Iatrophobia

[Dr. Goodword]

• iatrophobia •

Pronunciation: ai-æ-trê-fo-bi-ê • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: Fear of doctors.

Notes: During the coronavirus epidemic is no time to be iatrophobic (the adjective). Someone who fears doctors is an iatrophobe, who behaves iatrophobically. Iatrogenic means "caused by doctors (or medicines)".

In Play: About three percent of the US population has a fear of doctors, mostly anxiety triggered by the fear of the unknown: "Iatrophobia is understandable because of the iatrogenic complications we hear about." I can see it entering the general vocabulary: "I don't suffer from iatrophobia, but I do try to avoid doctors and hospitals as much as I can."

Word History: Today's Good Word was created by combining Greek iatros "doctor" with phobia "fear". Iatros is a noun made from iatreuein "to treat, cure, heal". We find a number of English words made up of iatro-: iatrogenic "caused by a doctor", iatroculture "the culture of doctors", and iatroepidemic "large-scale problem caused by medicine or doctors" to mention a few. We do not know how iatros came to be in the Greek language. Phobia comes from phobos "fear", originally "flight", for it was derived from phobein "to frighten, make flee". This word comes from PIE bhegw- "to run", source also of Russian bežat' "to run" and begun "runner", English beck as in 'at someone's beck and call', and British English beck "a small brook". (Today's most topical Good Word was recommended by Dr. Kyu Ho Youm, Jonathan Marshall First Amendment Chair, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon.)

[LukeJavan8]

I don't know if dentists were included, but as a boy I feared the one
I went to. It was the days before novocaine (?) and I was
terrified whenever I had an appointment.

[call_copse]

Common enough to get it's own monicker, fear of dentists is odontophobia.

[LukeJavan8]

That word makes a lot of sense, and I did not know it. Thanks.

[Philip Hudson]

Luke: Novocaine has been available all of your life. I guess I have been fortunate because I have never had a dentist of whom I was afraid. I have been scared by some doctors because I immediately knew they were incompetent. I hold doctors and dentists in high regard. My son is a maxillofacial surgeon. That is a dentist with an MD.

He and Dr. Drodze, my childhood dentist, never put me in great pain.
Nor have those who followed him. Th day before Christmas a surgeon saved my life. I pray for all those involved in fighting the corona virus. They are the heroes of the day.

[LukeJavan8]

Please don't get me wrong, I have the greatest respect for
dentists and doctors. I even watch all the shows on TV
and try to watch the gory surgeries even tho' I know they
are just rubber and plastic organs. And the wonders they are
accomplishing with knee/hip replacements leaves me in awe.
I just meant that I was never a recipient of novacaine as a boy
and was scared to death,hand shaking as I opened his office
door. I do wonder, however, if it was available why we had to
suffer so badly.

[Dr. Goodword]

Dentists & novocaine. When I was in the fourth grade I had a bad cavity in a molar. My mother gave me a $5 bill to have it filled. When I told the dentist (he asked) how much money I had, he said, "Well, you'll need another dollar for novocaine." I responded, "What's that?"

When he explained novocaine to me, he added, "Do you know George Ailer?" I told him George was in my class at school. He then said, "Well, George was in the other day and he let me drill without novocaine." Well, George wasn't going to get one on me, so I agreed to have 3/4 of a molar ground out without benefit of any pain-killer.

When I was in graduate school at U. of Michigan, that tooth began hurting again. So, having overcome my odontophobia, I went to the UM School of Dentistry and was convinced to try a new procedure, a root canal. This time I knew what novocaine was so I told my dental student to use plenty of it. He did and received an A+ for the job he did on my tooth.

The procedure cost me $35 this time, $25 of which was for the gold crown--a lot of money in 1962. The points were silver, so I ate with a bejeweled bite thereafter.

[LukeJavan8]

nice one Doc. I would have run home for an extra dollar had
my dentist offered me the option.

[call_copse]

I particularly like - in a cringey odontophobic way - the historical dentists sketches on a program my children enjoy, Horrible Histories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azOy1EixtuM

At least you can be glad to have not been around in such benighted times. That's probably one of the nicest ones

[LukeJavan8]

I fear that is the way I saw my boyhood dentist. Good video, thanks.