Let’s discuss another important topic which will be very useful if you want to score high in IELTS health.
Our first word is a checkup which is doctor’s examination to ensure that you are healthy. That’s a good way to make sure you have no health problems.
Example : It is recommended to have your medical checkup on a regular basis.
When people get sick, they often have a sore throat – pain in the throat. Sore throat is a very common reason to receive medical care.
There is another good word epidemic, but it has a negative meaning – a disease affecting a disproportionately large number of individuals within the population.
The current epidemic of obesity is caused largely by an environment that promotes excessive food intake. There are some great expressions here:
epidemic breakout – is when an epidemic starts suddenly or strikes.
to reach epidemic proportions – means that an epidemic has reached a large scale.
When you have a disease, you need a doctor to diagnose it, which means to recognize a disease or illness.
Your doctor will diagnose a disease based on your medical history and test results. When a disease is diagnosed and treated but there are no signs of improvement, we can talk about deterioration – the process of something getting worse.
Another good health – or maybe it’s better to say sickness – word is chronic. Its easy definition is existing frequently or most of the time.
Sugar may not be the only contributor to a chronic disease, but it is by far the easiest one to avoid.
If you are in one room with a sick person you can easily get infected. To infect means to cause somebody to become affected by a disease.
Example : If you return to work after your sick leave too soon, you may infect your colleagues.
After being properly treated people usually recover, which means that they return to normal condition, or get back from being ill.
Example :He had a stroke, but is recovering well.
How do doctors recognize certain diseases? Correct, on the basis of symptoms, which are changes in your body or mind showing that you are not healthy.
Example : The symptoms of flu usually develop within two days of becoming infected.
A widely used expression with the word symptom is the onset of symptoms, which is when your symptoms become noticeable.
What should people do not to get sick and prevent a disease? They say that exercise and healthy diet can prevent heart disease. So preventing something means to act ahead of something.
A vaccine is an injection to protect against a particular disease.
Example :
Researchers are trying to develop a vaccine against swine flu.
In most cases it is enough to have one dose of a to recover.
When people suddenly get a high temperature, they usually call an ambulance, which is a vehicle that takes sick people to the hospital, especially in case of emergency.
Example : Because of high pressure the woman was taken by an ambulance.
In the previous sentence we had the word emergency, which is a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate treatment or resolution.
Example: In case of medical emergency a patient might be asked about his or her blood type.
Talking about health problems, it is also very important to mention fatigue – a state of being very tired and exhausted.
Example : Driver fatigue is a major cause of road accidents.
For your reference we have some additional health related words and phrases. In my opinion they don’t need to be defined, though you have to recognize and understand them. We will go through them and if any of them are unfamiliar to you, take some time to familiarize yourself with them.
Additional vocabulary
- to feel poorly – feel bad or sick
- to have a filling – have your tooth fixed when you have a dental caries
- to have a tooth out – to have your tooth pulled out
- a heavy cold – a bad/severe cold
- to make a speedy recovery – to recover fast
- immediate action – emergency measures, first aid
- to perform surgery on – to operate
Medicines
- eye drops – liquid substance used for eye treatment
- syringe – a device made of a hollow tube and a needle that is used to force fluids into or take fluids out of the body;
- a dose of medicine – a dose of a substance that is used in treating disease or relieving pain and that is usually in the form of a pill or a liquid;
- pill – a small, rounded object that you swallow and that contains medicine, vitamins, etc.;
- shot / injection – the act or process of forcing a liquid medicine or drug into someone or something by using a special needle; painkiller – a drug that decreases or removes pain that you feel in your body;
- antibiotics – a drug that is used to kill harmful bacteria and to cure infections;
- remedy – a medicine or treatment that relieves pain or cures a usually minor illness;
Doctors
- ophtalmologist – a doctor who studies and treats problems and diseases of the eye;
- dentist – a person whose job is to care for people’s teeth; general practitioner – a doctor whose work is not limited to a special area: a person who is not a specialist;
- nurse – a person who is trained to care for sick or injured people and who usually works in a hospital or doctor’s office;
- surgeon – a doctor who performs operations that involve cutting into someone’s body in order to repair or remove damaged or diseased parts : a doctor who performs surgery;
Illnesses
- Asthma – a physical condition that makes it difficult for someone to breathe;
- bronchitis – an illness in which your bronchial tubes become sore or damaged and you cough a lot;
- cancer – a serious disease caused by cells that are not normal and that can spread to one or many parts of the body;
- cold – a common illness that affects the nose, throat, and eyes and that usually causes coughing, sneezing, etc.;
- flu (influenza) – a common disease that is caused by a virus and that causes fever, weakness, body aches, and breathing problems;
- cough – a physical condition or illness that causes someone to cough;
- diabetes – a serious disease in which the body cannot properly control the amount of sugar in your blood because it does not have enough insulin;
- disease – an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant : a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally;
- Fatigue – the state of being very tired : extreme weariness; food poisoning – sickness caused by bacteria or chemicals in food;
- fracture – the result of breaking something : a crack or break; especially : a fever – a disease that causes an increase in body temperature;
- heart attack – a sudden painful and dangerous condition in which your heart stops beating properly;
- heart stroke – a heart condition caused by the interruption of flow of blood to the brain (ischemic stroke) or the rupture of blood vessels in the brain (hemorrhagic stroke);
- infection – a disease caused by germs that enter the body;
- insomnia – the condition of not being able to sleep; cuts – a wound on a person’s body that is made by something sharp;
- bruises – a dark and painful area on your skin that is caused by an injury;
