Read the vocabulary used for expressing health, illness, and disease issues and then follow the task below:
pain ( n.)feeling in your body when you have been hurt or when you are ill,sick
· Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her neck, shoulder, waist, arm, leg, stomach.
· Take an aspirin to relieve the pain.
ache (v/n.)continuous pain; feel a continuous pain
· I can’t sleep because my head aches too bad.
· I have a terrible headache, backache, stomach-ache.
ill (adj/ adv/ n.)suffering from an illness or disease; not feeling well; sick
· My elder sister is seriously ill in St John’s hospital.
· The children started to feel ill an hour after the meal.
sick (adj/n./v)
physically or mentally ill; wanting to vomit
· I feel very sick, I don’t think I can work today.
· Be careful with the cake, too much of it can make you sick.
sore (n.)
painful (and often red) because of infection or because a muscle has been used too much
· I have a sore throat, I mustn’t take that cold drink.
· She says her stomach is still sore after the operation.
· His feet were sore after the bicycle trip.
illness (n.)
the state of being physically or mentally ill
· Our secretary missed a lot of work through illness last month.
· Flu can be a serious illness if you aren’t careful enough.
disease
serious illness, often caused by infection
· Peter’s uncle suffers from a rare blood disease.
· A fatty diet increases the risk of heart disease.
· The government is planning further health measures to prevent the spread of disease.
heal
become healthy again; make something, somebody healthy again, make somebody feel happy again
· As I see it will take a long time for your wounds to heal.
· This ointment will help to heal your scratches.
· The tea you made really healed me.
Cure (v.)
make somebody or something healthy again after an illness; make an illness go away
· He was seriously ill for a long time, but the doctor cured him at last.
· Scarlet fever is a serious illness, but it can be cured fairly fast.
Cure (n.)
medicine or medical treatment that cures an illness; the act of curing or the process of being cured
· There is no known cure for this illness but the it can be treated.
· I’m afraid you must be taken to hospital for the cure.
treat
give medical care or attention to somebody or something; deal with something or somebody
· I was treated for flu, but later I was diagnosed with pneumonia.
· This illness is usually treated with antibiotics and a strict diet.
treatment
(the way or process of) curing an illness or injury or making somebody look and feel good; the way of dealing with something or somebody
· Doctors apply various treatments for this illness.
· My sister goes to a wellness centre to receive beauty treatments.
diagnose
define what an illness or the cause of a problem is
· The blood test is used to diagnose all kinds of diseases.
· She was diagnosed (as) (a) diabetic in her early childhood.
diagnosis
medical description of an illness or condition
· The doctors didn’t share every detail of the diagnosis with the patient’s family.
· We had to wait a lot for the exact diagnosis after the examination.
injury
harm done to the body, for example in an accident
· They were lucky to escape the fight without serious injuries.
· There were only minor injuries in the crash.
injure
harm somebody or yourself physically, especially in an accident, receive/suffer an injury
· He injured his finger when he was cutting the meat.
· Nobody was killed in the accident, but two people were seriously injured.
wound
an injury to part of the body, especially one in which a hole is made in the skin
· He died from the wounds that he had received in the crash.
· He was taken to hospital although his wounds didn’t seem too serious.
cut
a wound caused by something sharp
· He had such a deep cut on his arm that he was taken to hospital.
· The victim had several cuts on his chest, still he survived.
bruise
a blue, brown or purple mark on the skin after somebody has fallen
· He was covered in bruises at the end of the football match.
· The man came to the surgery with a huge bruise over his eye.
scratch
rub your skin with your nails, usually because it’s itching; a mark or a small cut or injury made by scratching
· The cat continuously scratched itself behind the ear.
· She had a long scratch on her arm when she came out of the rose garden.
infection
illness caused by bacteria or a virus; the act or process of causing or getting a disease
· Wash your hands carefully to decrease the risk of infection.
· She almost died from blood infection.
inflammation
a condition when a part of the body becomes red, sore and swollen because of infection or injury
· My knee was twice the size of the other one due to the inflammation.
