B Rewrite the underlined parts of these sentences using words and phrases from A above.

1 I was feeling quite a as if I had a high temperature.

2 The drugs always gave her a feeling that she wanted to vomit.

3 I felt as if my head was spinning and went and lay down an hour.

4 My nose was blocked so I got a spray from the chemist.

5 I got a pain in my neck from driving a long time in an awkward position.

6 Joanna was shaking and looked unwell, so I asked her if she needed help.

 

C Complete these sentences with words from the box.

	dosage   prescription             allergic to        medication symptoms       vaccinations             sick note

1 I can’t take penicillin; I’m _____ it.

2 Before you take those pills, read the label to see what the correct _____ is.

3 I’m going abroad next month so I have to get the necessary _____.

4 If you consult a new doctor you should tell him or her if you are already on any _____.

5 Did the doctor give you a _____? Do you want me to take it to the chemist’s for you?

6 I told the doctor my _____, but I don’t think she was listening.

7 The doctor gave me a _____ for my employer. I was off work for two weeks.

D What do we call the type of alternative medicine which…

1 uses herbs and other natural plants?

2 uses oils which smell nice and are rubbed into your body?

3 uses needles to stick into specific parts of your body?

4 uses tiny amounts of substances which cause the illness the doctor is trying to cure?

5 manipulates your spine and bones to ease backache and other pains?

 

Health and medicine

1. Study words, phrases and collocations

 

A Maintaining good health

Do you want to enjoy good health? Or perhaps you want to reduce your stress levels? Build up your strength by doing plenty of exercise. It’s better to start with gentle exercise unless you already do a lot of sport. It’s equally important to watch what you eat. There’s no need to go on a diet: just eating the right food will help you to build up resistance to disease.

 

B Treatment

When Alexa was diagnosed with a serious medical condition, she was worried that she might have to have an operation. However, her doctor first prescribed a course of medication. Fortunately, she responded well to treatment, and made a full recovery.

 

¹ taken too much of a drug

² negative

 

C Illness

collocation	example	meaning
a streaming cold	I’ve had a streaming cold for days now.	a heavy cold
shake off a cold	I wish I could shake off this cold – I’ve had it for nearly two weeks.	get rid of a cold
be in poor health	My gran’s been in poor health for years.	not be very much
an infectious disease	There are a number of infectious diseases which mainly affect children.	diseases caught from someone with that disease
a rare illness/disease	The baby was born with a rare illness.	an illness that seldom occurs
critically ill	She’s still critically ill in hospital.	extremely/dangerously ill
fight for one’s life	The accident has left three people fighting for their lives.	in danger of dying
fall into/come out of a coma	The boxer fell into coma after receiving a blow to the head and didn’t come out of the coma for five days.	become unconscious; regain consciousness
a massive heart attack	He suffered a massive heart attack	a very serious heart attack
untimely/premature death	We were all saddened by the young woman’s untimely /premature death death.	death at too early an age.

 

Language focus. Do the exercises.

A Combine the words in the box to form eight collocations.

your	build	watch	do	do	enjoy	exercise	sport	good
exercise	what	gentle	on	health	levels	of	your	you
plenty	reduce	resistance	eat	stress	diet	up	go	a

 

B Complete the collocation forks.

1 go on a                                              4 an infectious

a balanced             …...                a rare           ……

a sensible                               an incurable

 

 

2                     of flu                        5 a nasty

a ……          of medicine        a heavy        ……

                       of penicillin        a streaming

 

3                     resistance                 6                     of antibiotics

to …..          your strength     a ……          of treatment

                       a medical practice                                  of physiotherapy