Match the diseases and other medical conditions with their symptoms.

diseases and medical conditions

symptoms

a. arthritis b. anorexia c. gastritis d. cancer e. cardiac failure f. heart attack g. cardiovascular disease h. hernia i. gout j. osteochondrosis k. hypertension l. eczema m. ulcer n. radiculitis o. parodontosis p. rheumatism q. caries

1. a burning pain that develops in the upper abdomen or the centre of your abdomen 2. warmth, pain, swelling and extreme tenderness in a joint, usually a big toe joint 3. bleeding gums, loose teeth, swollen gums, bright-red or red-purple gums 4. patches of chronically itchy, dry, thickened skin, usually on the hands, neck, face and legs 5. high blood pressure 6. pain in the joint, joint swelling, joint stiffness, pain when walking, pain in muscles 7. the presence of a small hole in the tooth, sensitivity to hot and cold food and beverages 8. abdominal pain, vomiting, indigestion, heartburn, nausea 9. the joints are swollen and painful 10. local lower back pain, numbness felt in the legs, burning pain in the hips, muscular weakness 11. can range from noticing a painless lump to the severely painful, tender, swollen protrusion of tissue that you are unable to push back into the abdomen 12. a lack or loss of appetite for food 13. persistent fatigue, unintentional weight loss, pain, fever, bowel changes, chronic cough. It is caused by a malignant tumour. 14. shortness of breath, rapid or irregular heartbeat, oedema in your legs, ankles and feet 15. chest pain or discomfort, upper body discomfort in one or both arms, shortness of breath, dizziness, breaking out in a cold sweat 16. many different symptoms for it may occur anywhere in the body. It is used to describe conditions and diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels 17. pain and a limp caused by a disorder of cartilage and bone formation

II. Listening

Pre-listening

1. What do you know about Asthma? Is it a dangerous illness? Express your personal opinion.

2. Stand up and ask everyone in the class the following questions:

- Does your chest regularly feel tight?

- Do you find it difficult to breathe after light exercise?

- Do you sometimes make a wheezing sound when you breathe?

- Have you ever heard about such problems from someone?

After carrying out the survey report the results.

3. There are different types of asthma: from mild or moderate to chronic. Read the list of some items and tick the items that can be symptoms of mild asthma attacks; they can usually be controlled by medication. The first one has been done for you.

	shortness of breath, especially after exercise	\/
	coughing
	you find it almost impossible to breathe
	your chest regularly feel tight
	difficulty breathing while sleeping
	you sometimes make a wheezing sound when you breathe
	you find it very difficult to breathe

4. Read the definition of asthma.

Asthma is a condition that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. It is a lung disease that affects your airways – the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs. It causes the muscles in these tubes to contract, the tubes themselves to swell and also causes sticky mucus to be produced. All attacks need a trigger, and if these triggers can be identified and avoided, the likelihood of an attack decreases.

Read the list of the key words.

Condition lung disease airways muscles to contract

To swell mucustriggerlikelihood of an attack

Look at the key words and repeat the definition.

Read the list of some items and tick the items that could be asthma triggers. The first one has been done for you.

	pollution	\/
	hot air
	smoking
	dust
	pollen
	animal hair
	exercise
	cold air
	germs
	stress

 

While-listening

Listen and fill in the gaps.

Does your chest regularly feel 1)___________? Do you find it difficult 2)_____________ after light exercise? Do you sometimes make a 3)____________________ when you breathe? If so, you might be 4)________________. If you have 5)__________________ please consult a doctor, but even if you do have asthma – don’t worry, you are not 6)________.

What is asthma?

Asthma is a condition that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide and more than 5 million people in the UK are asthmatic, about one in 7)_________ people. It is a 8)____________ that affects your 9)____________ – the tubes that carry air to and from your 10)__________. It causes the 11)______________ in these tubes to contract, the tubes themselves to swell and also causes sticky 12)__________ to be produced. All of these factors can make it very difficult for a sufferer to 13)____________.

