Ekwiwalenty (?) porad specjalistycznych – profilaktyka i diagnozowanie chorób przez pacjentów (na przykładzie artykułów medycznych w pismach
Equivalents (?) of specialised consultations – prevention and diagnosis of illnesses by patients (on the example of medical articles in women’s

Summary/Abstract: The author of this paper intends to focus on the analysis of headlines of texts being medical advice and give some attention to the Internet manners of conceptualising an illness and its diagnosing by patients assuming the role of experts. The aim is to describe the methods of popularising medical achievements related to prevention of various illnesses and manners of treatment, as well as to present the register of linguistic devices used in relation thereto. They serve making the communicated messages more attractive and accessible. The senders of messages – assuming the position of authority (in glossy magazines and Internet forums) – share their knowledge most frequently arising from their own experiences. These, however, are not specialists and therefore their advice should not be treated as equivalent to a specialised diagnosis. The power of persuasion of the analysed texts is high although the relations between the sender and the recipients are equivalent (non-specialists). Due to the above there is no need to neutralise these relations and hence both parties use unofficial and non-specialised vocabulary that is adjusted to one’s own perception capabilities. Certain pieces of advice fulfil their primary function because they are instructive in nature and have an ambition to inform the recipient in a reliable, even if unprofessional, manner.

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