FOLK MEDICAL LEXICON

Source: A Folk Medical Lexicon of South Central Appalachia, 1990; with permission from the History of Medicine Society of Appalachia, Medical Library, PO Box 23290A, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614.

A

acting up	the manifestation of symptoms of any physical disorder: "My arthritis has been acting up lately."
air hungry	difficulty with breathing
all to pieces   (to) allow	an expression used to describe an acute state of anxiety to say; "What did the doctor allow about the pain in my chest?"
angry (sore)	a sore that is infected and sensitive to the touch; "I've got an angry sore on my arm."
asafetida	[commonly pronounced "fidity"] used in the phrase "fidity gum"; a gum resin derived from the roots of plants from the Near East worn in a pouch around the neck to ward off illness.

B

baby dropsy	death in babies caused by swollen heart due to Rh incompatibility
baby in the oven   back door trots   back of this	pregnancy diarrhea a phrase meaning "before this"; "Back of this, I had headaches and vomited a lot."
bad blood	a. used in reference to contemptible behavioral traits believed to be inherited from one generation to the next: "I wouldn't trust him because his family's got bad blood." b. syphilis c. poor social relationsbetween people; "There's been bad blood between them for years."
bag of waters beal	placenta with amniotic fluid   to become infected, to fester, and feels awful." Also used as a noun. There is a bealing on my back." Usually indicates an otitis condition
beggar's itch	a. scabies b. a lice condition
big eye	insomnia, sometimes used in the expression "took the big eye"; I don't feel well today because I had the big eye last night."
bigged   (the) binds   birth palsy   black liver   bleeding disease or bleeder's disease	pregnant; also used as a verb; "He bigged her." constipation; "She's got a bad case of the binds." a birth injury causing paralysis hepatitis hemophilia
blind staggers	a. a feeling of dizziness or lightheadedness b. inability to walk due to intoxication
blood blister	a. a trauma to the skin causing blood formation between the dermis and epidermis b. a hemangioma
blood wart	a. superficial telangiectasia or hemangioma b. hemorrhoid
bloody flux	a. bleeding from the rectum b. menstruation; See flux.
bloody tide	extreme menstrual flow
blossoming out	a. the symptoms of an illness manifesting or becoming worse; See also flare. b. attaining puberty; See budding out.
blues bluing the face and hands	mental depression   turning blue
bold hives   bone tired   bounded gut	particularly large wheals or blisters on the skin severe exhaustion from physical labor a. constipation b. impaction of the bowels c. obstruction of the bowels
brain fever breaking out brown headache budding out bug bugs bumfuddled burning up bushed up	encephalitis or meningitis   the manifestation of a skin rash; also used as a noun to refer to a rash   headache associated with constipation   attaining sexual maturity; See blossoming out   flu; "He's been down with the bug for two days."   scabies   confused mental state; also used as "bumfuzzled"   having a fever   nervous

C

(the) "C' can't help its	cancer; "We may lose him to the big C."   a. menstruation b. lethargy c. mental depression
canker ear catarrh	itchiness of the ear canal   inflammation of the mucous membrane; used in reference to allergy or URI symptoms or sinus drainage
catch	sharp muscle pain in the neck, back, or knee associated with limited movement: "I've got a catch in my neck." See crick.
(to) catch caul (the) changes	to deliver a child; "She caught every baby in this community."   [pronounced "cowl"] amniotic sac; see onion skin and veil.   a. menopause. b. mental depression; "Since he's had the changes nobody can talk to him." c. menstruation
chested child bedfever clap (the) clutches	chest congestion   fever from postpartum infection   venereal disease; sometimes referred to as "the collapse"   a. any abdominal cramping b. menstrual cramps
colic	a. indigestion and/or abdominal pain in babies; includes six-month and nine-month colic; commonly used in phrase "colicky baby." b. in adults any severe, intermittent abdominal pain; two varieties include "gall bladder colic" and "kidney colic."
consumption	a. tuberculosis of the lungs, see galloping consumption. b. a rapid, progressive pneumonic condition
cooties corded corruption	lice or germs   tightness and stiffness of the muscles   a. pus from an infected sore b. phlegm, especially that containing blood resulting from a chronic lung problem; used in the phrase "bloody corruption."
courage course or courses crabs cradle cap cramp colic	(male specific) sexual drive, impotency: "Doc, I've lost my courage."   menstruation   body lice; used most frequently in reference to pubic lice   seborrheic dermatitis of the newborn, infant, or small child   a. menstruation b. painful contraction of the intestine
creel	to sprain: "He creeled his ankle when he slipped off the porch"; variant form "creen" also used.
crick cross over crud	sharp muscle pain in the neck; See catch.   to die; "When did your brother cross over?"   a sickness characterized by symptoms of feeling tired, dull, and achy; often used in reference to the flu; commonly used as "the crud:" "He's down with the crud and can't go to work/" also used as an ajective: "I've been feeling cruddy lately." Also described as the "creeping crud," meaningthe onset of the symptoms of the crud, and the "galloping crud," meaning the symptoms are fully manifested.
(the) curse	menstruation

