U4.

Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

U4.
Signs, Symptoms and Pain

1. SYMPTOMS. Match the words and pictures pill, tablet

pimple, spot, wart, blister

1. He has got a temperature. 6

2. He has got a cough. 3
3. He has got a headache. 5
4. He has got a stomach ache.12
5. He has got a rash. 2
6. He has got a blister. 1
7. He has got a pain (in his chest).4
8. He’s being sick. 10
9. She’s sneezing a lot. 8 blow your nose
10. Her finger is bleeding. 11
haemorraging (desangrandose )
11. His ankle is swollen. 9
12. Her back hurts/ aches. 7

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 1

 U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

2. MATCH the sentences.

1. She’s unconscious. A. She’s has been to the toilet five times this morning. 3
2. She has a sore throat. B. She’s breathing, but her eyes are closed and she can’t
3. She has diarrhoea. hear or feel anything. 1
C. She wants to be sick, or she wants to vomit. 4
4. She feels sick. tiene náuseas
D. It was so hot on the train that she lost consciousness. 5
5. She fainted. se desvaneció
E. She feels that everything is spinning around. 6
6. She feels dizzy. feels giddy
F. It hurts when she talks or swallows food. 2
7. She’s being sick. G. She’s vomited, she’s puked (inf), she’s thrown up (inf). 7

3. FILL IN the missing words in the following sentences.

drugs/medication/medicines
1. Take some ______________e.g. antibiotics or painkillers.
2. rest
Stay at home and_________________.
3. doctor/specialist/consultant
Go to hospital to see a ________________.
4. x-ray/ultrasound
Have an _______________ or scan to see in anything is broken.
5. Have ________________
stitches/sutures if you have a very deep cut.
6. injection
Have an ________________, drug/vaccine
when a ________________ is put in your body through a
needle.
dressing
7. Have a ________________ put on to keep the wound clean.
operation
8. Have an _______________, when part of your body is cut open to remove or repair a
damaged part.

4. CLOZE TEXT. At the doctor's. Complete with one word per gap.
appointment/
If you don't feel well you can make an (1)________to
arrangement see your family doctor (GP) at the local
health/
(2)________centre. He will examine you and ask what (3)________you
symptoms have. He may (4)__________your
take/check
healthcare
pulse and temperature or (4)_______your
measure blood pressure. Then he will usually make a (5)___________and
diagnosis
decide how to treat you. He may prescribe you some medicine to cure your illness. You take the
prescription
(6)_________to the chemist's or pharmacy, where the chemist will usually give you some
(7)______________.
drugs/pills/tablets Read the instructions carefully in case there are any side effects. The doctor may also
rest
tell you to have one or two days off to (8) ___________and recover. With this treatment, you will normally
(9)_____________better
feel in a few days. If the doctor is not sure what's wrong with you he may send you to
see a specialist or arrange for you to have some more tests, for example, X-rays. If you are seriously ill you
may need to go to hospital and have an operation. You may need several weeks to get
over
(10)______________the operation. It's a good idea to have a medical (11)revision/check-up/
___________ once a year.
examination
PIS US/PIL UK PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS SHEET/LEAFLET: prospecto check-up on some injurie
RELAPSE: Recaida
5. SYMPTOMS. The same or different? Explain.

1 What's the matter with Kate? / What's wrong with Kate?

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 2

U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

2 I feel ill. / I don't feel well.

sick=ill en US es lo mismo
3 He feels sick. / He's being sick.
esta malo
tiene nauseas
4 I feel sick. / I feel dizzy. =giddy
mareado
5 His ankle is swollen. /'swǝulən/ / His ankle is broken.
hinchado (swelling) roto

6 His knee hurts. / His knee aches.

dolor externo dolor continuado o por algo interno
(un golpe por
7 She's in ej)
hospital. / She's at the hospital.
estas malo no estas malo, estas x otra cosa

6. CLOZE. FILL IN the gaps with an appropriate word.

burning/hot
Charles entered the kitchen and touched the (1)_____________frying pan with
pain
his hand. Consequently, He started screaming out of (2) _____________. He
burnt his hand.

Parts of the body affected

(3)____________
hand

Some important signs and symptoms

blister
swelling, redness , Pain. Later there may be a (4)__________.(raised bubble
on the skin that is filled with watery fluid and sometimes with blood or (5)
pus
_______________).

Care plan quemadura con algo líquido

cause/severity/wound
● Assess the (6)____________, location and extent of the burn or scald.
● Apply plenty of cold water for at least 5 minutes to _(7)reduce, treat, deaden, relieve
__________ pain.
● Gently remove any rings, watches, shoes, etc., to avoid having an oedema (excessive
liquid
accumulation of (8)______________in the body tissues).
● Apply (9) _____________or
cream, ointment dressing
vaseline and cover the burn with a sterile (10) _________to protect
it from infection.

To take into account

● Do not break any blisters since you may introduce infections into the (11) ________.
wound
● Do not remove any clothes stuck to the burn.
healing
● Seek medical attention in case: the burn is not (12) _________well after a few days, the burn is
involving the face or genital area, or the burn exudes a lot, and it’s very painful.

