A few months ago, I was finishing up an illustration. I showed it to a health literacy friend to check the wording. I expected her to comment on the facial expression, the spacing, or the colors, but she pointed out a misspelled word instead. I had to double-check because I thought she was wrong. Turns out, she was right.
“Mucus” is a noun, and “mucous” is an adjective. The stuff you cough up is mucus, and the lining of your nose and throat are mucous membranes.
How have I been spelling this wrong for over 20 years of medical schooling, training, and practice? I couldn’t be the only one, could I? That night, when I went to work, I asked my co-workers, “write the word that describes the stuff you cough up when you’re sick.”
Phew. I was glad I was not the only one.
I started thinking of all the misconceptions in medicine. Last month, I wrote about a common misconception: That antibiotics cure viral infections. If you missed it, here’s the link: What’s the most common question people ask an ER doctor?
I’ve realized that many illustrations involve clearing up misconceptions about medicine. Here are some of the more common ones.
Of course, there are many misconceptions about IVs and how they work. I could draw several images to answer all the questions about this. Here’s just one of them.
What are some common misconceptions you’ve had? If you care for patients, what are some common misconceptions your patients have had? Please share—I’d love to try to illustrate them.