Medical English
COMMON COLD
1. What is the common cold, and what causes it?
The common cold, also known as a viral upper respiratory tract infection, is a
contagious illness that can be caused by a number of different types of viruses.
Because of the great number of viruses that can cause a cold and because new
cold viruses develop, the body never builds up resistance against all of them. For
this reason, colds are a frequent and recurring problem. In fact, on average, and
adolescents and adults, seven colds p
er year
* Vocabulary :
- Respiratory tract : Đường hô hấp
- Infection [in'fek∫n] (n) Sự lây nhiễm, sự nhiễm trùng
- Contagious [kən'teidʒəs] (adj) dễ lây qua tiếp xúc; hay lây; truyền nhiễm
- Resistance [ri'zistəns] (n) sự chịu đựng; sức đề kháng
2. What are the symptoms of the common cold?
Symptoms of a common cold include nasal stuffiness and drainage, sore throat,
hoarseness, cough, and perhaps a fever and headache. Many people with a cold
feel tired and achy. These symptoms typically last from three to 10 days
* Vocabulary :
- Symptom (n) ['simptəm] triệu chứng (của một căn bệnh)
- Nasal (adj) ['neizəl] ( thuộc) mũi
- Stuffiness (n) ['stʌfinis] sự nghẹt mũi, sự tắc mũi
- Hoarseness (n) ['hɔ:snis] tình trạng khản giọng, giọng khàn khàn
3. Treatment:
Several treatments that can ease the symptoms associated with a
common cold also exist. Decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed and
others), and nasal sprays (Afrin and others) can help reduce symptoms. People
with heart disease, poorly controlled high blood pressure, or other illness should
contact their physician or other health-care practitioner prior to using these
medications. Additionally, over-the-counter nasal sprays should not be used for

Haemophilus influenzae is a bacterium that was incorrectly considered to
cause the flu until the virus was demonstrated to be the correct cause in 1933. This
bacterium can cause lung infections in infants and children, and it occasionally
causes ear, eye, sinus, joint, and a few other infections, but not the flu.
2.What are flu symptoms?
* Typical clinical features of influenza include
• - fever (usually 100° F to 103° F in adults and often even higher
in children)
- respiratory symptoms such as
- cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches, and
fatigue, sometimes extreme.
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Medical English
Although nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea can sometimes accompany
influenza infection, especially in children, gastrointestinal symptoms are rarely
prominent. The term "stomach flu" is a misnomer that is sometimes used to
describe gastrointestinal illnesses caused by other microorganisms.
Most people who get the flu recover completely in one to two weeks, but
some people develop serious and potentially life-threatening medical
complications, such as pneumonia. In an average year, influenza is associated with
about 20,000 deaths nationwide and many more hospitalizations. Flu-related
complications can occur at any age; however, the elderly and people with chronic
health problems are much more likely to develop serious complications after
influenza infection than are younger, healthier people.
- Pneumonia (n) Viêm phổi
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Medical English

CHICKENPOX
1. What is chickenpox? What causes chickenpox?