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 3

U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

7. CLOZE. FILL IN the gaps with an appropriate word.

AREAS MOST AFFECTED WE SHOULD WATCH OUT

UPP
/pressure ulcers
Pressure sores are also called “bedsores” and “pressure ulcers”. They occur when the skin (1)
breaks, hurts(se
______________because pressure
of too long time (2) ____________on the skin. They can start with a (3)
lesiona)/tears
_______________of the skin and finally become an open wound with skin loss involving damage or
redness
necrosis of subcutaneous (4) ________________.
tissue

Case study
Ivy Cooper, a patient in the Surgical Ward A4 suffered from a stroke a week ago. She has restricted (5)
______________of
movement her legs, and she has to stay in bed for long periods of time. She also has
problems
swallowing (6) ______________, and her food intake is not enough. Her skin is becoming dry. Her
tragar
Waterlow Risk Assessment score is 10, so the nurses are aware of her risk of developing a pressure
sore at the hospital.

Parts of the body affected

skin of the legs
(7)_______________
Pressure sore prevention
regularly
● Ivy’s position must be changed (8) ___________.
● Keep risk regions, such as buttocks, heels, elbows and sacrum clean and (9)
_______________.
dry
● Observe pressure areas for redness during Ivy’s daily bath.
● Use pressure-relieving aids like special mattresses, (10) bedcraddle/wedges
______________and pillowcases to
(arco metálico para que pies no toquen sabana)
pressure
relieve (11) _____________on risk regions.
● Assess nutritional state and ensure adequate diet is (12) ________________. appropriate/ Give
supplements if necessary. healthy/balance

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 4

 U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

8-COMPLETE the dialogue with the missing words.

absorbent dressing itchy bin wound

painful antibiotics saline solution sutures

wound assessment hoist disposable gloves pus

painkillers adhesive tape edges placements

Nurse: Great, thanks. So how are things after your operation? Let’s see, you’ve had your appendix removed
- is that right?

painkillers
Patient: Yes, the (1) _____________ make me feel a bit nauseous, but I’m OK. Just the area around the
itchy
wound is a little (2) ____________.

wound
Nurse: Yes it will be. It’s a good sign. It means that the (3) ____________ is healing so there’s no infection
and you don’t need any (4) ______________.
antibiotics few+contables

Patient: That’s good to know.

just a sec NO gloves
disposable
Nurse: Sorry, just give me a minute to put on my (5) __________ ________. Right. Let me see, you’ve
got an (6) absorbent
__________ ______
dressingand we need to change it every third day. Before I start, can I just ask you
if the wound is painful at all?

Patient: As I said, it’s not that bad. It really doesn’t hurt very much. I can hardly feel it at all.

painful
Nurse: So on a scale of one to ten, how (7)_______________is it?

Patient: Two maybe.

Nurse: Two. OK. Now, I’m just going to remove the old dressing, and then, I can clean the wound. I’ll just pop
bin
that in the (8) ________________. Erm, it all looks very clean and healthy...mmm Good. There’s no (9)
pus edges
_____________ or bad odour, and the (10) ________________ are joining up nicely.

Patient: Great!

Nurse: I’m going to use some (10) ____________

saline solution
______________just to clean the wound. It won’t hurt.
I’ll try to do it gently. Let me know if you want me to stop, right? Ms Hagans, I’m just going to clean that up
and put the (11) ___________
absorbent ______________
dressing on. How’s that for you?

Patient: Perfect. Thanks.

Nurse: I just need to secure the dressing with some (12)adhesive tape There we go. Let me just fill in your
__________.
wound assessment
(13) ______________ _____________ chart, and we’re done.

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 5

U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

9. VOCABULARY. Do you understand the following words.

1. eschar costra
2. swab hisopo
3. necrotic tissue tejido necrotico
4. high bacterial load carga bacteriana elevada
5. exudate exudado
6. slough tejido desprendido
7. debridement desbridamento
8. skin graft injerto de piel
9. bugs insectos
10. spike a temperature elevada la temperatura
11. purulent purulento
12. haemoserous hemateroso

10. LISTENING. Fill in the gaps with the missing words.

One word per gap.

necrosis
1.Mrs Ximenes has an area of (1) _______________, or
dead tissue, on her left lower leg. There are blackened areas
eschar
or (2) ___________on the upper wound. These areas will be
surgically debrided soon.

cellulitis
2.Mr Edwards has (3) _______________ in the lower leg.
The wound is showing signs of drying out or (4)
desiccation
_______________. There is quite a lot of skin flaking off his
leg.

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 6

U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

3.The skin surrounding Mrs Heath’s leg wound is red and

inflammation
warm to the touch. The (5) _________________ is a sign of
infection and was confirmed by a wound (6)
swab
_______________ sent to Pathology lab three days ago.

4. The yellowish (7) ______________

slough or dead fibrous tissue
on the inner part of Brad's wound will have to be softened
desbridement or removal of the tissue if
before (8) _______________,
possible.

