This is a partial listing of older names of sicknesses
and diseases. Hope it helps somewhat. I'm by no means an expert
on these
so please let me know if you see anything that needs correcting.
- Ablepsy - Blindness
- Ague - Malarial Fever
- American plague - Yellow fever
- Anasarca - Generalized massive edema
- Aphonia - Laryngitis
- Aphtha - The infant disease "thrush"
- Apoplexy - Paralysis due to stroke
- Asphycsia/Asphicsia - Cyanotic and lack of oxygen
- Atrophy - Wasting away or diminishing in size.
- Bad Blood - Syphilis
- Bilious fever - Typhoid, malaria, hepatitis or
elevated temperature
and bile emesis
- Biliousness - Jaundice associated with liver
disease
- Black plague or death - Bubonic plague
- Black fever - Acute infection with high
temperature and dark red skin
lesions and high mortality rate
- Black pox - Black Small pox
- Black vomit - Vomiting old black blood due to
ulcers or yellow fever
- Blackwater fever - Dark urine associated with
high temperature
- Bladder in throat - Diphtheria (Seen on death
certificates)
- Blood poisoning - Bacterial infection; septicemia
- Bloody flux - Bloody stools
- Bloody sweat - Sweating sickness
- Bone shave - Sciatica
- Brain fever - Meningitis
- Breakbone - Dengue fever
- Bright's disease - Chronic inflammatory disease
of kidneys
- Bronze John - Yellow fever
- Bule - Boil, tumor or swelling
- Cachexy - Malnutrition
- Cacogastric - Upset stomach
- Cacospysy - Irregular pulse
- Caduceus - Subject to falling sickness or epilepsy
- Camp fever - Typhus; aka Camp diarrhea
- Canine madness - Rabies, hydrophobia
- Canker - Ulceration of mouth or lips or herpes
simplex
- Catalepsy - Seizures / trances
- Catarrhal - Nose and throat discharge from cold
or allergy
- Cerebritis - Inflammation of cerebrum or lead
poisoning
- Chilblain - Swelling of extremities caused by
exposure to cold
- Child bed fever - Infection following birth of a
child
- Chin cough - Whooping cough
- Chlorosis - Iron deficiency anemia
- Cholera - Acute severe contagious diarrhea with
intestinal lining sloughing
- Cholera morbus - Characterized by nausea,
vomiting, abdominal cramps,
elevated temperature, etc. Could be appendicitis
- Cholecystitus - Inflammation of the gall bladder
- Cholelithiasis - Gall stones
- Chorea - Disease characterized by convulsions,
contortions and dancing
- Cold plague - Ague which is characterized by
chills
- Colic - An abdominal pain and cramping
- Congestive chills - Malaria
- Consumption - Tuberculosis
- Congestion - Any collection of fluid in an organ,
like the lungs
- Congestive chills - Malaria with diarrhea
- Congestive fever - Malaria
- Corruption - Infection
- Coryza - A cold
- Costiveness - Constipation
- Cramp colic - Appendicitis
- Crop sickness - Overextended stomach
- Croup - Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat
- Cyanosis - Dark skin color from lack of oxygen in
blood
- Cynanche - Diseases of throat
- Cystitis - Inflammation of the bladder
- Day fever - Fever lasting one day; sweating
sickness
- Debility - Lack of movement or staying in bed
- Decrepitude - Feebleness due to old age
- Delirium tremens - Hallucinations due to
alcoholism
- Dengue - Infectious fever endemic to East Africa
- Dentition - Cutting of teeth
- Deplumation - Tumor of the eyelids which causes
hair loss
- Diary fever - A fever that lasts one day
- Diptheria - Contagious disease of the throat
- Distemper - Usually animal disease with malaise,
discharge from nose
and throat, anorexia
- Dock fever - Yellow fever
- Dropsy - Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney
or heart disease
- Dropsy of the Brain - Encephalitis
- Dry Bellyache - Lead poisoning
- Dyscrasy - An abnormal body condition
- Dysentery - Inflammation of colon with frequent
passage of mucous and
blood
- Dysorexy - Reduced appetite
- Dyspepsia - Indigestion and heartburn. Heart
attack symptoms
Dysury - Difficulty in urination
- Eclampsy - Symptoms of epilepsy, convulsions
during labor
- Ecstasy - A form of catalepsy characterized by
loss of reason
- Edema - Nephrosis; swelling of tissues
- Edema of lungs - Congestive heart failure, a form
of dropsy
- Eel thing - Erysipelas
