I took a friend to the doctor this week for possible bronchitis. On the phone, he’s coughing up a storm. However, while we’re driving to the doctor and sitting the waiting room, not a single cough. That lasted until we got to his place, then the coughing resumed. I’ve experience this myself with other illnesses and always wonder if there was an actual term for it?
I don’t know of a formal term for this situation, which is analogous to your car ceasing to make that funny sound when you take it in to the service department.
“White coat hypertension” seems to be a real phenomenon.
It is magic!
It is a type of pacebo effect. When you are ill you are under mental stress. Having a plan of action - seeing the doctor - will reduce that stress. You will breathe better, your bp goes down and you relax a bit. Knowing you will be cared for and that relief is close at hand really does make you feel better.
White-Coate Hypertension I’ve heard of and I believe doctors take that into consideration. As for the OP’s friend not coughing until he got to the doctor’s office I’m going to guess that’s his brain saying “I have to prove to the doctor that I’m sick…start coughing.” Subconsciously you’re friend may have been worried that if he wasn’t coughing he would end up wasting his time and/or not get meds to better. It’s also possible he’s not convinced that he’s actually sick (with bronchitis) so his brain is over compensating since it has something to prove.
Also, if the doctor’s office over uses some kind of anti-septic spray to the point where it hits you in the face when you walk in, that might trigger a coughing fit.
Didn’t I see White Coat Placebo at Lollapalooza back in '97.
I believe you got the OP 100% backwards. He was “coughing up a storm” before and after they were in the doctor’s office, but not on the drive, or in the waiting room:
Also, the condition in the OP—that there is a placebo “curative” effect in proximity to doctors, seems odd. I am very familiar with the reverse: that going to a doctor (hospital emergency room, etc.) will make the patient worse, e.g., high blood pressure, physical manifestations which were not present before the patient arrived and which disappear after the patient leaves.
I was experiencing something similar. Lots of coughing and wheezing at home, but not when I was anywhere else. I kept the place dust-free and cat-dander-free, but nothing helped. Finally, I discovered some green mold in the basement. I got rid of the mold and the symptoms stopped.