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5 Health Conditions That Don’t Really Exist

There are a wealth of diseases and disorders out there, but you might be throwing around a few terms that don’t mean anything at all. That condition you just talked about with your best friend? You don’t really have it. At least, not exactly. (The Power Nutrient Solution is the first-ever plan that tackles the root cause of virtually every major ailment today; get your copy today!) Here are a few commonly used—but medically inaccurate—”diagnoses.”

5 health conditions

Stomach flu


“Influenza causes fever greater than 101°F with congestion or sore throat,” said Dr. Jill Swartz, a physician with GoHealth Urgent Care in Westchester, NY. “It rarely causes stomach vomiting and diarrhea.”


Walking pneumonia 

A medical professional might actually tell you that you have this, but it’s something of a catch-all rather than an exact diagnosis. It could mean that you have a very mild case of pneumonia and don’t require hospitalization, or it might just mean that you have a chronic cough and have been feeling cruddy for over a month but your doctor can’t pinpoint why, Swartz said. When there’s nothing conclusive going on, doctors will sometimes label patients with “walking pneumonia” and medicate them to see if it helps, she explains. “If you take a Z-Pak and it works, great. If not, then let’s see if we can find another reason.”

Gluten allergy


“Celiac disease, which is a serious condition, is an immune response to gluten, not an allergy like we think about a peanut allergy,” said Dr. Janna Tuck, an allergist and spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.


Nervous breakdown 

“It’s one of my least favorite terms,” said Dr. Tamar Gur, PhD, a psychiatrist with Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. “When we get overwhelmed, we can feel like we are going to lose our minds, but we do not. People do not have mental breakdowns, which is how that term is usually used,” she said.


Head cold


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