Exercise 1
Choose the correct word to complete each sentence about health, illness, and medical care.
Example: She has a bad _____ and cannot stop coughing. (cold / fever / bandage)
Answer: She has a bad cold and cannot stop coughing.
Health, Illness and Medical Care
Feeling unwell is something that happens to everyone. Whether you have a cold, a headache, or need to visit a doctor, knowing the right vocabulary for health, illness and medical care in English is very important — especially when you are travelling or living in an English-speaking country. In this lesson, you will learn the most useful words and phrases to describe how you feel, talk about common illnesses, and communicate with doctors and pharmacists.
A Quick Situation
Imagine this: Tom wakes up one morning and feels terrible. His throat hurts, he has a high temperature, and he feels very tired. He calls his doctor's surgery and makes an appointment. At the clinic, the doctor examines him, asks about his symptoms, and gives him a prescription. Tom goes to the chemist to buy his medicine. After a few days of rest, he feels much better.
All the words in bold above are key vocabulary for this lesson. Let's look at them carefully!
Key Vocabulary & Meaning Breakdown
1. Parts of the Body & Symptoms
These words help you describe how you feel and where it hurts. They are essential for talking about your health.
| Word / Phrase | Part of Speech & Meaning | Example Sentence | Collocations / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| headache | noun — a pain in your head | I have a terrible headache. I need to lie down. | have a headache; a bad/terrible headache |
| stomachache | noun — a pain in your stomach | She has a stomachache because she ate too much. | have a stomachache; also: stomach pain |
| sore throat | noun phrase — pain in the throat when you swallow | I can't eat. I have a very sore throat. | have a sore throat; a bad sore throat |
| temperature | noun — body heat; a fever means your temperature is too high | The child has a temperature of 39 degrees. | have a temperature; high/low temperature; take someone's temperature |
| fever | noun — when your body temperature is higher than normal | He stayed in bed all day because he had a fever. | have a fever; a high fever; run a fever |
| cough | noun / verb — air comes out of your mouth with a loud sound | She has a bad cough and cannot sleep at night. | have a cough; cough a lot; a dry/bad cough |
| cold | noun — a common illness with a runny nose and sore throat | I caught a cold last week and stayed at home. | catch a cold; have a cold; a bad cold |
| flu | noun — a more serious illness than a cold, with fever and body aches | She has the flu, so she is in bed resting. | have the flu; catch the flu; the flu is worse than a cold |
| pain | noun — a feeling of being hurt somewhere in the body | He has a pain in his back after lifting the boxes. | have a pain; feel pain; back/chest/leg pain |
| tired | adjective — needing to rest or sleep; having no energy | I feel very tired. I need to sleep early tonight. | feel tired; very tired; tired all the time |
| dizzy | adjective — feeling like everything is moving or spinning around you | She stood up too quickly and felt dizzy. | feel dizzy; a bit dizzy; dizzy spells |
| runny nose | noun phrase — when liquid keeps coming out of your nose | He has a cold and a runny nose today. | have a runny nose; often happens with a cold |
2. Common Illnesses & Health Conditions
These are the names of illnesses and health problems that are common in everyday life.
| Word / Phrase | Part of Speech & Meaning | Example Sentence | Collocations / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| allergy | noun — when your body reacts badly to something (food, animals, plants) | She has an allergy to cats. Her eyes get red. | have an allergy; allergic to something; a food allergy |
| infection | noun — an illness caused by bacteria or a virus in your body | The doctor said he has an ear infection. | have an infection; a throat/ear/chest infection |
| injury | noun — damage to part of your body, usually from an accident | She has a knee injury from playing football. | have an injury; a serious/minor injury; sports injury |
| broken bone | noun phrase — when a bone in your body is cracked or broken | He fell off his bike and has a broken bone in his arm. | break a bone; have a broken arm/leg/wrist |
| rash | noun — red spots or patches on the skin | The child has a rash on her arms. It might be an allergy. | have a rash; a skin rash; a rash appears |
| nausea | noun — the feeling that you want to be sick / vomit | He felt nausea on the bus because of the heat. | feel nausea; have nausea; often linked with motion sickness |
| diabetes | noun — a condition where the body cannot control blood sugar levels | My grandfather has diabetes and takes medicine every day. | have diabetes; Type 1 / Type 2 diabetes |
| asthma | noun — a condition that makes it difficult to breathe | She has asthma, so she carries an inhaler with her. | have asthma; suffer from asthma |
3. Medical Care & People
These words are about visiting the doctor, going to hospital, and getting treatment. You need these to talk about medical care in English.