· You had better not eat fatty food so soon after your stomach inflammation.
symptom
a change in your body or mind that shows that you are not healthy
· You don’t necessarily need a doctor with symptoms like a headache or sore throat.
· Depression can cause physical symptoms, too.
temperature
the measurement of how hot your body is
· have a temperature – when your temperature is higher than normal due to illness
· I feel so weak, I think I have a temperature.
· She had such a high temperature that she was immediately taken to hospital.
fever
a medical condition in which someone has a temperature that is higher than normal; a particular type of disease with high temperature
· Did you take aspirin to reduce the fever?
· Our daughter has been diagnosed with scarlet fever.
cold
illness affecting the nose and/or throat, making you cough and/or sneeze
· I think I caught a cold on the ice rink yesterday.
· She can’t come to school, she’s in bed with a cold.
flu
a very bad cold, an infectious disease with fever, pains and weakness
· Please don’t visit us this week, the whole family has the flu.
· If you’re not careful enough and you don’t take antibiotics, you may even die from the flu.
vomit
discharge stomach contents through the mouth
· There must have been something wrong with the food as both children vomited shortly after the meal.
· I’m afraid I’m pregnant; I vomit after getting up every morning.
medicine
a substance that you drink or swallow so as to cure an illness
· You look so pale. Haven’t you taken your medicine this morning?
· The doctor prescribed three kinds of medicine for me.
antibiotics
medicine that kills bacteria and cures infections
· My mum’s throat infection went away after she started the antibiotics.
· Hot tea won’t be enough to cure your flu, I think you also need antibiotics.
pain killer
kind of medicine that takes away some or all of the discomfort of an illness or injury
· I had such a horrible headache last night that I took two pain killers.
· She says she doesn’t think it’s a good idea to take pain killers too often.
blood pressure
the rate at which blood flows through the body
· Drink some coffee if you feel your blood pressure is too low.
· High blood pressure increases the risk of having a heart attack.
pulse
the regular beat of blood as it is sent around the body
· The doctor started the examination with taking my pulse and blood pressure.
· He has such a weak pulse that it’s hard to feel.
x-ray
a photograph of a somebody’s bones and organs
· They took x-rays of my knee to make sure it wasn’t broken.
· The doctor says that the x-ray has proved his suspicion of cancer, but I don’t believe him.
patient
a person staying in a hospital or medical facility
· The doctor examined the patient very carefully but he didn’t find any disorder.
· There were so many patients in the doctor’s surgery that I didn’t wait and I went home.
surgery
a place where a doctor or dentist sees patients; medical treatment of injuries or diseases involving cutting open somebody’s body
· I wanted to see a doctor but the surgery was closed.
· I hope they can cure me with medicine and I don’t need undergo surgery.
operation
cutting open a part of somebody’s body in order to remove or cure a part
· The operation was successful but the patient died.
· The doctor says I can hardly escape an operation.
operate on somebody (for something)
cut open a part of somebody’s body in order to remove or cure a part
· He soon recovered after he was operated on for appendicitis.
· The doctor ordered to take my brother to hospital and they will operate on him tomorrow.
operating theatera room in a hospital used for medical operations
· The patient died on the way to the operating theatre.
· She felt nervous as she looked round the operating theatre.
chemist’s (shop)
a shop where medicine is sold
· The doctor suggested to go to the chemist’s for the medicine straight from the surgery.
· This syrup is also sold in the supermarket, so you don’t need to go to the chemist’s.
prescription
an official piece of paper filled out by a doctor with which you can get medicine from a chemist’s shop
· Unfortunately, the doctor forgot to sign the prescription and so the chemist refused to give me the medicine.
· Keep this prescription even though you don’t need the medicine now; you may need it later.
Your task:
Now it is your turn, click on this link to record a phone consultation with your family doctor regarding any health issue you are facing. You may ask for specialist referral if needed as well.
