Health, medicine, and fitness

Health is the second-densest vocabulary domain after work — and the US-specific layer is brutal. American healthcare has its own lexicon (copay, deductible, in-network, primary care) that even native English speakers from other countries don’t know. You can’t function as an adult in the US without it.

This lesson covers four bundled areas: everyday illness, chronic conditions and mental health, the US healthcare system, and fitness and diet. The mental-health and fitness sections are where 2026 vocabulary has expanded fastest.

Everyday illness

Catching something

The verbs for “getting sick”:

• come down with (something) — start to get sick (I think I’m coming down with the flu)
• catch (a cold / the flu / something) — get an infectious illness
• get (sick / a cold / strep) — general
• feel under the weather — feel mildly unwell, low energy
• have a bug / a stomach bug — have a minor viral illness
• be down with (something) — be sick with (She’s down with the flu)

Symptoms

Useful chunks:

• I have a sore throat and a runny nose.
• I’m running a fever — 101. (101 = 101°F, US-style)
• I feel really nauseous.
• I’ve been throwing up all morning.

Common illnesses

• a cold — minor viral upper-respiratory illness
• the flu — influenza (Americans always say the flu, with the)
• strep / strep throat — bacterial throat infection
• food poisoning — illness from contaminated food
• stomach flu — actually viral gastroenteritis (medically NOT flu, but everyone says it)
• pink eye — conjunctivitis (eye infection)
• ear infection — common in kids
• UTI — urinary tract infection
• sinus infection / sinusitis — facial-cavity infection
• bronchitis — chest/lung infection
• pneumonia — serious lung infection
• COVID — still in everyday vocabulary

Injuries

• sprain — stretched/torn ligament (sprained ankle)
• strain — stretched muscle
• break / fracture a bone
• bruise — discolored skin from impact
• cut / scrape / scratch — different depths of skin injury
• burn — heat/chemical injury
• concussion — head injury affecting the brain
• stitches — to close a wound (I needed five stitches)
• cast — hard cover for a broken bone
• brace — supporting device

Chronic conditions and long-term health

This vocabulary appears constantly in modern conversation — much more than 20 years ago, because mental health and chronic illness are openly discussed.

Mental health vocabulary

The biggest 2020s shift in everyday English. Use this confidently:

• mental health — collective term, no longer taboo
• therapy / be in therapy — get psychological treatment (I started therapy in college)
• therapist / counselor — the practitioner
• psychologist vs psychiatrist — psychologists do therapy; psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe
• anxiety attack / panic attack — acute episode of anxiety
• breakdown / mental breakdown — period of inability to function
• burnout — chronic depletion from work
• trigger / triggered — something that activates a strong emotional response (overused but real word)
• coping mechanism — how you handle stress
• self-care — practices for personal well-being
• boundaries — emotional limits with others
• mindfulness — present-moment awareness
• stressed out — under stress and showing it
• overwhelmed — too much, can’t cope

Saying I’m seeing a therapist is normal and stigma-light in modern American English. Compare to 30 years ago when it was nearly taboo.

Treatment vocabulary

At the pharmacy and doctor

• prescription / Rx — medication doctor authorizes
• over-the-counter (OTC) — meds you can buy without prescription
• refill — additional doses of an ongoing prescription
• dosage / dose — amount to take
• side effect — unintended effect of a drug
• allergic reaction — bad immune response
• antibiotics — for bacterial infections
• painkillers / pain meds — Tylenol, ibuprofen, etc.
• inhaler — for asthma
• EpiPen — emergency injector for severe allergies
• shot / vaccine — I got my flu shot.
• booster — additional vaccine dose

Procedures

• checkup / physical — routine annual exam
• screening — preventive test (mammogram, colonoscopy)
• bloodwork / blood test / labs — tests on your blood
• X-ray / MRI / CT scan / ultrasound — imaging
• surgery / operation / procedure — operative treatment
• outpatient / inpatient — go home same day / stay overnight
• second opinion — another doctor’s view
• referral — your primary care sending you to a specialist

The US healthcare system — the dense vocabulary

The US healthcare system is private, expensive, and unique. You must know this vocabulary if you live in the US — even native English speakers from other countries don’t.

Where you go

The urgent care vs ER distinction matters financially: the ER is dramatically more expensive (often $2,000+ even with insurance). You go to urgent care for things that can’t wait until tomorrow but aren’t life-threatening.

Insurance and money

The conversation:

• Is this in-network?
• What’s my copay for a specialist?
• Have I hit my deductible yet?
• They denied the claim.

Common phrases

• make an appointment / schedule a visit — book a doctor visit
• have a checkup / get a physical — annual exam
• see a doctor / see a specialist — consult
• get a prescription filled — pick up your meds
• pick up a refill — get another month
• fill out forms / paperwork — at every visit
• wait time — minutes/hours to be seen

Fitness and exercise

Types of exercise

• cardio — cardiovascular exercise (running, cycling, swimming)
• strength training / weight training / lifting — with weights
• HIIT — high-intensity interval training
• yoga / pilates — flexibility + core
• stretching — flexibility work
• CrossFit — branded high-intensity workout (very US)
• Spin / spinning — stationary bike class
• bootcamp — group circuit class
• functional training — practical movement patterns

Vocabulary

Verbs:

• work out — exercise (I work out three times a week)
• hit the gym — go to the gym
• lift / lift weights
• train (for a marathon)
• stretch
• bulk / cut — gain muscle / lose fat (gym slang)

Diet and nutrition

Macros and components

• carbs / carbohydrates — bread, pasta, rice
• protein — meat, fish, beans, tofu
• fat / fats / healthy fats — oils, nuts, avocado
• fiber — vegetables, whole grains
• sugar / added sugar — sweet stuff
• sodium — salt
• calories / cals — energy units
• macros (macronutrients) — carbs/protein/fat ratios
• micros (micronutrients) — vitamins/minerals

Diets and lifestyles

Verbs

• be on a diet — restricting food intake
• go on a diet — start dieting
• cut out / cut back on (sugar, carbs) — reduce
• gain weight / lose weight
• count calories / track macros
• bulk up / slim down
• fast / be fasting
• eat clean / eat healthy
• binge / overeat

Collocations

• make an appointment / a recovery
• take medicine / a pill / your temperature / care of yourself
• catch a cold / the flu / a bug
• come down with something
• suffer from a condition
• be diagnosed with a condition
• get a prescription / a shot / surgery
• work out / hit the gym
• stick to a diet / a routine
• break out in a rash / hives

Phrases and expressions

• feel like a million bucks — feel great
• be on the mend — recovering
• back on my feet — recovered, functioning again
• kick a habit — quit (smoking, sugar)
• fall off the wagon — relapse from a healthy habit
• listen to your body — pay attention to signals
• healthy as a horse — very healthy
• out of shape / in shape — fitness state

US-specific terminology

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. On a / in a hospital — wrong articles. Say in the hospital (US, when admitted) or at the hospital. Avoid on a hospital.
2. I am ill / sick confusion. Sick is the everyday US word — I’m sick today, I have a cold. Ill is more BrE / more formal in US (chronically ill, terminally ill). Use sick by default in the US.
3. Polyclinic doesn’t exist in US English. The Russian поликлиника maps to doctor’s office, clinic, or medical center.
4. Pharmacy vs drugstore — both work in US, but Americans say drugstore casually for the chain store (CVS, Walgreens) and pharmacy for the medication counter inside.
5. Receipt meaning prescription (false friend). Receipt in English is the slip from buying something. The doctor’s paper for medicine is a prescription.
6. Doctor used as a verb of address. Don’t say Doctor! to call your doctor. Say Dr. Smith or just the doctor. Doctor alone as a vocative is weird in casual English.
7. Healthy meaning health-related (false friend nuance). Healthy = good for health (healthy food). For “health-care related” use health or medical. Healthy insurance → health insurance.
8. Confusing cure, heal, treat. Treat = administer medical care (process). Heal = recover, especially wounds. Cure = eliminate the disease entirely. Doctors treat patients; wounds heal; antibiotics cure infections.

Summary

• Getting sick: come down with, catch, feel under the weather, run a fever.
• Symptoms vocabulary: sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, congestion, headache, nausea.
• Conditions: allergies, asthma, diabetes, anxiety, depression, insomnia, burnout.
• Mental health is mainstream vocabulary: therapy, therapist, anxiety attack, self-care, boundaries.
• US healthcare: PCP, urgent care, ER, copay, deductible, in-network, claim, premium.
• Critical: urgent care vs ER — different price points by 10x.
• Fitness: cardio, strength training, reps/sets, work out, hit the gym.
• Diet: macros, carbs/protein/fat, vegan/vegetarian/pescatarian, gluten-free, intermittent fasting.
• AmE: the flu, drugstore, shot, Band-Aid, Tylenol.

Next theme: Food, cooking, and restaurants — deep cooking verbs, dietary preferences, and the US restaurant rituals (entrée, doggy bag, split the check).