| Word / Phrase | Part of Speech & Meaning | Example Sentence | Collocations / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| doctor | noun — a person trained to treat people who are ill | I need to see a doctor. I don't feel well. | see a doctor; visit a doctor; go to the doctor's |
| nurse | noun — a person who cares for patients in hospital or a clinic | The nurse took my blood pressure and wrote it down. | a hospital nurse; a nurse checks / helps / cares for |
| pharmacist | noun — a person who prepares and sells medicines | The pharmacist explained how to take the tablets. | ask the pharmacist; also called: chemist (British English) |
| appointment | noun — a time you arrange to see a doctor or specialist | I made an appointment to see my doctor on Thursday. | make an appointment; book an appointment; have an appointment |
| prescription | noun — a written order from a doctor for medicine | The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. | give a prescription; get a prescription; on prescription |
| medicine / medication | noun — drugs or tablets used to treat illness | Take this medicine three times a day after eating. | take medicine; prescription medicine; over-the-counter medicine |
| tablet / pill | noun — a small, solid piece of medicine you swallow | The doctor told me to take two tablets every morning. | take a tablet/pill; swallow a tablet; a painkiller tablet |
| surgery / clinic | noun — the place where a doctor works and sees patients | The doctor's surgery opens at 8 o'clock in the morning. | doctor's surgery (British); go to the clinic; a local clinic |
| hospital | noun — a large medical building where seriously ill people are treated | She went to hospital after the accident. | go to hospital; be in hospital; admit to hospital |
| emergency | noun — a serious, unexpected situation that needs immediate action | Call 999 in an emergency. Don't wait. | in an emergency; emergency services; emergency room |
| ambulance | noun — a vehicle that takes ill or injured people to hospital | Someone called an ambulance when he fainted in the street. | call an ambulance; in an ambulance; ambulance arrives |
| blood pressure | noun phrase — the force of blood moving through your body | The nurse checked my blood pressure at the clinic. | check blood pressure; high/low blood pressure; take blood pressure |
| X-ray | noun — a medical image of bones inside the body | The doctor sent her for an X-ray to check her broken arm. | have an X-ray; take an X-ray; go for an X-ray |
| operation | noun — a medical procedure where a surgeon works inside your body | He had an operation on his knee last month. | have an operation; go through an operation; a serious operation |
Collocations & Useful Expressions
Collocations are words that go together naturally in English. Learning these will help you sound more natural when talking about health, illness and medical care.
catch + a cold / the flu
I caught a cold at the weekend. I felt terrible on Monday.
He caught the flu from a colleague at work.
have + a headache / a temperature / a cough / a sore throat / a rash
She has a headache and needs some paracetamol.
The baby has a temperature. We should call the doctor.
feel + sick / dizzy / tired / well / better / worse
I feel sick. I don't think I can come to work today.
Are you feeling better after your rest?
make + an appointment
Can I make an appointment to see Dr Brown, please?
take + medicine / a tablet / a pill
Remember to take your medicine after breakfast.
see + a doctor / a specialist
You should see a doctor if your symptoms don't improve.
go to + the doctor's / hospital / the chemist / the clinic
I'm going to the chemist to get some cough medicine.
She had to go to hospital because of a bad injury.
call + an ambulance / a doctor / 999
Please call an ambulance! He has fainted and is not moving.
be + allergic to something
He is allergic to penicillin, so the doctor gave him a different antibiotic.
recover + from an illness / an operation
It took her two weeks to recover from the flu.
suffer from + a condition / an illness
My uncle suffers from asthma and uses an inhaler.