- Elephantiasis - A form of leprosy
- Encephalitis - Swelling of brain; aka sleeping
sickness
- Enteric fever - Typhoid fever
- Enterocolitis - Inflammation of the intestines
- Enteritis - Inflations of the bowels
- Epitaxis - Nose bleed
- Erysipelas - Contagious skin disease, due to
Streptococci with vesicular
and bulbous lesions
- Extravasted blood - Rupture of a blood vessel
- Falling sickness - Epilepsy
- Fatty Liver - Cirrhosis of liver
- Fits - Sudden attack or seizure of muscle activity
- Flux - An excessive flow or discharge of fluid
like hemorrhage or diarrhea
- Flux of humour - Circulation
- French pox - Syphilis
- Gathering - A collection of pus
- Glandular fever - Mononucleosis
- Great pox - Syphilis
- Green fever / sickness - Anemia
- Grippe/grip - Influenza like symptoms
- Grocer's itch - Skin disease caused by mites in
sugar or flour
- Heart sickness - Condition caused by loss of salt
from body
- Heat stroke - Body temperature elevates because
of surrounding environment
temperature and body does not perspire to reduce temperature.
Coma and
death result if not reversed
- King's evil - Tuberculosis of neck and lymph
glands
- Hectical complaint - Recurrent fever
- Hematemesis - Vomiting blood
- Hematuria - Bloody urine
- Hemiplegy - Paralysis of one side of body
- Hip gout - Osteomylitis
- Horrors - Delirium tremens
- Hydrocephalus - Enlarged head, water on the brain
- Hydropericardium - Heart dropsy
- Hydrophobia - Rabies
- Hydrothroax - Dropsy in chest
- Hypertrophic - Enlargement of organ, like the
heart
- Impetigo - Contagious skin disease characterized
by pustules
- Inanition - Physical condition resulting from
lack of food
- Infantile paralysis - Polio
- Intestinal colic - Abdominal pain due to improper
diet
- Jail fever - Typhus
- Jaundice - Condition caused by blockage of
intestines
- Kruchhusten - Whooping cough
- Lagrippe - Influenza
- Lockjaw - Tetanus or infectious disease affecting
the muscles of the
neck and jaw. Untreated, it is fatal in 8 days
- Long sickness - Tuberculosis
- Lues disease - Syphilis
- Lues venera - Venereal disease
- Lumbago - Back pain
- Lung fever - Pneumonia
- Lung sickness - Tuberculosis
- Lying in - Time of delivery of infant
- Malignant sore throat - Diphtheria
- Mania - Insanity
- Marasmus - Progressive wasting away of body, like
malnutrition
- Membranous Croup - Diphtheria
- Meningitis - Inflations of brain or spinal cord
- Metritis - Inflammation of uterus or purulent
vaginal discharge
- Miasma - Poisonous vapors thought to infect the
air
- Milk fever - Disease from drinking contaminated
milk, like undulant
fever or brucellosis
- Milk leg - Post partum thrombophlebitis
- Milk sickness - Disease from milk of cattle which
had eaten poisonous
weeds
- Mormal - Gangrene
- Morphew - Scurvy blisters on the body
- Mortification - Gangrene of necrotic tissue
- Myelitis - Inflammation of the spine
- Myocarditis - Inflammation of heart muscles
- Necrosis - Mortification of bones or tissue
- Nephrosis - Kidney degeneration
- Nepritis - Inflammation of kidneys
- Nervous prostration - Extreme exhaustion from
inability to control
physical and mental activities
- Neuralgia - Described as discomfort, such as
"Headache" was neuralgia
in head
- Nostalgia - Homesickness
- Palsy - Paralysis or uncontrolled movement of
controlled muscles. It
was listed as "Cause of death"
- Paroxysm - Convulsion
- Pemphigus - Skin disease of watery blisters
- Pericarditis - Inflammation of heart
- Peripneumonia - Inflammation of lungs
- Peritonotis - Inflammation of abdominal area
- Petechial Fever - Fever characterized by skin
spotting
- Puerperal exhaustion - Death due to child birth
- Phthiriasis - Lice infestation
- Phthisis - Chronic wasting away or a name for
tuberculosis
- Plague - An acute febrile highly infectious
disease with a high fatality
rate
- Pleurisy - Any pain in the chest area with each
breath
- Podagra - Gout
- Poliomyelitis - PolioPotter's asthma - Fibroid
pthisis
- Pott's disease - Tuberculosis of spine
- Puerperal exhaustion - Death due to childbirth
- Puerperal fever - Elevated temperature after
giving birth to an infant
- Puking fever - Milk sickness
- Putrid fever - Diphtheria.
