Starting the interview

• What’ brought you along?

• What seems to be the problem?
• How can I help you?
• How have you been feeling about the last few days?
• Tell me what’s been going on.

Asking about general health

• Have you been treated for your present problem earlier?

• Has there been any change in your health in the past year?
• Are you being treated for any disease or condition?
• How long since you last had a medical examination?
• Are you taking any medicines at present?
• Have you ever had any serious illness or surgical operation?
• Have you recently lost much weight?
• Have you recently gained much weight?
• Is there anything else that might be worrying you?

Asking about pain

• Where is the pain?

• Where does it hurt?
• What is the pain like?
• How does it feel?
• How bad is the pain?
• How does it rate on severity scale of 0 to 10?
• Does the pain interfere with you work/day-to-day life?
• Have you had it before?
• How often has this pain occurred?
• Was the onset sudden?
• When and how did the pain start?
• Does the pain it spread or does it stay in one place?
• Has it always been in this place?
• How long have you had the pain?
• How long does a pain episode last?
• Is the pain continuous or does it come and go?
• How often does this pain occur?
• What seems to bring the pain on?
• Does the pain occur at any particular time of the day?
• Does anything make the pain worse?
• Does anything make the pain better?
• Do you take any medication for your pain?
• Does it help?
• Any additional problems?
• Any other symptoms associated with the pain?
• What other symptoms occur with the pain?

Asking about respiratory problems

• Do you have troubles breathing?
• Do you feel short of breath at times?
• Does the attack occur suddenly and progress rapidly?
• How and when did these attacks of shortness of breath start?
• Has you breathlessness occurred gradually?
• Do feel out breath when walking in your home?
• Do you have troubles breathing when you rest?
• Do you have troubles breathing walking up a slight hill?
• Do you get out of breath when going up stairs?
• How far can you walk before stopping for breath?
• Does anything make your breathlessness worse?
• Do you have trouble breathing when you lie flat?
• What do you do to relieve the breathlessness?
• Anything else you have notices that is linked to the breathlessness?
• When did you experience wheezing for the first time?
• How long have you had this wheezing?
• When does wheezing occur?
• Is it sudden or gradual?
• Have you had recurrent episodes of wheezing?
• Is wheezing continuous or does come and go?
• When does wheezing occur?
• What makes you wheeze?
• What seems to bring it on?
• Is your wheezing loud enough for others to hear it?
• Does it get worse in cold weather?
• What helps stop your wheezing?
• When did your cough start?
• Have long have you had this cough?
• Has your cough changed recently?
• Is this cough dry or wet?
• Is the cough productive?
• Do you cough up phlegm?
• Do you cough up large amounts of sputum?
• What does the sputum look like?
• What color is the sputum?
• Do you cough up blood?
• Does anything make your cough worse?
• Does anything make your cough better?
• Have you been taking any OTC?
• Is the cough accompanied by hoarseness, chest pain, difficulty breathing?
• Are you feeling very unwell?
• Do you smoke?
• What do you mean by “I only smoke socially”?
• How many cigarettes do actually smoke in a day?
• Have you thought of quitting smoking or at least cutting down on smoking?
• How many cigarettes do you smoke?
Asking about cardiovascular problems

• Could you show me where exactly you feel this pain in your chest?
• Can you describe the pain?
• How long does an attack last?
• Does anything make it worse?
• How can you relive this pain?
• Is there anything else apart from the pain?
• Does your heart beat too slow, too fast?
• Are you ever short of breath?
• What causes you to be short of breath?
• How many flights of stairs can you climb without getting out of breath?
• Do you get short of breath when lying flat?
• Do you use extra pillows at night?
• Do you get fatigues?
• Do you ever feel dizzy, lightheaded, faint?
• Do your ankles swell?
• Do you get any leg pain or muscle cramps?

Asking about gastrointestinal problems

• How often do you have bowel movements?

• How often do you open your bowels?
• How often do you go?
• Have you noticed any changes in your bowels movements?
• Any changes in your bowel habits?
• Are your motions loose or hard?
• Have you passed black stools?
• Have you noticed blood in your stools?

Asking about urinary problems

• Do you have to go to the toiles more often than before?

• Do you have to rush to go to the toilet?
• Do you have to get up at night to go the toilet?
• Do you have problems holding you water?
• Do you get any pain, burning or stinging when you pass water?
• Do you have problems starting to urinate or maintaining urine flow?
• When did the problem start?
• Have you had a similar problem before?
• How often has this problem occurred?
• Have you ever had a urinary tract infection?

Asking about medications

• What medicines do you take?

• Are you allergic to any medications?
• Have you ever had a severe allergic reaction?
• What do you think brought it on?
• What did it feel like?
 • Are you allergic to any insect venom?

Others

• When did your pain start?

• Can you show me where exactly you get this pain?
• When did it star?
• Have you had any infection?
• Did you have any chills?
• How long did it las?
• Have you got a fever?
• How’s your appetite been?
• Have you ever had any trouble with heart?
• Are you allergic to anything?
• Did you have any serious disease in the past?
• Have you ever been to hospital?
• Have you ever had any operation?
• Do you drink?
• What do you do for a living?
• Have you travelled recently?
• Have you been to any foreign country?
• Has anyone in your family had cancer?
• Anything else that you think I should know?
• When did you first notice this knee swelling?
• Do you have high blood pressure?
• Have you ever passed a stone?
• As a child did you have asthma, hay fever, pneumonia?
• Have you noticed any pins and needles?
• When did you start having difficulty passing your water?
• What is this pain in your chest like?
• How many joints were affected?
• Has anybody in your family had arthritis?
• When did your periods stop?
• Are you diabetic?
• Do you have any nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, dyspepsia?
• Do you keep any pets?
• Do you ever drink milk and eat milk products?
• Have you ever coughed up blood?
• When you vomited, did you notice undigested food, blood, coffee grounds?
• How long have you had difficulty swallowing?
• Do your hand shake?
• Is your pain related to meals?
• Are you breathless on lying flat?
• Have you noticed any bleeding from you back passage?
• When did it start?
• How long has it been going on?
• Is this a new problem?
• Any other symptoms that you have?