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Health Slang

The healthcare industry is full of slang terms. Some acronyms and abbreviations are specialized medical terms, while others are used in everyday discussions about nutrition and fitness. Even if you're not a doctor or a nurse, many of the terms below are good to know.

Slang Term	Meaning	Votes
Anti-vaxxer	A person who opposes vaccines	585
Rx	Prescription	587
STD	Sexually transmitted disease	588
CPR	Cardiopulmonary resuscitation	592
ICU	Intensive care unit	593
DM	Doctor of Medicine	593
RN	Registered nurse	593
HIV	Human immunodeficiency virus	594
ADD	Attention deficit disorder	595
ACL	Anterior cruciate ligament	595
Snapback culture	Pressure on new moms to snap back to their pre-pregnancy bodies	595
PTSD	Post-traumatic stress disorder	596
AIDS	Acquired immune deficiency syndrome	596
OI	Opportunistic infection	596
MD	Medical doctor	596
EMT	Emergency medical technician	596
PPE	Personal Protective Equipment	596
Non-GMO	Unvaccinated	596
HWP	Height weight proportionate	597
OTC	Over-the-counter	597
ADHD	Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder	597
IVF	In Vitro Fertilization	597
AMA	American Medical Association	597
FDA	Food and Drug Administration	597
CHF	Congestive heart failure	597
BM	Bowel movement	597
POS	Point of service	597
Fauci Ouchie	COVID-19 vaccine	597
vax	Vaccination	597
Perc30	Oxycodone, commonly mixed with fentanyl	597
Thumb day	When you browse your phone incessantly at the gym	597
CAFO	Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation	597
AMA	Against medical advice	597
PFO	Pissed and fell over	598
meds	Medications	598
SOB	Shortness of breath	598
STI	Sexually transmitted infection	598
OBGYN	Obstetrics and gynecology	598
OBG	Obstetrics and gynecology	598
ENT	Ear, nose, and throat specialist	598
BLS	Basic life support	598
ALS	Advanced life support	598
EHR	Electronic health record	598
EOB	Explanation of benefits	598
Long-hauler	A person suffering long-term effects from COVID-19	598
BDD	Body dysmorphic disorder	598
ACV	Apple cider vinegar	598
mia	Bulimia	598
Thinspiration	Inspiration to be thin	598
PED	Performance enhancing drug	599
HGH	Human growth hormone	599
ER	Emergency room	599
CAD	Coronary artery disease	599
SIDS	Sudden infant death syndrome	599
CDC	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	599
iv	Intravenous	599
LCL	Lateral collateral ligament	599
DO	Doctor of Osteopathy	599
DNR	Do not resuscitate	599
EMS	Emergency medical services	599
APS	Adult protective services	599
ARF	Acute renal failure	599
tb	Tuberculosis	599
TBI	Traumatic brain injury	599
BID	Twice a day	599
Fitspiration	Inpiration to be fit	599
GOMER	Get Out of My Emergency Room	599
Chub rub	Chafing where your thighs rub together	599
Fire thighs	Thighs inflamed from chafing	599
ROM	Range of motion	599
Delta	COVID-19 Delta variant	599
Omicron	COVID-19 Omicron variant	599
Flurona	Having both the flu and covid	599
Twindemic	A dual pandemic	599
Long COVID	Long-term COVID-19 symptoms	599
Never Covid	A person exposed to but uninfected by COVID-19	599
F2M	Female to male	599
NoPoo	No shampoo	599
CGM	Curly girl method	599
Co Washing	Conditioner-only washing	599
Pro-ana	Pro anorexia	599
ana	Anorexia	599
Leg day	Workout day specializing on legs	599
Gains	Increased healthiness	599
BPD	Borderline personality disorder	599
ppd	Postpartum depression	600
OOP	Out of pocket	600
xt	Cross-training	600
EPO	Erythropoietin	600
WHO	World Health Organization	600
LDL	Low-density lipoprotein	600
ACLS	Advanced cardiac life support	600
AED	Automated external defibrillator	600
AND	Allow natural death	600
DNI	Do not intubate	600
USFDA	United States Food and Drug Administration	600
ALOS	Average length of stay	600
AMI	Acute myocardial infarction	600
ARI	Acute respiratory infection	600
CICU	Cardiac intensive care unit	600
TCU	Transitional care unit	600
STEL	Short term exposure limit	600
FPL	Federal poverty level	600
AAA	Apply to affected area	600
Q	Every	600
ED	Eating disorder	600
IF	Intermittent fasting	600
FTM	Female to male	600
GSM	Gender and sexuality minority	600
MTF	Male to female	600
M2F	Male to female	600
DSAB	Designated sex at birth	600
AFAB	Assigned female at birth	600
AMAB	Assigned male at birth	600
SOGI	Sexual orientation and gender identity	600
DOC	Drug of choice	601
PPO	Preferred provider organization	601
HMO	Health maintenance organization	601
PCP	Primary care physician	601
ITU	Intensive treatment unit	601
CCU	Critical care unit	601
AE	Accident and emergency	601
ICN	Intensive Care Nursery	601
COI	Certificate of insurance	601
ED	Emergency department	602
NICU	Neonatal Intensive Care Unit	602
ST	Speech therapy	602
SSI	Surgical site infection	602
CVI	Cerebrovascular insult	603
EMR	Electronic medical record	603
MCL	Medial collateral ligament	600
BP	Blood pressure	600
VD	Venereal disease	600
HDL	High-density lipoprotein	600
PCL	Posterior cruciate ligament	600
PT	Physical therapy	600
CNA	Certified nursing assistant	600
HHA	Home health aide	600
ALP	Assisted living program	600
CDT	Continuing day treatment	600
COPD	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	600
CRNA	Certified registered nurse anesthetist	600
CVA	Cerebrovascular accident	600
HCAI	Health care associated infection	600
ACO	Accountable care organization	600
EOC	Evidence of coverage	600
h	Hour	600
HS	At bedtime	600
PO	By mouth	600
CTE	Chronic traumatic encephalopathy	600
Anti-vax	Against vaccines	600
SAAB	Sex assigned at birth	600
Arm day	Workout day specializing on arms	600