Doctor's appointment: English words and phrases you need to know

How to contact a doctor

You can call a doctor yourself using your mobile phone.

Rooms:

911 - USA;
112 - Europe and other countries.

You can call these numbers with a negative balance and without a SIM card at all.

As soon as the operator answers you, tell him "I need an ambulance", give the address, and an ambulance will be sent to you. Be careful: in some countries it can cost a lot to call an ambulance, so only call in an emergency.

If your case is not so urgent, then you can contact the hotel administrator.

Use phrases like this:

I need a doctor. - I need a doctor.
Please, get me a doctor. - Please call me a doctor.

The administrator may ask you:

What's the problem? - What is the problem?
What are your complaints? - What are you complaining about?
Do you have medical insurance? - Do you have medical insurance?

How to describe what the problem is

You can use these phrases both in a conversation with an administrator to describe your problem more accurately, and in a conversation directly with a doctor. Say "I have" + whatever comes up from the list below:

an illness - an illness, usually short-lived;
a disease - severe, sometimes fatal disease;
an injury - physical injury (bruise, fracture);
a backache - back pain;
a toothache - toothache;
a headache - headache;
an earache - pain in the ear;
a stomachache - abdominal pain;
a burn - burn;
a sore throat - sore throat;
a sickness - nausea;
a rash - rash;
insomnia - insomnia;
a cut - cut;
a fever - high temperature;
a cough - cough;
a pain in chest - chest pain.

In another way, your state can be described as follows:

to feel dizzy - feel dizzy;
to vomit - to tear;
swollen - swollen;
bleeding - bleeding;
high (low) pressure - high (low) pressure.

If you suddenly can't remember the right word, just say “It hurts here” and point out the problem area.

What the doctor might ask

To make the correct diagnosis, the doctor needs more information from you, so he may ask (ask):

What have you eaten (drunk)? - What did you eat (drink)?
Has this ever happened before? - Has this happened before?
Please, take off your clothes. - Please take off your clothes.
Does it hurt when I press this spot? - When I press here, does it hurt you?
Open your mouth. - Open your mouth.
What is your temperature? - What is your temperature?
Take a deep breath. Take a deep breath.

Sometimes additional research may be needed to be more confident.

You need to have an X-Ray. - You need to do an x-ray.
You should have a blood (urine) test. - Donate blood (urine) for analysis.
You need to have an ultrasound scan. - You need an ultrasound.
You need to see a specialist. - You should see a specialist.

Physicians are divided into GPs (general practitioners) and specialists.

Diagnosis

List of the most common diseases:

the flu - flu;
cold - cold;
food poisoning - food poisoning;
an allergy - allergy;
a bug (virus) - infection;
a heart attack - heart attack;
a stroke - stroke;
appendicitis - appendicitis;
pneumonia - pneumonia;
a fracture - fracture.

Doctor's recommendations

After all the necessary research has been done and a diagnosis has been made, the doctor will prescribe you a course of treatment and give you a prescription.

He can give you such tips:

You should follow a diet. - You need to stick to your diet.
Stay in bed for a few days and take your medicine. - Stay in bed for a few days and take medication.
Come back next week so I can check how you are. - Come next week so I can check on your condition.
Take these pills twice a day. - Take these tablets twice a day.
You will have to stay in hospital for a few days. - You will need to stay in the hospital for several days.
You should take some antibiotics. - You need to take antibiotics.

At the pharmacy

There are three most common words used to designate a pharmacy: drugstore, chemist's and pharmacy. You can see the latter on the streets of Spain, Italy and other European countries in a slightly different spelling, but the word itself is similar. Drugstore is more common in the US and chemist's in the UK.

So you've come to the pharmacy, and here's a list of words you might need: