health information and using "pee", "poop", etc

[Anonymous]

I'm positive Dr. House started all this!

I was reading about these Tufts U athletes hospitalized for muscle tissue breakdown. Article had a link for the medical term and I checked it out. Went to Cleveland Clinic which provided info about causes, symptoms, prognosis, etc. And consistently referred to the color of one's pee among the signs of the condition.

WTH is wrong with saying "urine" or "feces" or "bowel movement"? I haven't noticed the word "boob" in such literature but maybe I need to pay more attention. Is "veejay" going to be next when epxlaining pelvic exams???

[Anonymous]

Medical professional here. Nothing is wrong with using urine and feces. However, a lot of us have been taught at some point or other that when talking about medical details, assume most people have a 5th grade education about things. You'd be surprised what people don't know and are too embarrassed to ask. It isn't about talking down to anyone , it's just trying to make is pause and think about what words we use vs what words are used in common language. I don't really think "boob" and "veejay" are quite on the same level as "pee" and "poop".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medical professional here. Nothing is wrong with using urine and feces. However, a lot of us have been taught at some point or other that when talking about medical details, assume most people have a 5th grade education about things. You'd be surprised what people don't know and are too embarrassed to ask. It isn't about talking down to anyone , it's just trying to make is pause and think about what words we use vs what words are used in common language. I don't really think "boob" and "veejay" are quite on the same level as "pee" and "poop".

I get that, sort of, although I think adults who honestly don't know the words would probably use the more colorful versions. But I think it would make sense to use BOTH words if necessary to communicate,. especially in written content. It's ironic, isn't it?--that at the same time it has been determined that patients should have instantaneous access to their lab results? (Or that they should be experts at "comparison shopping" medical care and health insurance?)

[Anonymous]

You should read the public information coming out from the UK, Australia and NZ. They use words like poo, tummy and bottom.

https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/a-to-z-of-nhs-health-writing

Although the doctor above talks about many patients having a 5th grade reading level, for the rest of us, this kind of infantile language is jarring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should read the public information coming out from the UK, Australia and NZ. They use words like poo, tummy and bottom.

https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/a-to-z-of-nhs-health-writing

Although the doctor above talks about many patients having a 5th grade reading level, for the rest of us, this kind of infantile language is jarring.

How is pee and poop jarring in a online article that your average person is looking up for the causes of a condition?

[Anonymous]

I think that if you find the word “pee” jarring you shouldn’t be reading online medical information in your fragile mental condition.

[Anonymous]

Most people are borderline illiterate, so in medical information aimed at lay people, they have to use very simple language.

[Anonymous]

I used to work as a medical editor and this was an ongoing controversy at my work. There seems like there should be a word in between pooping and evacuation of the bowel but we never settled on it.

[Anonymous]

As a nurse, I still say bowel movement. Poop just sounds...weird. Especially since I'm generally younger than the population of patients I see. That said, I've had a decent number of patients look at me and not know what I meant by bowel movement so ....

[Anonymous]

Also, at least at my work, physicians don’t use “feces” they use “stool” and that’s not understood by everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should read the public information coming out from the UK, Australia and NZ. They use words like poo, tummy and bottom.

https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/a-to-z-of-nhs-health-writing

Although the doctor above talks about many patients having a 5th grade reading level, for the rest of us, this kind of infantile language is jarring.

How is pee and poop jarring in a online article that your average person is looking up for the causes of a condition?

Because I read articles about my condition in medical journal that even my PCP doesn't get around to reading, so I don't enjoy being spoken to as if I am 10 or 11 years old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm positive Dr. House started all this!

I was reading about these Tufts U athletes hospitalized for muscle tissue breakdown. Article had a link for the medical term and I checked it out. Went to Cleveland Clinic which provided info about causes, symptoms, prognosis, etc. And consistently referred to the color of one's pee among the signs of the condition.

WTH is wrong with saying "urine" or "feces" or "bowel movement"? I haven't noticed the word "boob" in such literature but maybe I need to pay more attention. Is "veejay" going to be next when epxlaining pelvic exams???

It makes the content relatable. Do you really not understand this? Are you slow or just deliberately obtuse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should read the public information coming out from the UK, Australia and NZ. They use words like poo, tummy and bottom.

https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/a-to-z-of-nhs-health-writing

Although the doctor above talks about many patients having a 5th grade reading level, for the rest of us, this kind of infantile language is jarring.

Don't clutch your pearls so often that you get carpal tunnel (or "wrist pain" as the case may be).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should read the public information coming out from the UK, Australia and NZ. They use words like poo, tummy and bottom.

https://service-manual.nhs.uk/content/a-to-z-of-nhs-health-writing

Although the doctor above talks about many patients having a 5th grade reading level, for the rest of us, this kind of infantile language is jarring.

How is pee and poop jarring in a online article that your average person is looking up for the causes of a condition?

Because I read articles about my condition in medical journal that even my PCP doesn't get around to reading, so I don't enjoy being spoken to as if I am 10 or 11 years old.

So you're upset that the Cleveland Clinic, in their information to the general public, has not tailored the language to you personally?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm positive Dr. House started all this!

I was reading about these Tufts U athletes hospitalized for muscle tissue breakdown. Article had a link for the medical term and I checked it out. Went to Cleveland Clinic which provided info about causes, symptoms, prognosis, etc. And consistently referred to the color of one's pee among the signs of the condition.

WTH is wrong with saying "urine" or "feces" or "bowel movement"? I haven't noticed the word "boob" in such literature but maybe I need to pay more attention. Is "veejay" going to be next when epxlaining pelvic exams???

I'm a medical professional, former trial attorney. When I went to trial advocacy school I was urged repeatedly to take the vocabulary down several notches - I have a graduate degree in literature and read most of Dickens before I ever went to college.

Most jurors are at a 6-8th grade vocabulary level. That's the average patient searching online for medical information as well. Some of these people have some college or even a degree, but that was years ago and just like kids over the summer between grades, people don't retain everything they learned. They naturally regress to a mean of communication that is mirrored by their daily relationships and interactions in the world.

Lots of people don't know the words urine and feces. There is nothing wrong with doctors and medical websites using 'pee' and 'poo' to ensure that knowledge is transmitted effectively.

Get off your high horse, poster.