I have never been especially good at human biology, I must admit that the only medical names I’m really aware of are those that I’ve come across through personal experience. I’m lucky that I don’t currently have a lot of health complaints of my own, but I definitely have relatives who have more than their fair share.

Recently it dawned on me at how sketchy my medical knowledge was when I took a message from my employment agency offering me a temporary job at a podiatrist’s office. ‘I think it’s to do with feet’ was all of the description that the woman at the agency could offer, so after I had hung up on the call I thought that I ought to do some research. My first thought was that it was generally a chiropodist who looked after feet, and it seems I am not in a minority for thinking that. But apparently now the proper title for those who give advice topeople about their feet and lower legs is a podiatrist. I’ve no idea why this renaming of the title of the profession was decided upon, but the NHS website assures me that there isn’t any difference between the two titles.

So then I got to wondering about other medical professions. So what is the difference between a dentist and an orthodontist? I’ve only ever visited a dentist to have some fillings and a couple of crowns. This time there is a difference between the two, as I discovered when a friend got a new job as a dental receptionist. A dentist completes work on the teeth and gums, generally things like sorting out broken teeth, treating tooth decay and advising with hygiene issues which can make the gums unhealthy.

An orthodontist initially trains as a dentist, but then proceeds to more in depth studies to learn about jaw and tooth alignment, so they undertake work such as applying braces to sort out the problem of crooked teeth. This might explain why I didn’t previously know what the difference was. When I was a youngster, very few kids were ever prescribed braces for their teeth, whereas nowadays it appears that the majority of children have them at some point. I can only assume that the concept has become more widespread as each generation gets more worried about physical looks and sorting out defects at an early age.

Another topic where I had no knowledge until recently is the treatment of eye complaints. Optician and ophthalmologist, the same thing – correct? No, completely wrong, as I’ve discovered since an elderly acquaintance was referred for Laser eye surgery. Initially, she went to see an optician for a basic eye test and that is when her eye problems were discovered. The optician discussed the different options for treatment, amongst which was Laser eye treatment, but told her that as an optician he was not able to complete the treatment himself. So he passed on a referral to her doctor’s surgery, who then had to forward on the referral to the Ophthalmology Department at the nearest hospital in order for her to have the operation.

By now, I’d researched the subject and found out what was actually quite obvious – that the ophthalmologist is the specialist who can do the conventional and Laser eye surgery operations, whereas the optician is simply able to test the eyes and identify any problems. Basic problems including requiring a prescription for reading glasses can be handled by the optician. More complex problems which require Laser eye treatment, conventional surgery or other specialised treatment do need to be seen by an ophthalmologist.

So I’ve had the chance to improve my medical knowledge a little recently in the light of events connected to me or to people I know. It’s evidence that it’s a great deal easier to learn and relate to things if they have affected you, as opposed to sitting and reading a book or tracking down information online. Having said that, I’m quite happy to remain ignorant about many of the more unpleasant areas of medicine if it means that no-one that I know has to have serious health problems!

Tags

Fitness & Weight Loss News