Nosophobia

Just three weeks away from the 1st professional exams…There was hardly any sleep for us.Getting up earlyin the morning before even the sun could rise, and then throughout the study ,strain our eyes and rattle our brains over those never ending chapters of anatomy, physiology & Biochemistry.One used to struggle to keep awake in the night with the mosquitoes hovering around, and thus making the situation even more difficult. An even TOUGHER one.The week before the profs is no time to consider trivial matters like food or friendships.There is minutia to cram and slides to study. Sleep? Sleep is for law students, We’ve got work to do. With hundreds of pages of physiology notes piling up around me I struggled to keep it all straight.
Finally our hard work paid off. We stepped into a whole new world which was long waited for. There was excitement about simply everything-clinical,hospitals , operation theaters , coloured clothes(this coming 1st on the list for most of us),journey to the hospital, flinging the stethoscope around the neck…It was a world of COLOURED fantasies.I was definitely in my second year freedom. It was awesome to see just how far I have come since last year. I remember going through all of the rooms in awe of the vast knowledge of the second years and envious of their status.
We had come out of the cocoon of Normalcy & with thestart of pathology started the pathological changes.In our clinical we had to stand for hours at stretch which made me feel so weak at the end of the day. Myfears were worsened when at the surgery OPD I chancedto see a case of varicose veins. I emulated the similar symptoms. Oh! How much I freaked. My fearsabout Varicose Veins were overcome by a change of focus towards the acute abdominal pain I was having. Now I had more things to worry about,…acute appendicitis, acute regional ileitis, mesenteric lymphadenitis, ulcerative colitis(not relating to my age and predisposing factors), amoebic liver abscess, acute pancreatitis, etc. I shrieked this time. Our repeated visits to the OT made me more apprehensive about the whole situation, what if I required any surgical intervention for any of the above diseases I harbored. Those were the dreadful days of the surgery posting.
The medicine posting brought some respite. At least ththe SOB (shortness of breath), I felt I was having,did not by first choice require any surgery. On auscultation of my breath sounds for a few days I only heard ronchi & crepitations. My blood pressure was shooting & pulse was collapsing. Oh! how much I was missing those physio days when everythingwas NORMAL.
Even the appearance of one minor symptom seemed to be a part of this major SYNDROME what made me more paranoid was the fact that the no. of syndromes listedin my medical dictionary went far beyond myimagination.The regular routine of cutting my nails became a nightmare when i started checking for clubbing. Knowing that i didn'thave the following-Lung abscess,bronchiectasis,cynotic congenital heartdisease, ulcerative colitis,infective endocarditis,crohns disease,bronchiogenic carcinoma etc.It still didn't deter me from inspecting mynails and discovering this rare discovery.
But i didn't restrict this to myself only,recently when I was in the Ophthal posting I remember inspecting weary eyes of people aound me, for any signs of conjunctival congestion,Ptosis,stabismus,cataract,pterygium...
I don't remember the number of times I have embarrassed myself and others by a not so simple inference of a hypo pigmented area of skin to be a probable fungal infection.My extreme sorry to those in whom it didn't turn out to beso.
I now relate to the fact that " A little knowledge is DANGEROUS".I realised i had wat is known as NOSOPHOBIA.On searching the net I found that It has been reported that medical students frequently develop groundless fears and symptoms of illness. This has been termed "medical student's disease," "hypochondriasis of medical students," "nosophobia," and "medical studentitis." The reactions are often comparatively shortlived, although repeated, and associated with a disease being studied at the time .Hypochondriasis is common in primary care and general hospital settings. Transient hypochondriasis has been reported in 70% of medical students. The definition of hypochondriasis is a persistent, unrealistic preoccupation with the possibility of having a serious disease. Common, normal sensations and appearances are often misinterpreted as abnormal and signs of disease.The many famous sufferers include Immanuel Kant, Beethoven, and Samuel Johnson. Charles Darwin began a lifetime of suffering as a medical student.