11. LISTENING. Understand, complete and cross out.

CARRION HOSPITAL

WOUND ASSESSMENT CHART 3764422

U/N: ______________

Ward___________ Stevens
Surname: _________
Consultant __ H. Menéndez__ Gary
Given names:_______
M 15/11/1995 Sex:______
DOB: _________ Masc
date of birth uline
WOUND ASSESSMENT FORM

Date 8/10/2022
____________________

Name Gary Stephens

v
shin
Wound site L calf
left calf (gemelo izquierdo)
Wound description granulated sloughy necrotic infected
traumatic surgical burn diabetic ulcer
pressure ulcer other

Frequency of dressing bd tds daily every 3rd day

Antibiotics no yes oral IV

Surrounding skin healthy dry macerated inflamed

Exudate-type N/A serous haemoserous purulent

Odour present yes slight no

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 7

U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

Pain assessment 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Debridement nil surgical mechanical chemical

(wet to dry dressings)

Dressing products non-adhesive dressing (NAD)

antimicrobial hydrating

wound closure sutures staples steri-trips open wound

Comments For review by Vascular Team on Mon

Wound Intact- next dressing in two days
3

Find the abbreviations in the chart and match them with their meanings.

● N/A
not applicable________________
● three times a day ___________________
TDS
● BD
twice a day__________________
● L
left____________________
● IV/ABs
intravenous ____________________
● nil
nothing or non-existent treatment ________________

12. MATCH these words for types of pains and their descriptions.
pain; dolor
ache: molestia

1. a throbbing pain A. feels like it is eating you. 7 throbbing: rítmico o pulsátil

2. a sharp pain B. travels fast along part of your body. 5 sharp: agudo
3. a burning pain C. is steady and not too painful. 6 burning: quemazón
4. a stabbing pain D. feels like a muscle is being squeezed. 8 stabbing: punzante
piercing shooting: pululante
5. a shooting pain E. feels like something sharp is stuck in you.4
dull: sordo o continuo
6. a dull ache F. comes and goes rhythmically. 1 gnawing: corrosivo
7. a gnawing pain G. feels like fire. 3 cramping: calambre
8. a cramping pain H. is strong and sudden. 2 aches and pains: agujetas
squishing

13. LISTENING and RESEARCH.

Symptoms are the physical conditions that indicate an illness and are usually described as
either strong, (1) __________or
mild weak. Many illnesses have symptoms in common such as
diarrhoea
nausea, high blood pressure, headaches, (2)___________, and so on. On the one hand,
symptoms are things that the patient feels and tells the nurse about. The most important
diagnosis
symptom that leads to a (3)________________is called a cardinal symptom, and the
symptoms that cause a patient to seek medical help are referred to as presenting symptoms.

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 8

U4. Signs, Symptoms and illness LECTURES 2023 2024

Symptoms are the ‘things’ that are noticed by the patient whereas signs are the objective
evidence of an illness which can be observed by doctors and others, that is, signs are what
you can observe, what you can see or feel for yourself. So pain is a symptom, but a low blood
count
cell (4)______________is a sign. Some features can therefore be both signs and symptoms.

On the other hand, symptoms can be classified into general and specific. The former are
general symptoms such as loss of appetite also known as being off someone's food ,
tiredness
(5)________________ hunger
or lassitude, pain, thirst and (6)_______________, headache,
temperature, fever or pyrexia , high blood pressure and hypertension, convulsions and
giddiness adormecido wooziness,
seizures, chills, numbness, tingling, dizziness or (7)___________________,
fit
malaise and shortness of breath among others. Besides you can categorise symptoms
according to the body parts affected. For example, you can talk about neurological and
psychological symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia and unsteadiness. Ocular symptoms such
inestabilidad
blurred
as (8)________________vision, double vision, loss of vision in one eye, a bloodshot eye,
bulging: saltones
haloes around the lights, bruising of eyelids, (9)________________eyes , clouding of lens,
opacidad de la lente
discharge, irritation, sensitivity to light, vision loss or watering. In the case of the digestive
system, there are gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating , diarrhoea,
constipation: estrenimiento
(10)________________, vomiting, and blood in stools or maelena. In the case of melaena, it
sangre en heces
refers to the dark black, tarry faeces that are associated with upper gastrointestinal
bleeding alquitranadlas
(11)____________________. You can find chest pain, abnormal heartbeat, and
shallow: pulso débil
(12)_____________________pulse or faint pulse among the most common cardiovascular
symptoms whereas incontinence, difficulty urinating or dysuria, and passing a lot of urine are
referred to as urological symptoms.

Research on the internet and find other symptoms related to:

pulmonary symptoms tos cough

hiperventilar hyperventilation
dolor en el pecho chest pain
dificultad para respirar shortness of breath SOB, difficulty breathing
disnea disnea o DB DB, wheezing sibilancias

integumentary moratones o hematomas bruising, haematomas

symptoms erupciones y sarpullidos rash
granos o espinillas sports, pimples
eritema erythema
urticaria urticaria
picores itching, itchy
ampollas blisters
hinchazón swelling, oedema (edema)

EUE Dacio Crespo 2nd year Nursing 9