Common Complaints

Vocabulary
1. Many patients go to a doctor with common complaints such as those in the following
exercise. Complete the complaints below. Choose from the words provided in the box.

black eye bruise can't sleep cough depressed

headache insect bite lost my appetite lump nosebleed
out of breath runny nose sore throat stomach-ache
swollen leg temperature

1 I've got a
cough and
a __________sore throat______ .

2 When I climb the stairs I'm ____out of breathe_________________ .

3 I don't want to eat; I've ____lost my appetite_________________.
4 At night time I go to bed but _______can’t sleep______________ .

5 I've got a ______runny nose_______

and a _________headache_______.

6 I knocked my arm on the door and now I've got a big

__________bruise__.

7 I got an _______insect bite______________

two days ago and now I've got a

___________swollen leg____________ .
8 I fell down the stairs and now
I've got a ___black eyes_______
and a ______nose bleed_____ .
9 I feel so miserable. I'm really
___________depressed___.
10 I'm a bit worried because I
can feel a ________lump___ in my breast.

11 I regularly get a
____________temperature.

12 After I eat I regularly

get a ________stomach ache______ .

2. Match the common name for a disease with its medical equivalent. The first has been
done as an example.

Medical name Common name

Alopecia baldness German measles
Arteriosclerosis Hardening of the arteries Polio
Bursitis Housemaid’s knee Thrush
Candida Thrush Warts
Cerebral palsy Stroke Heart attack
Cerebral infarction/bleeding Swelling Heat spots/nettle rash
Dyspepsia Indigestion Cold sore
Eructation Belching Swelling
Erythema pernio Cold sore (to be) spastic
Flatulence Wind Belching
Haemoorrhoids Piles Grandular fever
Halitosis Bad breath Heartburn
Herpes simplex (To be) Spastic Baldness
Herpes zoster Shingles Chickenpox
Hordeolum Stye Hardening of the arteries
Infectious mononucleosis Grandular Fever Measles
Myocardial infarction Heart Attack Bad breath
Oedema Dropsy Indigestion
Poliomyelitis Polio Housemaid’s knee
Pyrosis Heartburn Piles
Rubella German Measles Shingles
Rubeola; morbillli Measles Tennis elbow
Tendonitis Tennis elbow Stroke
Urticaria Nettle Rash Chilbains
Varicella Chickenpox Stye
Verrucae Warts Wind

SPEAKING
3. Pretend you are a patient who has come to the local community health center to get some
medication for some common disease. Describe your symptoms using common language.
Your partner will act out the part of the nurse.