Hi,
I'm Éloïse, I am 19 years old, and I am study Nursing. I am passionate about the health and well-being of people. That why, today, I propose to you a glossary that I created to facilitate the reading of the next texts of my blog because many terms may seem very technical.
Enjoy!
antibiotic
It's a drug that can treat infectious diseases, either those caused by bacteria.
Example: We're going to give somebody antibiotic (like penicillin) who's got strep.
fr: antibiotique
Autonomy
In the medical sense of the term, it's the degree of an individual's ability to take care of himself and to do his daily activities without problems.
Example: A person manages to keep his autonomy even if he has a paralysis of the left arm.
fr: autonomie
blood test
It's a global or specific analysis of an individual's blood.
Example: He is very tired, so he will have blood tests to find out if he has a health problem such as anemia, a thyroid disorder etc.
fr: prise de sang
Cardiac frequency
Cardiac frequency is the number of heartbeats in a calculated time.
Example: I take my pulse to measure my cardiac frequency after a run to check how much effort it takes to my body.
fr: fréquence cardiaque
clinical assessment
the clinic assessment is the first examination of a patient which allows to knowing the state of this one. It's also the moment when we become aware of the patient's past.
Example: A women meet a nurse to tell her about her health problem and her medical history
fr: examen clinique
dementia
It's is all the diseases that degrade cognitive functions.
Example: A person with Alzheimer's is a person with dementia.
fr: démence
diagnostic
It's a disease identification from universal standard regrouping the symptoms, test results and the person's environment.
Example: A woman has frequent headaches, and dizziness. The diagnosis is a neurological disease.
fr: diagnostique
disease
Organism disorder that causes symptoms.
Example: Julie has a bowel disease, she cannot digest a lot of food and she has to take pills.
fr: maladie
Dosage
It's the action of calculate the amount of a medication which must be given. Furthermore, in certain cases, we calculate the dosage of what is ingest and excrete to be sure that the organs are functioning well, it's call the dosage "ingesta-excreta".
Example: When you have a headache, you read on the little box of painkillers how many pills you can take and at what intervals, you check the dosage.
fr: dosage
Fever
It's a body temperature which exceeds the normal threshold.
Example: A little child caught the flu, to kill the virus, his body increases his temperature. She has a fever.
fr: fièvre
Healing
It's the disappearance of symptoms and the return to health (homeostasis).
Example: Healing is the moment a wound no longer appears on the skin for example.
fr: guérison
Homeostasis
It' the state in which the body is balanced.
Example: If I am a temperature, it's because it's too high for my body, so I am not in homeostasis.
fr: homéostasie
medical history
Previous health facts that will determine the doctor's plan.
Example: A patient has already had several surgeries we may be considering other options than another surgery given his medical history.
fr: antécédents médicaux
mobility
It's the ability to move, it's often analyzing and examining overestimating a patient's mobility is very dangerous because it can lead to a fall.
Example: A patient has difficulty moving around, so he is prescribed a cane for helping his mobility.
fr: mobilité
recovery
It's the moment between illness and recovery.
Example: A women had an illness has returned home but cannot work yet because she's in recovery.
fr: convalescence
side effect
It's the unwanted reaction of a drug.
Example: Some medecines can cause side effect, for example, nausea.
fr: effet secondaire
teamwork
It means being part of a group which has the same goal and the same operating mode. It's to be interdependent and always hearty.
Example: For a patient, a nurse may work in teamwork with two or three other nurses, a doctor and or a team of surgeons and many other professionals because everyone their specialty.
fr: travail d'équipe
technical aid
It's an instrument designed to overcome a handicap.
Example: A wheelchair is an example of technical aid.
fr: aide technique
vaccin
It's the injection of the copy of a harmless virus so that the body can makes antibodies faster when the vaccinated person will get the virus.
Example: During H1N1, we went to be vaccinated to avoid a health crisis.
fr: vaccin
wound
It's a lesion on the body tissus.
Example: The first time you rode a bike, you probably felt and you hurt yourself. You had a wound.
