Who has iltihab?

In the colloquial Arabic spoken in this area, the word for inflammation is the same word as infection (iltihab). Antibiotics, while officially called mudad alhawoui are known as mudad aliltihab, implying that if you have iltihab, you should be treated with a mudad aliltihab. ("Mudad" means anti- or against.) To make matters worse anti-inflammatories like acetaminophen are also called mudad aliltihab.

So trying to explain to someone that they have a viral infection becomes a difficult game of “Who’s on First?”

Yes, you have iltihab, but you don’t need mudad aliltihab because you have a virus, not bacteria.

I have iltihab, why not give me mudad aliltihab?

Because mudad aliltihab won’t treat a virus

But I have iltihab...