History Main / DiseaseByAnyOtherName

* TheFairFolk of Celtic/European society are widely known for their BlueAndOrangeMorality--and the kidnapped, cursed, or [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe illicit]] human children of the ChangelingTale frequently show traits that modern doctors recognize as autism.

* After Ama Clutch steps on a rusty nail in ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', she's afraid she'll fall ill with "the frozen-face syndrome", AKA tetanus.

** It's never mentioned in-series what killed [[spoiler:Leopardstar]]. Her disease is beyond the comprehension of cats. WordOfGod is that she was diabetic.

* After Ama Clutch steps on a rusty nail in ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', she's afraid she'll fall ill with "the frozen-face syndrome", aka tetanus.

* After Ama Clutch steps on a rusty nail in ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', she's afraid she'll fall ill with "the frozen-face syndrome".

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* Overlapping with TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed, Elsa's depression in the ''Frozen'' fic ''Fanfic/DarknessBurning'' is only vaguely referred to by Elsa as a "darkness". This is in part because the term "depression" in its current terminology didn't exist in the 1840s.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'' has several different types of coughs: whitecough, greencough, redcough, and kitten-cough. The worst cough, "greencough", is pneumonia while "redcough" refers to BloodFromTheMouth.

* In ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'', rabies is referred to by dogs as "water madness".

** Creator/FriedrichNietzsche's mental breakdown has been ascribed to everything from syphilis what is now called bipolar disorder.

* ''Literature/{{Chalion}}'' series

Differs from VictorianNovelDisease in that consumption/tuberculosis was a known disease at the time, it just got seriously cleaned up for that trope. Compare to TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed, which is known in-universe but not spoken of by name because it's seen as shameful, and AmbiguousDisorder, when there's clearly ''something'' [[note]]usually mentally[[/note]] wrong but since the symptoms are determined by the plot there's not enough information for anyone in- or out-of-universe to figure it out. This can sometimes be a non-sexual form of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.

** Creator/Friedrich Nietzsche's mental breakdown has been ascribed to everything from syphilis what is now called bipolar disorder.

** The Marquis de Sade is believed to have had psychopathy.

** Albert Einstein is thought to have had Asperger syndrome.

** Both Isabella of Castile and Mary I of England are thought to have died from ovarian cancer.
** Historians are still arguing over whether Abraham Lincoln had Marfan syndrome.

** ''Literature/TheCurseOfChalion'': A physician enthusiastically tells a horrified Cazaril that his tumor could have grown teeth or hair. He attributes it to [[BodyHorror a demon attempting to grow a body and escape into the material world]].

** ''Paladin of Souls'': Ista sees the youngest child of her ArchNemesis and describes her as having the characteristics of "those children born to a woman late in life"--very clearly talking about Down Syndrome.
** ''Curse of Chalion'': A physician enthusiastically tells a horrified Cazaril that his tumor could have grown teeth or hair. He attributes it to [[BodyHorror a demon attempting to grow a body and escape into the material world]].
** ''The Hallowed Hunt'': After a wolf-spirit sends the hero into a kind of metaphysical seizure, Hallana--a sorceress/physician acolyte--comments, "I have seen the falling sickness, and that was not it."

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* In ''Film/HanselAndGretelWitchHunters'', Hansel is described as having "sugar sickness" from his time imprisoned in the witch's gingerbread house. To the audience it is obvious he is talking about insulin-dependent aka Type I diabetes.

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([=GRRM=] is ''very'' fond of this trope.)

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* Some commentators have speculated that cases of demonic possession dealt with by Jesus in Literature/TheFourGospels show symptoms we would recognize today as epilepsy or mental disorders.

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** Historians are still arguing over whether Abraham Lincoln had Marfan syndrome.

!Examples

* Literature/DragonridersOfPern: [[SpaceAmish Pastoral]] Pern has forgotten about the flu (among other things), and the entire planet is nearly wiped out by its return. They don't know what this fast-spreading illness is, but any reader will recognize the sneezy, achy, awful symptoms--especially the fact that most of the deaths are the result of a secondary illness. Ultimately a Healer and weyr-woman (re)invent the flu vaccine using very primitive methods, and distribute it to the populace, literally saving the world from pandemic.

* Some commentators have speculated that cases of demonic possession dealt with by Jesus in TheBible show symptoms we would recognize today as epilepsy or mental disorders.

* In ''Film/HanselAndGretelWitchHunters'', Hansel is described as having "sugar sickness" from his time imprisoned in the witch's gingerbread house. To the audience it is obvious he is talking about insulin-dependent diabetes.

''Used to be called Old Time (Medical) Condition. Will go on the HealingAndCuringTropes index at launch.''

Differs from VictorianNovelDisease in that consumption/tuberculosis was a known disease at the time, it just got seriously cleaned up for that trope. Compare to TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed, which is known but not spoken of by name because it's seen as shameful, and AmbiguousDisorder, when there's clearly ''something'' [[note]]usually mentally[[/note]] wrong but since the symptoms are determined by the plot there's not enough information for anyone in- or out-of-universe to figure it out. This can sometimes be a non-sexual form of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.