Asking about health:

To ask after smb: How is N. keeping? How is N these days? What’s wrong with N.? What’s the trouble with N? Where does it hurt? What seems to be the matter?

To show sympathy: I am sorry to hear that! Oh, no! Poor old N.! How upsetting / awful! I know how it feels. Give him my regards! We wish you speedy recovery!

To give advice: Why don’t you lie down? Would you like an aspirin? Would you like me to call the doctor? Let me know if there is anything I can do. Tell him to take things easy. I hope he soon gets over it / feels better

Doctors:

Doctor / physician/ medical man General Practitioner (GP) Surgeon Optician

Paediatrician / children’s doctor Gynaecologist / women’s doctor Psychiatrist

Dentist Midwife Nurse Pharmacist

Making an appointment with a doctor:

To call a doctor

To make / fix / to ask for an appointment with smb

To have an appointment with smb,

To keep an appointment Ant: To break / cancel / miss an appointment

To be by appointment only (Consultation is by appointment only)

Surgery hours are from 9 to 5.

To check one’s schedule

To be fully booked

To fit smb in

To consult / to see a doctor

To go for a check-up / to have a check-up

Annual check-up

To come at the appointed time

To arrive at the waiting-room

Surgery / Consulting-room

What do we do at the doctor’s?

To complain to smb of smth

To consult a doctor about

To take one’s shirt off

To breathe in, to breathe out (deeply)

To have one’s eyes examined

To have a blood test done

To have one’s eyesight tested

To have one’s chest X-rayed

To have one’s cardiogram taken

To have one’s tonsils removed

To have one’s height and weight measured

To be diagnosed with

To malinger / to feign a sickness; To be a malingerer

What do the doctors do?

To examine (carefully / thoroughly) / To give (a thorough / careful) examination; To examine for smth

To feel the pulse, To take the pulse

To sound the heart and lungs

To take the temperature,

To take smb’s blood pressure

To test smb’s eyesight

To diagnose an illness as smth

To make a (skilful, accurate) diagnosis

It sounds like … to me

By the sound of it, you caught a cold

Medications and their effects:

A medicine for To take medicines (pills, tablets) A painkiller Antibiotics Vitamins Half an aspirin Eye drops, nose drops To put in drops, to put drops into the nose Cough mixture, lozenges To rub ointment in / To rub ointment into the skin To apply mustard plaster To use herbal remedies /medicinal herbs Vaccination, To vaccinate against smth

To ease / soothe / relieve / reduce / lessen a pain To kill / deaden a pain To reduce fever / to bring down the temperature To reduce the swelling To reduce the blood pressure To relieve symptoms To fight off infection To prevent complications To build up strength To speed up the recovery