D

deathly sick	a. a severe case of nausea, fever, and weakness; commonly used to express a feeling of wanting to die in reaction to a debilitating condition. b. a death threatening illness; See low sick.
deep study	a. a mood of intense concentration or contemplation. b. a depressed mental condition. c. a vacuous state of mind characterized by staring off into space.
dew poisoning	a. sores on the soles of the feet caused through contact with dew. b. a rash on the ankles or hands resulting from contact with dew; See frost poisoning.
(to) doctor	to treat medically, especially through the administration of home remedies.
don't care   double pneumonia	to an expression that means "Yes, I would like to." a. both lungs, not just one, are inflammed and congested. b. severe pneumonia.
down and out	a. extreme fatigue. b. mental depression.
down in my back down in the dumps down there	backache, usually severe.   mental depression.   genitals.
down with it     draggy	contraction of an illness, such as a flu, that is incapacitating: "He's been down with it two weeks." sluggish, languid; also used as "the drags."
draw out	a. to induce an illness, such as a cold or fever. b. to treat a boil or other lesion by application of medicinal substances; also described as "bringing to a head."
drawed up   drawing spell	a. contraction of the arms, legs, hands due to cramping or injury. b. illness associated with extreme weight loss; See drawing spell.   a. contraction of the arms and legs due to excruciating pain. See drawed up. b. inability to take in a deep breath. c. hyperventilation.
drinlin	a. weak, ailing. b. weak constitution associated with loss of appetite and extreme loss of weight; see wasting away.
(the) drip   drizzlins   dropsy	gonorrhea diarrhea heart trouble, heart failure, generalized edema associated with heart problems; often used in the phrase "heart dropsy."
dwindlin' away   dyspepsy	losing weight [derivative of dyspepsia] indigestion

F

fagged out   fair to midlin   fall sores	extremely fatigued used in reference to a normal state of physical and mental well-being; See midlin.   a. rash that forms on the legs and/or feet and hands during the fall, particularly during "dog days" (i.e., late summer to early fall); a child specific pathology b. impetigo
fallen off   fallen womb   falling off the roof	weight loss: "She's fallen off quite a bit since she became sick."   a prolapsed uterus; See laxed privates   menstruation
filling out     fish skin   fits	a. gaining weight. b. reaching a state of physical maturity   scaly, dry skin common to the elderly   a. seizures; used as "the fits" b. temper tantrum
flare   fleshy	the symptoms of an illness manifesting suddenly or becoming worse; frequently used with the preposition "up": "My headache flared up again last night."   a. corpulent, fat; also used to describe gaining weight as in the phrase "getting fleshy" or "fleshing up." b. a sore becoming swollen from infection: "That sore of yours is getting fleshy."
flooding   flounder   flower	extreme menstrual flow [sometimes pronounced "founder"] bloated, stuffed feeling [sometimes pronounced "flare"] a. the symptoms of an illness manifesting; "My arthritis flowered last week." b. hymen
flux   frazzle	diarrhea; See bloody flux.   extreme fatigue, commonly used in the phrase "worn to a frazzle"; also used as a verb as in "I'm frazzled from painting the house."
French curse   fretful	syphilis used to describe an anxious, stressful mental state; "He's feeling fretful about losing his job." Commonly used in reference to babies that cry excessively.
frost poisoning	sores on the soles of the feet resulting from contact with frost. See dew poisoning.

G

galloping consumption	a. tuberculosis complicated by pneumonia b. tuberculosis characterized by rapid, progressive symptoms
gant up   gasey   gaulded	to gain weight; "He's ganted up some since he got out of the hospital." flatulence and/or bloated feeling a heat rash, particularly in the groin area; "My leg is gaulded so bad I can hardly walk." Rash area sometimes referred to as "scalded skin."
gism   give out   glands   gleet   glut   goozle   grand itch   granny cramps   granny woman   gravel   green apple	[pronounced "jism"] semen; (not well known or used in the region). severely fatigued, usually from physical exertion. prostate gland. a. chronic gonorrhea. b. urethral discharge.   derivative of "glutton"," to eat to excess; I glut today."   the throat or Adam's apple   scabies   menstrual period   midwife and/or herb doctor; sometimes referred to as "granny midwife"   gall or kidney stones   a. diarrhea; sometimes used in the phrase "green apple trots" b. abdominal pain; sometimes used in the phrase "green apple bellyache"
(to) green up.   grippe	to impregnate or become pregnant, possibly specific to African -American a. an upper respiratory infection. b. an illness exhibiting the symptoms of flu.
gripping stomach	a. hunger pains. b. queasy stomach
growth gum boil	tumor; commonly used in reference to cancer   abscess on gums

H

hair cut	a. canker on the genitals b. a laceration of the penis caused by a pubic hair
ham strung   hard measles   hark	extremely sore thigh or calf muscles rubella [phonetical variant of "hawk"; also pronounced as "hock" and "hack"] to cough up phlegm: "He harked up a lot of phlegm." See hocker.
heebie jeebies   herb doctor     high blood	nervous condition; also "the jeebies." ["herb" sometimes pronounced "yarb"] a folk healer knowledgeable in the use of medicinal plants a. high blood pressure. b. an excessive quantity of blood in the body. c. high blood sugar. d. high blood count.
hippoed   hocker   hunkers	a feeling of ill health or extreme fatigue; "I feel plumb hippoed." a wad of phlegm a. haunches: "My hunkers are sore." b. used as verb "to hunker" meaning "to squat"; "He's hunkering by the fire."

I

in a delicate condition   in a family way   in the mother way (the) itch

pregnant pregnant. pregnant. scabies; See grand itch.

J

jack bumps   jake leg	acne a disabled walk characterized by a loping gait where the feet fall hard or "slap" the ground; condition common in the 1920s and 1930s caused by drinking Jamaica Ginger, a ginger extract containing propylene glycol.
(the) jitters   job	nervous mental state   [phonetical variant of the verb " jab"] used to refer to a sharp, stabbing pain; "The pain in my neck jobbed me all day.
johnny trots	diarrhea