Health
Senior 2 · English
Health
Lesson 2 of 4
22 min
A nurse or doctor cannot see inside your body. What they know at first comes from what you tell them: what hurts, how it feels, and how long it has lasted. A clear description can speed up the right test and the right treatment. In this lesson you will listen to (read) a conversation at a health centre, learn the words for common symptoms, and practise the present perfect with for and since, the tense we use to say how long a problem has lasted.
This is an original dialogue by Ganzaa. Read it with a partner: one of you is Keza, the other is the nurse. As you read, list every symptom Keza mentions.
Nurse: Good morning. Please sit down. What seems to be the problem?
Keza: Good morning. I've had a terrible headache since yesterday afternoon, and last night I had a fever.
Nurse: I see. Have you taken your temperature?
Keza: My mother took it at midnight. It was 39 degrees.
Nurse: That's high. Do you have any other symptoms?
Keza: Yes. I keep shivering, even under two blankets, and my joints ache. I've also lost my appetite. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday.
Nurse: Have you vomited?
Keza: Once, this morning.
Nurse: Do you have a cough or a sore throat?
Keza: No, my throat is fine.
Nurse: Fever, headache, chills and aching joints can be signs of malaria. I'm going to do a rapid test. It needs one drop of blood from your finger, and the result takes about twenty minutes.
(Twenty minutes later)
Nurse: The test is positive, so you have malaria. The good news is that it can be cured. Take these tablets exactly as written, and finish all of them, even if you feel better after two days. Drink plenty of water and rest.
Keza: What should I do if I feel worse?
Nurse: If the fever doesn't go down in two days, or if you feel very weak or confused, come back immediately. And from tonight, please sleep under your mosquito net.
List Keza's symptoms.
Headache, fever (39 degrees), shivering (chills), aching joints, loss of appetite, vomiting once.
Why does the nurse ask about a cough and a sore throat?
To check for other illnesses, such as a cold or flu, before deciding which test to do.
Why must Keza finish all the tablets even if she feels better?
Because the parasites may still be in her blood; stopping early can let the illness come back.
| Symptom | Meaning |
|---|---|
| a fever / a high temperature | the body is hotter than normal (normal is about 37 °C) |
| chills; to shiver | feeling very cold and shaking |
| a headache, a stomach ache, toothache | a continuous pain in that part of the body |
| my joints ache / my back hurts | the verbs for pain: ache (dull, lasting), hurt (general) |
| a sore throat | pain when you swallow |
| a cough; to cough | air forced noisily out of the lungs |
| a rash | red spots or patches on the skin |
| dizzy | feeling that everything is spinning |
| to vomit / to be sick | to bring food up from the stomach through the mouth |
| diarrhoea | passing watery stool often |
| to lose your appetite | to stop wanting to eat |
Useful questions for a health worker: What seems to be the problem? Where does it hurt? How long have you had it? Have you taken any medicine? Is it getting better or worse?
Look at Keza's first answer: I've had a terrible headache since yesterday afternoon. The headache started in the past and is still there now. For this "past until now" meaning, English uses the present perfect: have/has + past participle.
Mugisha's cough started on Monday. Today is Thursday. Write two sentences.
The question form is How long have you had ...? Do not say How long do you have a cough? and do not say I have a cough since Monday: both use the wrong tense.
For a finished event at a known time, use the past simple: I vomited once, this morning. My mother took my temperature at midnight.
Work in pairs. Student A is a patient; Student B is a community health worker. A chooses one set of symptoms below and answers B's questions. B asks at least five questions, including one with How long, and gives advice at the end. Then swap roles.
Model opening:
B: Hello, what seems to be the problem?
A: I've had diarrhoea since yesterday, and I feel dizzy when I stand up.
B: Have you been drinking enough water?
A: Not really. I've only had one cup since this morning.
B: You need to drink oral rehydration solution, small sips often. If you feel worse, or if you can't keep water down, go to the health centre today.
Listening tip: when someone describes symptoms, note three things: what the symptom is, when it started, and how serious it is.
Tip
FOR a length, SINCE a start. "For three days" (how long). "Since Monday" (from when).
If the problem is still happening now, use have/has + past participle: I've had a fever since last night.
Complete with for or since: I've had this toothache ___ Saturday.
Solution: since. Saturday is a starting point.
Complete with for or since: She has been in hospital ___ two weeks.
Solution: for. Two weeks is a length of time.
Correct the mistake: I have a headache since this morning.
Solution: I have had a headache since this morning. The headache started in the past and continues now, so we need the present perfect.
Write the question a nurse asks to find out when your cough began, using How long.
Solution: How long have you had the cough?
Which word means "feeling that everything is spinning"?
Solution: dizzy.
Remember
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