# Illnesses only Americans seem to have/get. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illnesses-only-americans-seem-to-have-get/429591 "2007-12-11T04:59:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illnesses-only-americans-seem-to-have-get/429591/81 "2007-12-14T19:40:18Z")
> [@grey\_ideas](#): > > Although this is getting away from the topic a little, it’s one of those things that’s bugged me. Would the correction (considering that my bottom teeth are not visible) have been done out of some sort of feeling that if it’s possible to make it ‘perfect’ it should be done, a concern for mental well being (unlikely since my bottom teeth don’t show and it’s a minor imperfection), financial gain (“hell, the insurance pays for it, why not?”) or cultural (“everyone else has it done”)? It’s cultural, at the very least. IANADentist/Parent, but I can tell you that any given American child likely has several friends with braces. It’s just seen as a part of growing up for a lot of kids. I wouldn’t go assigning malice. Pretty teeth are important to Americans, just like soccer is important to Britons but most Americans can’t figure it out. > [@Brynda](#): > > I didn’t realize that the NHS was such a sacred cow. It isn’t like I critized Guinness or steak and kidney pie, you know. Nobody said it’s a sacred cow. You’ve been relentlessly attacking an aspect of English life which the English have to defend constantly against Americans. I can’t blame them for getting irritated. Recently my dad had a visiting Englishman over for dinner. The guy lives in Canada now, and my dad has always been a small-government type, so the guy fielded plenty of questions about Canadian and English healthcare. His analysis was basically, “It works for its purpose. People die waiting for kidney transplants, but then, that happens here too. The difference is that your position in line is based on how badly you need something, not how much you’re willing to pay for it.” When my mom came home a little later, my dad told her that they had been discussing “socialized medicine” and come to the conclusion that “it doesn’t work”, and the poor Brit had to explain it all over again. I imagine this happens a lot between Americans and Britons. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illnesses-only-americans-seem-to-have-get/429591/82 "2007-12-14T20:37:01Z")
I would say that Americans have an incredibly high incidence of delusions that they understand medicine and that any illness they don’t have doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illnesses-only-americans-seem-to-have-get/429591/83 "2007-12-14T20:39:09Z")
When we took my youngest to the ortho, he asked if we/she wanted the big “Hollywood” smile, or just wanted them straightened, good closure, and any problems taken care of. I believe he said Europeans and Americans (generally) differed in terms of their desired effects of orthodontia. I’ve played quite a bit of golf/cards with him since, so I’ll ask him about this next time I see him. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illnesses-only-americans-seem-to-have-get/429591/84 "2007-12-14T23:08:02Z")
[QUOTE=SnakesCatLady] Just FYI, it not only occurs in the lungs. It can also occur as ocular histoplasmosis - usually leading to partial or total blindness. I know. [/QUOTE] I’m sorry you hade occasion to learn. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illnesses-only-americans-seem-to-have-get/429591/85 "2007-12-15T00:18:34Z")
…vtamines? very second ad on TV is for some new, improved formulation of vitamines! Ditto for sleep aids-ambien, etc. lots of American’s can’t sleep! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illnesses-only-americans-seem-to-have-get/429591.md?page=4)