DESCRIBING AN ILLNESS & SYMPTOMS

Most people at some point during a year will be ill. Although when you are in pain you can still go to work, there will be times when you can't go to work because the symptoms (e.g. a high temperature, a pain in the head, tiredness etc...) of the illness (e.g. diabetes, allergy etc..) are very painful. And if you can't go to work or go to a client meeting, you will have to call in sick and describe how you feel? In this online exercise, we will look at the English vocabulary used for describing the symptoms of a few of the most common illnesses that affect the health of most people during a normal year.

I can't come to work today

Read the following phone call where an employee (John) informs his manager at the company (Sally) that he is feeling ill and can't go to work. Focus on the words/phrases in bold and think about their meaning.

John:  'Hi Sally, it's John. I'm afraid that I won't be able to come into work today.' 

Sally:  'Why? Are you feeling OK ?' 

John: 'No, I am not. I'm feeling really ill. I've got a terrible headache, my throat is very sore and my nose is blocked. I was coughing all night, so my wife hasn't slept because of the noise.'
Sally: 'You looked tired yesterday.' 

John: 'I didn't feel well yesterday. I was sweating in the office. I thought I was sweating because of the heating being high. But that wasn't the reason.' 

Sally: 'It sounds like a cold. Three other people in the office already have this illness at the moment.' 

John: 'I don't think I have a cold.' 

Sally: 'Have you checked your temperature? Do you have a fever?'
John: 'No I don't have a high temperature, So I don't think I have flu, which is also a common illness at this time of year. It got a lot worse last night, at first I had a bad stomach ache and a headache. So I thought that it was something that I had eaten, that I had food poisoning. But, my stomach is OK now and I haven't been sick or had diarrhoea. When I woke up this morning, my head hurt like somebody had hit me over the head with a stick. And all my muscles are aching. A continuous soft pain. I also feel a bit confused and dizzy, the room seems to be moving around when I stand up.' 

Sally: 'You don't sound well at all. You need to stay in bed and rest.'

John: 'I think I will. But I'm going to the doctor's later.' 

Sally: 'Don't worry, let me know how you are tomorrow. Take care of yourself.'

How to talk about illness

Sometimes you don't feel very well, but you're not really ill. Here are some common expressions that you can use to describe general "aches and pains" and some useful "sympathetic" responses.

General aches and pains

"I feel a bit under the weather."

"I'm not feeling very well."

"I think I'm going down with a cold. I've got a sore throat."

"I've got a slight headache." (Or toothache / stomach ache / backache) Pronounced "ake" as in "cake".

"I'm not sleeping very well at the moment."

"I feel a little faint."

"I've got a nagging pain in my shoulder." (nagging = a pain that won't go away)

"I've got a splitting headache – I hope it's not a migraine."

Sympathetic responses

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"You don't look very well."

"You look a little pale."

"Maybe you're going down with something. There's a bug going around."

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest."

"Why don't you go home and have a lie-down."
Mild illness

"I have a bit of a stomach bug."

"I think I've got a bit of a temperature."

"I have a touch of flu." (Flu = influenza)

"I've got a nasty cough." (pronounced "coff")