Talking about Sickness and Symptoms: English Vocabulary List

a heart beat that is very irregular or too fast

"He felt a sudden palpitation in his chest from stress."

"A palpitation is an abnormally rapid or irregular heartbeat that a person becomes acutely aware of"

a very common skin condition that causes one's skin to become dry, red, itchy, and bumpy

"The eczema on her hands was red"

"Her eczema flares up during winter because the cold air makes her skin extremely dry and uncomfortable."

the infection and inflammation of air sacs in one's lungs, usually caused by a bacterial infection that makes breathing difficult

"Pneumonia makes breathing very difficult."

"Pneumonia is a serious respiratory infection that inflames the air sacs in one or both lungs"

a serious injury resulting from excessive exposure to severely cold weather or things, causing the freezing of the nose, toes, fingers, etc.

"The climber got frostbite on his fingers in the extreme cold."

"Frostbite is a severe cold-weather injury where skin and underlying tissues freeze"

a medical condition during which mucus accumulates in one's nose, throat, or sinuses and blocks them

"The catarrh made his voice sound nasal and stuffy."

"The common cold often causes catarrh which leads to a stuffy nose and excess mucus production."

a feeling of being physically ill and irritated without knowing the reason

"He felt a general malaise and could not get out of bed."

"Malaise is a vague feeling of physical discomfort and unease"

any disease or virus that can be easily passed from one person to another

"The contagion spread quickly through the whole crowded city."

"The government closed the schools and canceled public events to prevent the contagion from spreading rapidly through the community."

any physical problem that might put one's health in danger

"The doctor tried to find the cause of his strange malady."

"The mysterious malady left him bedridden for weeks without any clear diagnosis from the doctors."

an injury or wound to living tissue, often involving a cut, break, or trauma to the skin

"The scan showed a small lesion on the patient's liver."

"The dermatologist examined the dark lesion on the patient's arm and decided to take a small sample for further testing."

a lesion or sore on the skin that might bleed or even produce a poisonous substance

"The doctor treated the painful ulcer in his stomach."

"An ulcer is an open sore on an internal or external surface of the body that fails to heal"

any organism that can cause diseases

"A pathogen is a tiny germ that can make you very sick."

"Scientists identified a new pathogen that had been spreading rapidly throughout the local community."

a mild state of being unwell, often leading to a temporary inability to perform one's usual activities

"She missed the party due to a sudden indisposition."

"His sudden indisposition forced him to cancel all of his meetings for the entire week."

the first person known to have a certain disease, often seen as the starting point of an outbreak

"Patient zero was the first person infected."

"The epidemiologist worked tirelessly to identify patient zero who first brought the virus into the country before it spread widely."