Last week, I met a new patient in my office.  She was super-worried about using the correct terminology to describe her symptoms and this had kept her from coming in sooner.  And while she was a little embarrassed, she then told me that she had “pain in her pee-hole.”  Does it matter to me if you don’t know the right medical words to describe your symptoms?

Who knows the right anatomical words?

A study by Eve Appeal showed that about 2/3 of women do not know the correct anatomical words. These means that MORE women don’t have the right words than do. These aren’t words that we use in our day to day lives.  Sometimes they are words that you have never heard before.  And while I wish we all used these words more frequently, it does not matter to me if you use medical terms. (click here for bladder anatomy)

Does not knowing the right words impact your care?

My job is to figure out what is bothering you, to figure out what is causing it, and to figure out how to correct it.  There are many different ways to describe a symptom or body part and I think I have heard most of them.  It does not matter to me if you say vagina, “down there”, vajayjay, cooch, or pocket-book- I can figure it out.  It does not matter to me if you say pain, pressure, buring, or hurt.  It may take some time but I can figure it out.  I may need to ask you lots of questions that all seem pretty similar.  I may need you to point to where it hurts.  But together, we can figure it out.  And the truth is that most women describe their symptoms in similar ways even if they aren’t using medical words.

I also think it is my job to make you feel comfortable with talking about your symptoms.  So, you’ll tell me how they change over time.  And tell me how they impact your general well-being and self-esteem.  The last thing that I want is for women to postpone a needed medical appointment.  So don’t worry if you don’t have the words.  I do.  And I will share them. The pee-hole is the urethra. (more about anatomical terms and what is “normal” here).