- Quinsy - Tonsillitis.
- Remitting fever - Malaria
- Rheumatism - Any disorder associated with pain in
joints
- Rickets - Disease of skeletal system
- Rose cold - Hay fever or nasal symptoms of an
allergy
- Rotanny fever - (Child's disease)
- Rubeola - German measles
- Sanguineous crust - Scab
- Scarlatina - Scarlet fever
- Scarlet fever - A disease characterized by red
rash
- Scarlet rash - Roseola
- Sciatica - Rheumatism in the hips
- Scirrhus - Cancerous tumors
- Scotomy - Dizziness, nausea and dimness of sight
- Scrivener's palsy - Writer's cramp
- Screws - Rheumatism
- Scrofula - Tuberculosis of neck lymph glands.
Progresses slowly with
abscesses and pistulas develop. Young person's disease
- Scrumpox - Skin disease, impetigo
- Scurvy - Lack of vitamin C. Symptoms of weakness,
spongy gums and hemmoraging
under skin.
- Septicemia - Blood poisoning Shakes - Delirium
tremens
- Shaking - Chills, ague
- Shingles - Viral disease with skin blisters
- Ship fever - Typhus
- Siriasis - Inflammation of the brain due to sun
exposure
- Sloes - Milk sickness
- Small pox - Contagious disease with fever and
blisters
- Softening of brain - Result of stroke or
hemorrhage in the brain, with
an end result of the tissue softening in that area
- Sore throat distemper - Diphtheria or quinsy
- Spanish influenza - Epidemic influenza
- Spasms - Sudden involuntary contraction of muscle
or group of muscles,
like a convulsion
- Spina bifida - Deformity of spine
- Spotted fever - Either typhus or meningitis
- Sprue - Tropical disease characterized by
intestinal disorders and
sore throat
- St. Anthony's fire - Also erysipelas, but named
so because of affected
skin areas are bright red in appearance
- St. Vitas dance - Ceaseless occurrence of rapid
complex jerking movements
performed involuntary
- Stomatitis - Inflammation of the mouth
- Stranger's fever - Yellow fever
- Strangery - Rupture
- Sudor anglicus - Sweating sickness
- Summer complaint - Diarrhea, usually in infants
caused by spoiled milk
- Sunstroke - Uncontrolled elevation of body
temperature due to environment
heat. Lack of sodium in the body is a predisposing cause
- Swamp sickness - Could be malaria, typhoid or
encephalitis
- Sweating sickness - Infectious and fatal disease
common to UK in 15th
century
- Tetanus - Infectious fever characterized by high
fever, headache and
dizziness
- Thrombosis - Blood clot inside blood vessel
Thrush - Childhood disease
characterized by spots on mouth, lips and throat
- Tick fever - Rocky mountain spotted fever
- Toxemia of pregnancy - Eclampsia
- Trench mouth - Painful ulcers found along gum
line, Caused by poor
nutrition and poor hygiene
- Tussis convulsiva - Whooping cough
- Typhus - Infectious fever characterized high
fever, headache, and dizziness
- Variola - Smallpox
- Venesection - Bleeding
- Viper's dance - St. Vitus Dance
- Water on brain - Enlarged head
- White swelling - Tuberculosis of the bone
- Winter fever - Pneumonia
- Womb fever - Infection of the uterus.
- Worm fit - Convulsions associated with teething,
worms, elevated temperature
or diarrhea
- Yellowjacket - Yellow fever.
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