Tag: medicalization
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Seeking medicalization: chronic illness without diagnosed disease
Camille KrollChicago, Illinois, United States I was wheeled into the bright lights of the operating room with the symptom-based diagnoses of chronic pelvic pain and irritable bowel syndrome. When I groggily emerged several hours later, I had a new label: someone with a disease. Endometriosis is a notoriously tricky disease to diagnose because often only…
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Knock, or The Triumph of Medicine
Howard FischerUppsala, Sweden “The man who feels well is actually sick and doesn’t know it.”—Dr. Knock Jules Romains (1885–1972), author of the play Knock, or the Triumph of Medicine, was a novelist, poet, essayist, playwright, and short story writer. He was considered one of the best writers of his generation.1 This paper presents a detailed…
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Ivan Illich after almost half a century
Ivan Illich died in 2002 and is now in danger of being forgotten. His famous book, Medical Nemesis,1 appeared in 1975 and captured the imagination and approbation of many. He was a vehement critic of the “medical establishment,” which he regarded as a threat to people’s health. He was not the first to express such…