Important Differences & Confusing Words
Sick vs Ill
Both sick and ill mean that someone is not healthy, but in British English there is a small difference:
- Ill is the most common word in British English to describe a person who is unwell generally.
She was ill for a whole week. - Sick in British English often specifically means feeling like you want to vomit, or it is used in fixed expressions.
I feel sick — I think I ate something bad.
She was sick on the boat. (= she vomited) - In American English, sick is used more generally to mean unwell, just like ill in British English.
Doctor's Surgery vs Hospital vs Clinic
- A doctor's surgery (or GP surgery) is the local place where your general doctor works. You go here for normal health problems.
I have an appointment at the doctor's surgery at 10 o'clock. - A hospital is a large medical centre for serious illnesses, operations, and emergencies.
After the accident, she was taken to hospital by ambulance. - A clinic is a small medical centre, often for a specific type of treatment (e.g. a dental clinic, a skin clinic).
He went to a skin clinic to see a specialist about his rash.
Ache vs Pain vs Hurt
- Ache (noun/verb) — a continuous, dull pain, often not very sharp.
I have a backache after sitting at my desk all day. - Pain (noun) — a stronger or more general feeling of hurt. You can use it for any part of the body.
She has a pain in her chest and needs to see a doctor. - Hurt (verb) — to feel pain, or to cause pain to something.
My knee hurts when I walk up the stairs.
I hurt my shoulder playing tennis.
Medicine vs Medication vs Drug
- Medicine — a general word for something you take to treat an illness. It can be a tablet, liquid, or cream.
The doctor prescribed some medicine for the infection. - Medication — a more formal word, often used in medical or official contexts. It usually refers to prescribed drugs taken regularly.
Are you taking any medication at the moment? - Drug — can mean a medicine (formal/medical use), but in everyday English it often refers to illegal substances. Use medicine or medication to be safe in health conversations.
Common Mistakes
❌ I have headache today.
✅ I have a headache today. — Always use the article a before headache, stomachache, cough, and cold.
❌ I need to go to the hospital for my appointment.
✅ I need to go to hospital for my appointment. — In British English, we say go to hospital (without the) when talking about being a patient. We use the hospital when referring to the building generally: The hospital is on King Street.
❌ She is making an appointment since two days.
✅ She made an appointment two days ago. — Use the past simple with ago, not since, for a single completed action.
❌ He is allergic for cats.
✅ He is allergic to cats. — Always use allergic to, not allergic for.
❌ I have caught a flu last month.
✅ I caught the flu last month. — Use the past simple (not present perfect) with a specific past time expression like last month. Also, say the flu, not a flu.
❌ The doctor gave me a prescription of antibiotics.
✅ The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. — Use prescription for, not prescription of.
❌ I feel myself sick.
✅ I feel sick. — In English, we do not use myself with feel in this context. Simply say I feel sick / ill / tired.
❌ Can you call the ambulance?
✅ Can you call an ambulance? — In an emergency, we say call an ambulance (using the indefinite article an), because we are requesting any ambulance, not a specific one.
Health, Illness and Medical Care: Quick Summary & Review
In this lesson, you have learnt a wide range of vocabulary for talking about health, illness and medical care in English. Here is a quick summary of the main points:
- Use have to talk about symptoms: have a headache, have a cold, have a temperature, have a sore throat.
- Use feel to describe how you are: feel sick, feel dizzy, feel tired, feel better.
- Use catch for illnesses that spread from person to person: catch a cold, catch the flu.
- Use make or book when you arrange to see a doctor: make/book an appointment.
- Use take for medicine: take a tablet, take medicine.
- In British English, say go to hospital (as a patient) and go to the chemist (to buy medicine).
- Remember: ill = generally unwell; sick = often means wanting to vomit in British English.
- Always say allergic to (not allergic for) and prescription for (not prescription of).
Now practise health, illness and medical care vocabulary in the exercises below.
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