two-point-discrimination tests, 97

  ulcerative colitis, 179-80

  ulcers, 60, 126, 128n, 129, 176

  uncinate fits, 92-93

  urination, 44

  fainting during, 122n

  insufficient, 113

  overwhelming anxiety during, 122

  urine, 79, 81

  asparagus in smell of, 54

  blue, 59

  cola-colored, 129

  Urised, 59

  uvula, 24, 98-99, 169

  uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, 75

  venereal disease, 33

  Venn diagrams, 39-40

  Viagra, as killer, 49-50

  volvulus, 130

  Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, 74

  Washington Post, 49, 170, 182-83, 194

  water intoxication, 113

  Weekly World News, 52-53

  Wegener’s granulomatosis, 66

  Weil’s disease (leptospirosis), 81

  Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, 113

  Whipple’s disease, 175, 176

  white stools, 176-77

  Wilhelmsen, Ingvard, 41-42

  Wolfe, Martin, 38

  women, 64, 78-79, 119, 127, 132n, 139-39, 171

  big fat vs. small thin, 48

  eye shadow on, 168

  historical treatments for, 44-45

  Japanese, constipation of, 170-71

  middle-aged, diseases of, 69, 70-71

  smaller brains of, 45 see also pregnancy

  Woodstock, 188n

  Woodward, Bob, 179, 182

  words on the tip of one’s tongue, 71

  World War I, soldiers with jaw pain in, 58

  worms, 79, 166, 176

  xiphoid process, 119

  X-ray Specs, 168-69

  yawning, 73

  Zangara, Giuseppe, 131

  Zappa, Frank, 171-72

  Zimmerman, Lorenz, 159

  About the Author

  Gene Weingarten (1951- ) has been a writer and editor at The Washington Post since 1990. Before that he was a reporter for the Detroit Free Press, an editor at the National Law Journal, and the editor of The Miami Herald’s Tropic magazine, which he helped lead to two Pulitzer Prizes. In 1988 he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. This is his first book.

 

 

 


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