14)___________________, especially after exercise, coughing, or difficulty breathing while sleeping, are all 15)__________________. These can be described as mild 16)___________________; however, they can usually be controlled by 17)__________________. A severe asthma attack, on the other hand, where a sufferer finds it very 18)__________________, may require 19)_________________. How badly you are affected by these symptoms depends on what 20)_______________ you have; from mild to 21)_____________; and how well you are able to control the 22)_____________.

What causes it?

Asthma is not 23)_______________, although it’s still not known precisely what 24)__________ it. People can be 25)_____________; 26)___________ it in childhood, or at any age. If you have asthma, it’s likely that someone else in your family had it, as the illness is known to 27)_______________. There is also some evidence that environmental factors, such as 28)_________, 29)__________________ or 30)_________________________, can cause asthma.

Having the condition doesn’t necessarily mean you will suffer badly from the 31)__________________. Mild or 32)_________________ can be easily controlled through 33)______________________ or 34)________________. Additionally, all attacks need a 35)___________, and if these triggers can be 36)____________ and 37)______________, the likelihood of an 38)_____________ decreases. Triggers can include: 39)_______________, smoking, dust, 40)_________________, stress, 41)_____________, exercise, and 41)___________. These triggers are personal to each individual sufferer, so if you have asthma, make sure you know what is 42)__________________, you can then better 43)_______________________.

History

Asthma is not a recent condition, in fact there is written evidence of the 44)____________ from ancient Egyptian times. The 45)____________________ itself was first coined by the physician Hippocrates over 3000 years ago, and was the Greek for ’46)__________________.’ Over the years, people have tried many 47)____________________ both physical and mental, to 48)_________________.

To alleviate the symptoms, people changed their 49)____________, avoided 50)_________________, or took herbal/folk 51)_________ such as tobacco smoke, owl’s blood, 52)________________, tar fumes, or acupuncture. Blood letting and opium were also popular 53)______________. Prayer and 54)___________________ were used to enable people to 55)_________________________ their own 56)________________. Some of these 57)___________________ or breathing techniques are still being used today.

Medicine and preventative measures

It wasn’t until the mid 20th century that doctors realised 58)_______________ were caused by the 59)_______________________ and contraction of the airways. Consequently, in the last 40 years there have been many developments in the 60)_____________________. There are presently two main types of 61)______________: preventers and relievers. A preventer is used every day and 62)___________ the swelling of the airways, cutting the risk of an 63)______________. A reliever, such as Ventolin, is taken when 64)_______________ has become (or is going to become) difficult, this actually relaxes the 65)_____________________ of the airways, 66)________________ constriction and 67)________________ the airflow. The medicine is usually taken using an inhaler.

Prevention is also good 68)______________, so if you have asthma, remember to keep generally 69)________________, take regular 70)_____________ and lots of vitamin C to avoid colds and 71)______ – which can be dangerous for 72)_________________. A healthy diet is also important, and do watch what you eat, as certain 73)__________ or food additives can be asthma 74)_________________.

By taking the right 75)______________ and making the right lifestyle choices, there is no reason why most asthma sufferers shouldn’t be able to lead perfectly healthy and active lives.

Famous sufferers

There have been many 76)_______________________ past and present. These include: Beethoven, Che Guevera, Benjamin Disraeli, Marcel Proust, Bob Hope and Martin Scorsese

There are even 77)__________________________________ such as:

Dennis Rodman (basketball), Paul Scholes (football – Manchester United) and Paula Radcliffe (UK Long Distance runner)

The future

Unfortunately there is still no 78)___________________, although the development of new treatments has led to a much better quality of life for most sufferers. However, the number of people being 79)____________________________ has increased dramatically over the past 80)____________________. This increase could be due to environmental or 81)_______________ factors, but for the moment researchers are puzzled.

It is not unusual for the 82)_____________________ to diminish as sufferers get older, although personally after 27 years I’m still waiting...

