Talk:Wheal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WikiProject Medicine This article is within the scope of WikiProject Medicine. Please visit the project page for details or ask questions at the doctor's mess.
Stub This page has been rated as Stub-Class on the quality assessment scale
Mid This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the importance assessment scale


[edit] Confusing

<transfered from Talk:Welt (medicine) upon merger> The image name and description disagree. 68.39.174.238 03:28, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

 Yes, but the image name is incorrect.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 164.77.106.50 (talk) 20:00, 6 October 2007 (UTC)


Should "Welp" really redirect here? I was hoping to find some kind of etymological information about the variant of "well." I've certainly never heard of it in any sense similar to "welt." Courtf 06:41, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] the

the Link to evanescent is inappropriate. The definition in this case should be:


1. vanishing; fading away; fleeting.

2. tending to become imperceptible; scarcely perceptible.


Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jopparoad (talk • contribs) 04:18, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Mergers and spelling

Multiple articles of Wheal, Wheals, Welts (medicine) currently exist !

I note the Concise Oxford Dictionary indicates "welt" is alternative word to the main entry of "weal", whilst "wheal" is not listed at all. British Association of Dermatologist use the term "weals"[1] to describe each lesion. Is welts the condition composed of individual weals (eg one gets "welts", aka "hives", but does anyone call each individual bump a "welt" or "hive")

Here is interesting hit list:

Term PubMed Google
hives 10846 8,550,000
urticaria 14086 1,340,000
welts 22 713,000
wheals 485 83,500
wheal 1487 265,000
weals 134 84,100
weal 366 <200 (592,000 before excluding what seems to be abbreviations)

Opinions:

  1. So general usage seems favour hives vs urticaria, but as per WP:MEDMOS we elect the article name using the precise medical term of urticaria (and hives is currently correctly redirected to this).
  2. hives/urticaria imply allergic response with formation of welt/w(h)eal. But welt/w(h)eal are not always allergic in nature (eg may be caused by a blow). So hives/urtiucaria (which may be considered as dieases) should remain separate article from welt/wheal (which is best considered a symptom/sign).
  3. With welts being an alternative name for w(h)eals, it should merge in here (both as per COD indication and again under WP:MEDMOS selection of medical term).
  4. Wheal(s) seems more commonly used than weal(s) in the medical literature.
  5. As may consist of just a solitary lesion, the article name should be singular

Actions of various terms mentioned:

David Ruben Talk 13:20, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

The only question here that I feel entirely qualified to answer is about welt vs. welts: Yes, Americans (at least) will use welt in the singular, as in "The rope left a huge welt on my arm when it slipped," or "This welt hurts more than the other welts." The rest of this looks good to me, if it seems good to you. WhatamIdoing (talk) 07:43, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
re Usage of terms. Two queries:
  1. Weal vs Wheal - is this BrE vs AmE or just synonymous terms ?
  2. Welt vs W(h)eal - My (totally uncited) impression is that welt might be restricted, or at least more typically used, for wheals from traumatic causes (knocks, rope burns); whereas on its only wheals also includes allergic reactions. Given that this is not something frequently discussed in day-to-day speech, anyone have (citable) views on this (PubMed usage, as indicated in the above table, <1.5%) ? David Ruben Talk 23:41, 8 March 2008 (UTC)
I can't find anything reliable. I can barely find anything at all. But as for restricting welt to mechanical injury: I think that generally you're right, but you might describe raised bumps subsequent to bee stings as welts, and that could involve an immune reaction. Merriam-Webster thinks that welts include allergic reactions. I think we're going to hit a dead end here: there may be a pattern for usage, but nothing solid. WhatamIdoing (talk) 04:55, 9 March 2008 (UTC)