Pages 106–107 asthma

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Pages 106–107
asthma 
/
ˈæsmə/ Noun uncount
asthma is a medical condition which affects someone’s 
chest. People who have 
asthma cough a lot and 
sometimes have difficulty breathing 
Collocates: suffer from asthma | an asthma attack | 
severe/acute/chronic asthma
one in seven primary-school children now suffers from 
asthma | taken to hospital after an asthma attack | her 
daughter has chronic asthma | cases of asthma and 
eczema are rising by about 5% every year
Adjective: 
asthmatic | Noun: asthmatic
Collocates: an asthmatic attack | an asthmatic patient
I’m asthmatic, and so are my children | provision of care 
for asthmatic patients | a bad asthmatic attack | this 
medicine should not be given to children or asthmatics | 
she’s been an asthmatic for the last 20 years
bring on 
/
ˈbrɪŋ ˌɒn/ Phrasal verb
if something 
brings on something bad or unwanted, it 
causes it or makes it start happening. If you say that 
someone 
brought it on himself or brought it on herself, 
you mean that it was their own fault that something bad 
happened to them
Collocates: be brought on by something
I get really bad headaches, and eating fish usually 
brings one on | it may have been brought on by an 
allergy | and what brought on that fit of anger? | he 
brought it on himself so he won’t get any sympathy
from me 
chronic 
/
ˈkrɒnɪk/ Adjective
a 
chronic medical condition is one that is serious and 
lasts a long time without getting any better
Collocates: a chronic disease/illness/condition | chronic 
pain 
stress can be a factor in the development of chronic 
illness | chronic indigestion | chronic back pain | a 
chronic kidney condition 
Adverb: 
chronically 
Collocates: chronically sick/ill
the needs of chronically sick children | help for the 
chronically disabled | chronically ill patients
crutch 
/
krʌtʃ/ Noun
a
crutch is one of a pair of long sticks that fits under your 
arm and which you use to help you walk when you have 
hurt your leg
Collocates: be on crutches
I was on crutches for months (could walk only with the 
help of crutches) | he’s still walking with crutches | I don’t 
need to use crutches now
eczema 
/
ˈeksɪmə/ Noun uncount
eczema is a skin condition in which your skin is 
constantly sore and you want to scratch it all the time
I have slight eczema on the palms of my hands | 
Jeffrey’s eczema was getting worse as a result of all the 
stress | cases of asthma and eczema are rising by about 
5% every year | allergies such as eczema | a flare up of 
my eczema (a time when it suddenly gets worse)
faint 
/
feɪnt/ Verb
if you 
faint, you lose consciousness for a short time, for 
example because you are very hungry or too hot
she fainted from hunger | I think I’m about to faint | he 
used to faint at the sight of blood | she almost fainted 
with shock | he turned white and almost fainted
fume 
/
fjuːm/ Noun
fumes are gases and smoke from fires, burning 
chemicals, car engines etc, that are unhealthy and 
unpleasant to breathe, and that can make people feel 
unwell
Collocates: toxic/poisonous fumes | petrol/diesel/
exhaust/traffic fumes 
asthma is made worse by the exhaust fumes | chemicals 
which give off nasty fumes | a petrol engine producing 
poisonous fumes | a cloud of toxic fumes | he was 
overcome by fumes (made unconscious by them)
heal 
/
hiːl/ Verb
if a wound or a broken bone 
heals or if something heals 
it, it recovers and becomes well again
it took several weeks for the wound to heal | give it 
time and it will heal itself | she was healed by the latest 
medical treatment
Noun: 
healing
the healing process | these herbs are known to have 
healing properties 
itchy 
/
ˈɪtʃi/ Adjective
if part of your body feels 
itchy, it is uncomfortable and 
you want to scratch your skin to stop it feeling like that
Collocates: an itchy scalp/rash | itchy skin
I soon felt dirty and itchy | the rash will be itchy, but try 
not to scratch it | they also had itchy skin, fever, and loss 
of appetite | a sore throat, a runny nose and an itchy 
scalp 
Noun: 
itch | Verb: itch | Noun: itchiness
I’ve got an itch just here, where I can’t scratch it | his 
scalp wasn’t itching any more | the itchiness should go 
away if you use this cream
needle 
/
ˈniːd(ə)l/ Noun
a 
needle is a long, thin piece of metal with a hole 
through the middle of it which is used to push medicine 
into people’s bodies
disposable needles (ones that are used only once) | a 
hypodermic needle (one that is pushed into the skin) | he 
fainted when he saw the needle
Outcomes Upper Intermediate Vocabulary Builder Unit 12 
© 2016 National Geographic Learning
1
12
HEALTH AND MEDICINE

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panic 
/
ˈpænɪk/ Noun uncount
panic is a state when people suddenly become very 
worried about something and start behaving in a slightly 
wild way because they are not sure what to do 
Collocates: widespread panic | blind/sheer panic | panic 
breaks out/sets in | in a panic | with panic
the epidemic caused widespread panic across the 
continent | he went into a blind panic when he thought 
he’d lost the baby | a panic attack (a sudden feeling of 
panic) | there was a moment of sheer panic before the 
brakes finally worked | panic broke out when smoke was 
seen coming out of the kitchen | in a panic, he jumped 
out of the second floor window | his mother was white 
with panic
Verb: 
panic | Adjective: panicky
Collocates: panic about something
whatever you do, don’t panic | there’s no need to panic | 
just stop panicking about it and calm down | I panicked 
and ran into the garden | everyone was panicking and 
trying to find a way out | I felt a panicky urge to run away 
| he felt panicky as soon as he stepped inside the plane
panic 
/
ˈpænɪk/ Verb
if you 
panic, you suddenly start behaving in a slightly 
wild way because you are very worried about something
Collocates: panic about something
whatever you do, don’t panic | there’s no need to panic | 
just stop panicking about it and calm down | I panicked 
and ran into the garden | everyone was panicking and 
trying to find a way out
Noun: 
panic | Adjective: panicky
Collocates: widespread panic | blind/sheer panic | panic 
breaks out/sets in | in a panic | with panic
the epidemic caused widespread panic across the 
continent | he went into a blind panic when he thought 
he’d lost the baby | a panic attack (a sudden feeling of 
panic) | there was a moment of sheer panic before the 
brakes finally worked | panic broke out when smoke was 
seen coming out of the kitchen | in a panic, he jumped 
out of the second floor window | his mother was white 
with panic | I felt a panicky urge to run away | he felt 
panicky as soon as he stepped inside the plane