3 HEALTH CARE
People in the past weren´t interested in their health and healthy lifestyle so much in comparison with
present people. But they had healthier environment which wasn´t polluted so much. In recent years
people in many countries have become more concerned about their health. They care very much
about the food they eat and are interested in the effect it has on their health. Many people have
reduced the amount of salt, fat, and sugar they eat less in order to lose weight or want to lower their
cholesterol and reduce the risk of getting heart disease. Moreover many people exercise regularly to
stay fit and in a good shape.
What does a human body consist of? Complete the followings words in the text.
skin, skull, trunk, neck, skeleton, back, blind, brain, kidneys, forehead, smell, dumb, eyelids, sight,
heart, muscles, hair, glasses, cheeks, lungs
● The human body consists of a 1 ________ and muscles. The three main parts of the body are the
head, the 2_________ and the limbs. The head, which is partly covered with3_________, contains the
4_________. The head is composed of the face and the 5_________. The parts of the face are the
6__________,
eyebrows,
eyes,
ears,
nose,
mouth
and
chin.
● The eyes are protected by the 7____________ and eyelashes. People with bad sight are advised to
wear 8____________. Those who cannot see are_9___________. The eyes are the organs of
10____________.
● The nose is the organ of 11____________and the ears are the organs of hearing. Those who cannot
hear
are
deaf,
and
those
who
cannot
speak
are
12____________.
● The head is attached to the trunk by the 13___________. The trunk includes the chest, the
14_________, the shoulders and the abdomen (tummy, belly). The internal organs which cannot be
seen are the 15________, stomach, liver, 16__________ We need our lungs for breathing and the
17________
pumps
the
blood
through
the
body.
● The whole human body is covered with a tender white 18_______and is composed of 19
_______and bones.
What should we eat? The foods we eat affect our health. Many studies show that good nutrition
lowers the risk for many diseases. Our eating habits can bring on heart disease, some types of cancer,
diabetes, and or help prevent them!
Tips for Healthy Eating: Eat at least 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Choose the
whole grain bread and cereals. Choose low-fat milk and cheeses. Choose lean meat, fish, poultry, Eat
more beans and grains . Drink lots of water between meals.
Why should we lead a healthy lifestyle? Is prevention necessary?
A healthy lifestyle, prevention and personal responsibility for our health can help us avoid possible
dangers like infectious diseases, heart attacks and brain damage. We need to go to the doctor for
regular check-ups, weigh ourselves regularly and see the dentist twice a year.
Medical care - in our country medical care used to be free of charge some years ago but nowadays our
health care is in crisis. Besides state hospitals there are many private doctors. We do not pay for
prescriptions but we have to pay for different medicines more and more.
We usually go to see our doctor when we do not feel well or have a temperature. If we fall ill or if we
have an accident, we go to the Health Centre, policlinics, hospital or to General Practitioner (GP).
Each of us has the right to choose the doctor.
Appointment with a doctor – if you decide to go to the doctor´s, you should make an appointment
with a doctor in advance in order to avoid long queuing. You shouldn´t forget to take your insurance
card with you. When you enter a surgery, you are asked to describe the symptoms, sometimes the
doctor may ask you to strip to the waist before he/she examines your chest and throat. He can hear
your lungs, check your blood pressure, feel the pulse or put your blood or urine through laboratory
tests. Sometimes your lungs or bones are X-rayed. After the doctor diagnoses the case, he prescribes
some medicine. If an illness is more serious, you must see a specialist – for example a surgeon,
a psychiatrist, internist and so on. With a prescription you go to the pharmacy to take out a medicine.
We must go through many types of vaccination during our lives. We are vaccinated against polio,
tuberculosis or measles. There are various types of physicians/doctors who treat various diseases and
disorders. They are e.g. GP (general practitioners), dentists, surgeons, oculists, paediatricians,
gynaecologists, psychiatrists, dermatologists, ear and throat specialists etc.
During our life we suffer from various illnesses beginning with common children diseases such as:
measles, chickenpox, mumps, and scarlet fever. Nowadays lots of people suffer from civilisation
diseases like diabetes, heart attack, allergy, stroke or fatal/incurable diseases like polio, AIDS,
cancer. Very often we suffer from common infections such as cold, flu, angina, indigestion,
diarrhoea. To overcome/recover from/ an illness in such cases we usually stay in bed, drink herbal
teas, take pills, drops or vitamins and after a week or two we feel well again. However, the situation
may sometimes be more serious and needs special treatment in the hospital, e.g. heart attack,
appendicitis, breaking an arm or leg, animal or snake bite, severe bleeding, poisoning, unconsciousness or in the case of some real dangerous disease such as tuberculosis, anaemia, pneumonia,
leukaemia, diabetes, hepatitis etc
It is true that prevention is better than a cure. In other words, the best way to cure ourselves is not
to catch any illness. We should try to live a healthy way of life, which means we should:
-
have a good proportion of work to leisure time,
-
take enough sleep,
-
practise sports, at least swim or go for walks,
-
eat healthy food with lots of vitamins, eat at least 3 times a day in small portions
-
not smoke, drink too much alcohol, become drug addicts
-
reduce an intake of salt and sugar
-
keep our mind and body in a balance
-
undergo regular checkups at the doctor´s and dentist´s