Box 5.5 Words associated with eating and drinking (for futther example see Ch.

6)
Nursing/medical or

Colloquial (everyday) or slang (very informal)

Standard English words

words anf expressions used by patients

Abdomen

Belly; gut; stomach; tummy

Abdominal pain

Belly ache; gut rot; stomach/tummy ache

Anorexia

No appetite

Dyspepsia

Acid indigestion; heartburn

Good appetite

Always hungry; eat like a horse; ready for my grub

Halitosis

Bad breath; mouth odour

Nausea

Biliousness; feel sick; queasiness

Oesophagus

Gullet

Poor appetite

Cant face food; dont eat enough to keep a bird alive; been off my
food; not hungry; peck or pick at food

Stomatitis

Mouth ulcers; sore mouth

Vomit

Be sick; bring up; lose the lot; puke; retch; sick up; spew; thorw up

Miss Hyde-Whyte has come into the community hospital for assessment. She lives alone and has
been retired for over 20 years. The district nursing team, who have been visiting Miss HydeWhyte to treat her leg ulcer, have recently become concerned about her lack of interest in meals
and obvious weight loss.
Nurse

: hello Miss Hyde-Whyte, Im Nurse Mosquera. I would like to ask you some

questions. Will that be all right ? (providing general leads)

Miss H.

: Hello-please call me Maggie. The rest is such a mouthful [ difficult to say]

Nurse

: I will need to weigh you and measure your height, but first a few questions.

(providing general leads)

Miss H

: Im Sure that I have lost weight all my clothes hang on me

Nurse

: How often do you eat and drink? (open endeed)

Miss H

: Well I used to have breakfast, proper cooked lunch and something on toast or a

sandwich in the evening.

Nurse

: Has something changed? (being specific)

Miss H

: I used to really enjoy cooking, have a G&T and then sit at the table with a nice

meal, but now Ive got no appetite and I just pick at it. My dad would have said you dont eat
enough to keep a bird alive.
Nurse

: Why do you think your appetite has decreased? (open endeed)

Miss H

: Two reasons I think. Ive had mouth ulcers for ages. Probably my false teeth

dont fit anymore and I have been sick a few times after meals.
Nurse

: Ill look at your mouth in a moment and see if any treatment would help. It

might be a good idea to see your dentist about the poorly fitting dentures. Tell me about the
vomiting. (offering self)
Miss H
back.

: If I eat a proper meal I soon feel sick and then Im sick. The food just come

Nurse

: Are you sick at any other time? (seeking clarifications)

Miss H

: No, only after food.

Nurse

: What colours is the vomit? Is there any blood or bile? (open ended & seeking

clarification)
Miss H

: No blood and its not green or yellow like bile the colour varies it depends on

what Ive eaten.

Nurse

: Sometimes blood can look like coffee grounds anything like that? (seeking

clarifications)
Miss H

: No, nothing like that.

Nurse

: How do you feel afterwards? (open endeed)

Miss H

: Thats the strange thing. Once Ive been sick I feel fine [all right]. My stomach

[abdomen] feels uncomfortable before Im sick, but that feeling soon goes afterwards.
Nurse

: When you were eating normally what sort of food did you cook? (open endeed)

Miss

: Proper meals meat or fish and lots of veg. [short for vegetable] and I always

had dessert or some cheese. No point doing all that if youre going to be sick.
Nurse

: How often do you usually shop for food ? (open endeed)

Miss H

: Most days. Its nice to get out and have a chat [talk] with people.

Nurse

: What do you eat and drink now? (open endeed)

Miss H

: I know that I must eat something, so I have things like scrambled [a cooking

method] egg on toast, soup and milky drinks. Its not unpleasant [In English when you have two
negatives, know as a double negative, it creates a middle way, meaning not a negative (an
unpleasant diet) either. So here, not unp;easant means a fairly acceptable diet], but I know its
not enough.

Nurse

: Lets see how much you weigh. Whats your normal weight? (seeking

clarification)
Miss H

: Before the vomiting started I had been about 10 stone [an Imperial Unit of

weught where 1 stone = 14 pounds, see Ch. 11] for as long as I can remember [for a long time].
Nurse

: We use the kilogram for weight, but I can tell what it is in atones and pounds.

(giving information)
Miss H

: Whats the verdict [finding] then. Have I lost much?

Nurse

: Im afraid [The pharase Im afraid;, is used to introduce news which is

unwelcome or bad] you have lost about I I kilo grams. You weigh 52 kilogram; thats 8 stone 2
pounds, so thats nearly 2 stone less than usual. We will have to keep an eye on [keep a frequent
check] your weight. (giving information & offering self)
Miss H

: Well, its no surprise my clothes are much too big.

Nurse

: Im going to refer you to the dietician and ask her to come and do a full

nutritional assessment and see how we can provide you with enough nutrients and fluid while we
wait for all the tests [investigations] to be done. Meanwhile, we can order things like scrambled
eggs, and give you soup and drinks with added nutrients [fortified] if youre sure that wont
make you sick. (summarizing & planning)
Miss H

: Im sure that will be fine, thank you