RE: Disease or condition?

[Guest guest]

Pippa,

I think there are many words that are used here interchangeably. From what I gather from the senior members of this group, who have been posting here for years. this topic has come up before and was the source of some emotional disagreement.

Its a good question, but for a question like that to be answered, one has to obtain a satisfactory definition of those words. Since I'm in a hurry to leave for work right now, I am backing off and letting someone else answer your question.

If pressed at this moment, I would tell you its a disease of the esophagus, but I have no time to elaborate.

In a message dated 9/20/2006 8:11:37 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, kevin.brown150@... writes:

Is achalasia a disease or a condition some people I have noticed have called it one or the otherPippa

[Guest guest]

Hello kevin.brown150@...,

In reference to your comment:

Is achalasia a disease or a condition some people I have noticed have called it one or the other

I am laughing as I write this....read on:

What is achalasia...

From the above link

What is achalasia?

Achalasia is a rare disease of the muscle of the esophagus (swallowing tube). The term achalasia means "failure to relax" and refers to the inability of the lower esophageal sphincter (a ring of muscle between the lower esophagus and the stomach) to open and let food pass into the stomach. As a result, patients with achalasia have difficulty swallowing food.

Achalasia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Achalasia

It refers most commonly to esophageal achalasia, which is a neuromuscular disorder of the esophagus

Motor Disorders of the Esophagus

In achalasia, there is a total loss of peristalsis and the LES relaxes poorly. The disease results from a neurologic deficit in the myenteric plexus. There is a marked decrease in myenteric ganglion cells with marked inflammatory changes.3

Achalasia

Achalasia is a rare disorder of the esophagus characterized by the abnormal enlargement of the esophagus, impairment of the ability of the esophagus to push food down toward the stomach (peristalsis), and the failure of the ring-shaped muscle (sphincter) at the bottom of the esophagus to relax.

And on and on it goes....so Pippa take your choice.

If the experts don't agree how can we?

Good luck,

Maggie, Alabma

[Guest guest]

Maggie, If the experts can't agree what hope is there for us People

have been asking me what I have and as you can imagine I don't know

whether to say its a condition or a disease. When you tell them its

Achalasia they reply ''WHATS THAT THEN NEVER HEARD OF IT'' (neither

had I till my troubles started and I began looking into it myself

(I'm sure everyone on this board is now shouting at me neither did

I!!!)

But at least it now shuts people up when they coment on how thin I

look and how much weight I have lost.

2 days and counting now before I go into hospital and this time next

week the myotomy will be all over and I can look forward to 'Happy

Swallowing'

Pippa (Northants, England)

>

> Hello kevin.brown150@...,

> In reference to your comment:

>

>

> Is achalasia a disease or a condition some people I have noticed

have

> called it one or the other

>

>

> I am laughing as I write this....read on:

>

> _What is achalasia..._

>

(http://www.medicineonline.com/reference/Health/Conditions_and_Diseas

es/Digestive_Disorders/Oral/Dysphagia/info/Achalasia/)

> From the above link

>

>

> What is achalasia?

> Achalasia is a rare disease of the muscle of the esophagus

(swallowing

> tube). The term achalasia means " failure to relax " and refers to

the inability of

> the lower esophageal sphincter (a ring of muscle between the lower

esophagus

> and the stomach) to open and let food pass into the stomach. As a

result,

> patients with achalasia have difficulty swallowing food.

> _Achalasia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia_

> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achalasia) _Achalasia_

(http://www.webmd.com/hw/heartburn/nord118.asp)

> It refers most commonly to esophageal achalasia, which is a

neuromuscular

> _disorder_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disorder) of the

_esophagus_

> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esophagus)

> _Motor Disorders of the Esophagus_

>

(http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/diseasemanagement/gastro/motor/m

otor.htm)

> In achalasia, there is a total loss of peristalsis and the LES

relaxes

> poorly. The disease results from a neurologic deficit in the

myenteric plexus.

> There is a marked decrease in myenteric ganglion cells with

marked inflammatory

> changes._3_

>

(http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/diseasemanagement/gastro/motor/m

otor.htm#ref3)

> _Achalasia_ (http://www.webmd.com/hw/heartburn/nord118.asp)

> Achalasia is a rare disorder of the esophagus characterized by the

abnormal

> enlargement of the esophagus, impairment of the ability of the

esophagus to

> push food down toward the stomach (peristalsis), and the failure

of the

> ring-shaped muscle (sphincter) at the bottom of the esophagus to

relax.

> And on and on it goes....so Pippa take your choice.

> If the experts don't agree how can we?

> Good luck,

> Maggie, Alabma

>

[Guest guest]

A disease can be cured ??????? Condition can"t ???????? Yes?? No??

-- Disease or condition?

Is achalasia a disease or a condition some people I have noticed have called it one or the otherPippa

[Guest guest]

Maybe, but cancer is a disease and it is often fatal. I know what you are trying to say, but for some it is a little easier to use generic terminology when referring to various malfunctions. However, I could be wrong. What is the accepted definition of this disease or cindition?

