# Medical ailments I don't understand **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425 "2002-11-29T01:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/1 "2002-11-29T01:19:57Z")
Some illnesses baffle me. For example, suppose someone dies (in the time honoured rock star manner) by choking on vomit, people always say: “They choked on their own vomit” Well, WTF, of course they did. It would have to be a pretty bizarre set of circumstances that lead them to choke on _someone else’s_ vomit. And hangovers. Hangovers puzzle me. Whenever you get a hangover and you are feeling sorry for yourself someone always says: “Well, you’ll get no sympathy from me. You brought it on yourself” Huh? If I decided to go skiing and I broke my leg then I’d get loads of sympathy and yet I brought it on myself by going skiing. So what’s the difference between that and a hangover? In fact a hangover is worse because you feel nauseous and in pain for hours. So I think a hangover warrants just as much sympathy. Bah, illnesses. I just don’t get 'em. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/2 "2002-11-29T02:08:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jojo \* > \*\*“They choked on their own vomit” > > Well, WTF, of course they did. It would have to be a pretty bizarre set of circumstances that lead them to choke on _someone else’s_ vomit.\*\* “We assume it was his. I mean, you can’t really dust for vomit.” ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/3 "2002-11-29T02:11:03Z")
Sorry - too early on the ‘send’. My personal pet peeve is people who complain that they’re ‘nauseous’. While I agree with this, it’s not usually what they _mean_ to say. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/4 "2002-11-29T03:15:28Z")
\>My personal pet peeve is people who complain that they’re ‘nauseous’. While I agree with this, it’s not usually what they mean to say. What **do** they usually mean to say? ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/5 "2002-11-29T03:26:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by XJETGIRLX \* > What **do** they usually mean to say? \*\* Generally that they’re “nauseated” - meaning afflicted with nausea - rather than “nauseous” - meaning that they inflict nausea. I am given to understand that American dictionaries define these words in a non-conventional manner. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/6 "2002-11-29T03:28:43Z")
Looks like we have some disciples of George Carlin on this board. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/7 "2002-11-29T03:39:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > \*\*Looks like we have some disciples of George Carlin on this board. \*\* George whosa? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/8 "2002-11-29T05:52:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I am given to understand that American dictionaries define these words in a non-conventional manner. Or perhaps the conventions are different in America. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2002, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-ailments-i-dont-understand/139425/9 "2002-11-29T06:53:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jojo \* > Well, WTF, of course they did. It would have to be a pretty bizarre set of circumstances that lead them to choke on _someone else’s_ vomit. This is Spinal Tap:D > [@](#): > > “Well, you’ll get no sympathy from me. You brought it on yourself” > > Huh? If I decided to go skiing and I broke my leg then I’d get loads of sympathy and yet I brought it on myself by going skiing. So what’s the difference between that and a hangover? There is no guarantee that, if you go skiing, you’ll break something. When drinking enough, it is a very real possibility to wake up with a hangover. You know this going into it.