Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning.
And this week's topic is health.
Ready for the story?
Here we go.
I've suffered from allergies since I was a little kid.
Having lots of allergies can be a real pain in the neck.
There's so many things I wish I could eat, but I can't.
Peanut butter, for example.
You have no idea how sad I was the day I found out I was allergic to peanuts.
And then eggs, peaches, and then lots of other fruits.
I've mostly learned to live with them, but a couple months ago, I got really scared.
I was out camping with a bunch of friends and there was a lot of pollen in the air.
I normally just sneeze a lot and that's it.
But that time, my allergies flared up and it got more and more difficult for me to breathe.
I soon realized I was having an asthma attack.
My friends panicked and before they could do anything, I passed out.
My friends got so scared and brought me to the hospital immediately.
Now, every time I go camping with my friends, they always call me to make sure I've packed my inhaler.
So it's finally time to take a look at the words.
Let's begin with expression number one.
Suffer from allergies.
I've suffered from allergies ever since I was a child.
How do you know you suffer from allergies?
What are the most common symptoms?
Well, it depends on the allergy and it depends on how serious it is.
Some people may have difficulty breathing, for example.
Some people may develop a rash, you know, when your skin gets red and it starts itching.
These are the most common symptoms, okay?
Do you suffer from any allergies? there's one thing that will cause me an allergic reaction.
And it's not something that you use very often.
It's a cream and it's an anesthetic cream.
So it's something that you put on an area to make it numb.
Okay.
So that you don't feel any pain.
And it's sometimes used like I found out.
I was allergic to it when I was younger and I had to get a small surgery and they put it on me And I.
It got a little red, the area got a little red and he started to itch.
And so we found that out and it's no big deal, you know.
But recently I went to the dentist and I told them.
I said okay, this is the cream that I use.
I mean, this is the, this is the cream that I'm allergic to, because I normally say it, because you never know.
And they said, oh, great thing you told us because this is actually the cream that we use.
And a few days later, I went back to the place because I had to get something done to my teeth.
And I noticed they put something in my mouth.
And I was like, okay, should I say something?
And then I did say something.
And the dentist was like, oh okay, maybe I should just like wash your mouth off or something, because he actually had put the cream in my mouth.
And you know, if it's in your mouth and your throat swells up, or whatever in your mouth swells up, then it may be difficult – to breathe.
And so good thing I told them I had no allergic reaction, but you know.
Word number two, a pain in the neck.
Having lots of allergies can be a real pain in the neck.
If something is a pain in the neck, is it pleasant or annoying?
We're talking about pain, so it's obviously related to something annoying.
And if something is a pain in the neck, do you literally feel pain in the neck?
No, that's just an expression.
You don't actually feel pain in the neck.
You're talking about something that's very annoying, just like pain in the neck.
Can someone be a pain in the neck?
Yes, you can say it.
It's not very nice to say it.
But you can say, for example oh my gosh, my friend Mike, he's such a pain in the neck, meaning they're annoying.
Can you think of something or someone that is a pain in the neck?
Let's see.
What do we think it's a pain in the neck?
Okay, I've got it.
I know someone who can be a real pain in the neck.
And that's me.
I can be a real pain in the neck.
And a lot of people can actually tell you that that's true.
I have a lot of needs and I'm always complaining.
I don't want to make it sound too bad, but yeah, I can be a pain in the neck.
I can also be very sweet though.
So that's good.
That's why people like me, but still.
Word number three, flare up.
My allergies flared up.
If your allergies flare up, do they get better or worse?
If your allergies flare up, they get a lot worse.
And if your allergies flare up, do they get worse suddenly or slowly?
Normally, it's a very sudden reaction.
It's a very fast reaction.
And what should you do if your allergies flare up again?
I don't have a lot of experience, but I would say definitely go to the doctor.
Maybe you have like the kid in the story, maybe you have an inhaler with you or another.
I don't know type of drug that you take in this case.
But yeah definitely, if it's something super serious, then just go straight to the hospital and they'll take care of you.
Number four, have an asthma attack.
I was having an asthma attack.
If you're having an asthma attack, does it get easier or harder for you to breathe?
If you're having an asthma attack, it's really hard to breathe.
You hyperventilate.
Have you ever had an asthma attack?
I... don't suffer from asthma attacks.
I'm very lucky.
But my niece, she's now 10 and But she does suffer from asthma attacks.
She has some allergies.
She's allergic to cats and she used to be allergic to eggs.
So when she's exposed, for example, to cat hair, it gets harder for her to breathe.
And what you will hear is the breathing changes.
If you're having – even as a small, like an asthma attack, it kind of sounds like –
Okay, that's creepy, but you know, you get the point.
Anyway, the important thing here is that you say have an asthma attack and not anything else.
Word number five, pass out.
I passed out.
If you pass out, do you become conscious or unconscious?
If you pass out, you become unconscious.
And if you pass out, are you unconscious for a long time or a short time?
Well, it really depends.
It can be short or long time.
Normally, you're not passed out for like a day though.
It's usually within a few minutes.
A lot of times you will become conscious again.
What can make you pass out?
Oh, lots of things.
Maybe let's say if you fall and hit your head, that's going to cause you to pass out sometimes.
If you don't have a lot of energy, maybe you haven't eaten in a while, you might pass out.
I don't know if that's really true, but from fear you could pass out, or at least that's what you see in movies, right?
Yeah.
These are just some of the reasons why you could pass out.
Have you ever passed out or have you ever seen someone pass out?
Why and what happened?
I've never passed out.
I think.
I've gotten close to passing out, because I remember this one time I was sitting and I hadn't eaten in a while and I was teaching, and so I couldn't really eat anything.
And I remember just like feeling very weak and I started seeing – things in front of me.
And I'm not talking about ghosts.
I'm talking about like dots and like it started to become black.
And so I figured, okay, this is what it feels like.
But I immediately told my, my student, they were like, oh my gosh, you should eat something.
You're going to feel better.
And so I had a little bit of cheese and I felt better again.
So I did not pass out, but I think I was close to passing out.
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