After-listening

Choose the correct option and circle it

1) Which of these is not a symptom of asthma?

a) a strange noise when breathing

b) a tight chest after exercise

c) Difficulty when swallowing food

2) Which of the following is a physical effect of an asthma attack?

a) Lungs expanding

b) Airways contracting

c) Pain in the throat

3) You are more likely to develop asthma if...

a) Your parents have it

b) You work with animals

c) You do a lot of exercise

4) An asthma trigger is

a) A medicine you should take when you have an attack

b) Something which causes an asthma attack

c) A breathing technique

5) The word Asthma comes from which language?

a) Latin

b) English

c) Greek

6) Cat hair is a possible asthma trigger.

a) True

b) False

7) Which of these was not a traditional cure?

a) Smoking

b) Animal blood

c) Living in polluted towns

8) What type of medicine might an asthmatic need to take after playing tennis?

a) A preventer

b) A reliever

9) Paul Scholes (a famous asthmatic) plays for...

a) Manchester United

b) Manchester City

c) Chelsea

10) Over the last two decades the number of asthmatics has...

a) Gone up

b) Gone down

c) Stayed the same

III. Reading

Before reading

How much do you know about diabetes? Try to answer these T/F statements by guessing, then read the article and find out if your guess was correct.

a. Insulin is produced by the liver

b. Diabetics can’t lead a normal life.

c. Biscuits contain a lot of fat

d. Diabetics should weigh themselves weekly.

e. Diabetics should eat plenty of fruit.

f. Food with high amounts of sugar should not be avoided.

 

While-reading 1) You are going to read a magazine article about diabetes. Choose from the list (A-H) the sentence which best summarises each part (1-6) of the article. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

A. There is no reason why diabetics should not enjoy a normal life.

B. The B.D.A. is at the public’s disposal.

C. Weight control and regular exercise play an important role in a diabetic’s life.

D. Diabetics should be careful with foods which contain a lot of sugar.

E. Insulin injections are widely used, but they are not very helpful.

F. Diabetes is the result of inadequate insulin being produced.

G. Some foods help to keep blood sugar down.

H. High-fat foods should be avoided.

 

F

Most of the functions in the human body are controlled by hormones. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, controls the amount of sugar in the blood which is then used by the body to generate energy. The insufficient production of insulin leads to a common disorder called diabetes.

Having diabetes does not mean giving up all your favourite foods and eating differently from family and friends. However, a sugar-free diet still remains the cornerstone of the treatment of diabetes. Nowadays, doctors recommend that people with diabetes should continue their lives as usual, but should follow a well-balanced and healthy diet.

The British Diabetic Association has published guidelines to assist people who need to follow a special diet. The B.D.A. recommends controlling body-weight, reducing fat consumption and eating more fruit, vegetables and starchy food. If there is a need to lose weight, realistic short-term targets are most helpful. Aiming for a slow but steady weight loss of one kilogram per week is ideal, until the desired weight is achieved. Including more exercise in your daily routine, and checking your weight once a week are also recommended.

It is also advisable to avoid cooking meals using large amounts of fat – choose lean meal or low-fat items instead. Removing the skin from chicken and using fat-free milk are also good ways of reducing fat in the diet. Moreover, cutting down on the amount of butter and cheese be using the low-fat versions is recommended. Biscuits and cakes are also high in fat content.

Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is highly recommended. Beans and lentils contain a considerable amount of a certain type of fibre which helps to slow down the rise of blood sugar levels after meals. Choosing brown bread and flour instead of white, and high-fibre breakfast cereals, is also appropriate.

Foods like sweets, chocolate, cakes and biscuits should be avoided as they usually contain high amounts of sugar and fat. Also, less sugar must be used in cooking, and “diet” drinks are preferable. Using an artificial sweetener instead of sugar also helps a great deal. It is also important to be careful with the sugar content of packaged food items by reading the labels and preferable deciding on a “diet” alternative.

Diabetics should be able to enjoy normal and healthy lifestyles once they decide to follow the B.D.A. guidelines. The experts at the Association are always available to provide further information on this matter.

 

2) Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word(s) from the list below: