Note-taking exercise to interpreting studies who want to practice medical assignments or public service in general. Note: The Speech starts STRAIGHT AWAY!
Topic(s): Medical, Health
Terms: self-medication, cold, migraine, tonsillitis, sore throat, earache, Strepsils, throat lozenge, paracetamol, ibuprofen, middle ear infection, eardrum, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, mitral valve regurgitation, arrhythmias, penicillin
Sources:
- https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/ears-nose-and-throat/tonsillitis
- https://www.julianhamann.com/throat-and-voice/complications-of-tonsillitis
Also check these books to learn and practice interpreting.
Good For Practicing:
- Interpreting note-taking and simultaneous interpreting practice
- South African accent
- Medical terminology
A special thanks to Lauren Lovegrove for taking care of this speech!
Also available on Speechpool.
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Script*:
*Please check the script only after you’ve done the note-taking exercise, otherwise that’s cheating! 🙂
Illnesses are an inevitable part of life for us humans. They are awful and nobody likes them, but every single one of us will experience a number of health issues over the course of our lives, in some shape or form.
Some medical conditions require immediate and thorough treatment, while others are way more common and not particularly severe. Sometimes we don’t even feel the need to see a doctor; many of us may are just likely to self-medicate in order to handle a cold or a mild migraine, just to name two examples.
However, it’s important for us to be aware that some of those apparently unharmful health issues may sometimes result in major problems.
The example I would like to cover today is sore throat, more specifically tonsilitis.
Tonsilitis is a condition that essentially consists of an inflammation of the tonsils, which can be caused by a viral or bacterial infection.
Its most notable symptom is sore throat and pain when swallowing, but it can also involve earache, fever, coughing or headaches.
Tonsillitis is a medical issue we don’t tend to worry much about. Painful and uncomfortable as it can be, many of us end up just doing the usual: drink tea, take a Strepsils or any other throat lozenge, a couple of paracetamol tbs and just go to work as normal.
Indeed, taking paracetamol or ibuprofen is often enough, because symptoms usually pass after 3 to 4 days.
But that’s not always the case. Sometimes symptoms may persist even after 4 days. And when that happens, it’s important that you go see a doctor as soon as possible.
It may seem an exaggeration to some, but tonsilitis may end up being much more than just a sore throat.
Here’s the main reason why you shouldn’t ignore a tonsilitis after that initial 4-day period. Even if the pain is tolerable and doesn’t affect that much your ability to go about your life, there are certain severe – potentially permanent – complications that may be caused by the lack of adequate medical treatment.
When it is caused by a bacterial infection, the prescription of antibiotics is likely to be of utmost importance. That’s because, if untreated, the tonsil infection may spread to other areas of the body.
For instance, you may get a middle ear infection, where fluid between the eardrum and inner ear becomes infected by bacteria.
Even worst than that, the patient may end up suffering from scarlet fever or rheumatic fever. These complications are much more serious and may result in life-lasting health problems, including chronic heart conditions.
For example: a rheumatic fever can permanently damage the mitral valve and cause mitral valve regurgitation. The patient may need to undergo heart surgery, as severe mitral valve regurgitation can cause heart failure or arrhythmias.
People say these complications are kind of rare these days, but let’s think about that for a second.
It is true that rheumatic fever is not as common as it used to be. But that’s in part thanks to the discovery of penicillin; in other words, it became rare because nowadays there’s proper treatment for a large range of bacterial infections – including tonsilitis – that was not available once upon a time.
The key take-away is: it’s unlikely those severe complications will affect you, provided that you actually get treatment. So, for your own sake, make sure you never allow a tonsillitis to go untreated for longer than it should.
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