From: achalasia [mailto:achalasia ] On Behalf Of BartolinoSent: Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:51 AMachalasia Subject: Re: Disease or condition?

A disease can be cured ??????? Condition can"t ???????? Yes?? No??

-- Disease or condition?

Is achalasia a disease or a condition some people I have noticed have called it one or the otherPippa

[Guest guest]

Pippa wrote:

> Is achalasia a disease or a condition some people I have noticed have

> called it one or the other

>

In medicine the words " disease " and " disorder " are synonyms, if you have

one you have the other, and you also have a condition. A " condition " is

a state of being. In this context it means a state of health which is

not ideal. Which is also what the phrase " out of condition " means, but

with an emphasis on fitness. This means you can call achalasia either a

disease or a disorder and be correct. You can also refer to it as your

" condition. "

Outside of medicine, common meanings of " disease " and " disorder " can be

different. Many people think of a disease as an infection and a disorder

as something not caused by an infection. In that context you would have

a hard time calling primary (there are other types) achalasia either a

disease or a disorder because no one knows what causes it. Most of the

people in our group have primary achalasia.

Secondary achalasia can be caused by a number of things and just means

that the cause in those cases is known and achalasia is just something

that happened because of the other disease/disorder you have. In those

cases the other diseases are primary and achalasia is secondary to them.

Not many people in our group have secondary achalasia.

notan

[Guest guest]

As in discussing "nausea" or "puking" or "getting sick" or "throwing up", I think that what to call this isn't so much a "can't agree what it is" problem as much as it is an "everyone uses different words and there are a lot of different words to use" problem.Take a look at a quick sampling of definitions and synonyms taken off Merriam-Webster this morning (I didn't include the ones that didn't apply, such as a "condition" that is a prerequisite or a stipulation):disease: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms : SICKNESS, MALADYdisease: an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning <they caught a rare disease while they were traveling in Africa and were sick for weeks> Synonyms: affection, ailment, bug, complaint, complication, condition, disorder, fever, ill, illness, infirmity, malady, sickness, trouble Related Words: contagion, contagious disease; infection, infectious disease; deficiency disease; attack, bout, fit, spell; debility, decrepitude, feebleness, frailness, lameness, weakness; malaise, matter; pest, pestilence, plague condition:4 a : a state of being <the human condition> c : a usually defective state of health <a serious heart condition> disorder: an abnormal physical or mental condition <a liver disorder> <a personality disorder>

disorder:an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning <afflicted all her life with a nervous disorder> -- see DISEASEillness:a : an unhealthy condition of body or mind b : SICKNESS sickness:1 a : ill health : ILLNESS b : a disordered, weakened, or unsound condition2 : a specific diseasemalady:1 : a disease or disorder of the animal body2 : an unwholesome or disordered condition abnormality:1 : the quality or state of being abnormal2 : something abnormal abnormal: deviating from the normal or averageI think we can all agree that achalasia fits into ALL of these categories. It's not normal, it's disordered, it's unhealthy, etc. In my opinion, ALL of the following statements are correct:Achalasia is a disease which affects the nerves of the esophagus and which interferes with normal swallowing function.Achalasia is a disorder which affects the nerves of the esophagus and which interferes with normal swallowing function.Achalasia is a condition which affects the nerves of the esophagus and which interferes with normal swallowing function.Achalasia is an abnormality which affects the nerves of the esophagus and which interferes with normal swallowing function.Achalasia is an illness which affects the nerves of the esophagus and which interferes with normal swallowing function.Also, you'll note that NONE of the definitions of these words refer to whether the "disease/disorder/condition" was caused by an infectious/contagious agent (unless it's specified as an "infectious disease", etc.) or whether it's curable or incurable. The main theme running through this is that a normal body function is screwed up.Heart disease is caused by a number of different things (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.). Cancer is a disease that is sometimes caused by a virus (such as the cervical cancer virus for which the vaccine is such a hot news item lately) but many times just "happens". A cold (upper respiratory infection) is caused by a virus. It is a disease (a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms) and it's a disorder (an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning) and it's an illness (an unhealthy condition of body or mind) and a sickness (a disordered, weakened, or unsound condition). These terms are not meant to be mutually exclusive, and in fact they are, in many cases, listed as synonyms or even descriptions of each other (a sickness is a condition, as is an illness). In some regions, a particular word may be more common than in another region. It doesn't mean that one is right and one is wrong. Think of it like this: In Norway, almost everyone is blond-haired; that's just the way it is in that region. They're used to having blond-haired babies there. But is it "wrong" for someone to not have blond hair in Norway? Nope... it may be less common, but there's nothing wrong with it. My suggestion is to use the terms that YOU and THOSE AROUND YOU are familiar with, and don't worry about being "proper". If you're using any words that correctly describe our condition, you're correct in your description. There is no "right or wrong" here.Debbi in Michigan, wondering just how many times we'll end up having this discussion on this board..... ;o)