Hola a todos,
It’s martes again, so that can only mean one thing. It’s time again for your weekly dose of español, courtesy of Diary of a Spanglish Girl!
This week, I’m going to talk you through some of the phrases and palabras you might need or use con el médico.
These useful phrases should come in handy if you ever need to visit the doctors, whether that’s whilst you’re on holiday or because you live here. Now, if you’ve stumbled across this page looking for where you can get emergency health care in Benidorm and where you can use your E111, then that’s over here: Emergency Health Care in Benidorm
Anyway, back to the lesson.
The doctors in Spain are very good and very helpful. If you’re living here, ensure that you have a SIP card, if you qualify. More on that later.
Phrases to use at the doctors in Spanish
To say you’re going to the doctors, that is “Ir al médico”.
Top Tip: If you’re looking at al and a la and can’t make head and tail of it, masculine places, such as “médico” and “parque” you push the a and the el together to make “al”. Feminine places, like the “playa” and the “casa”, remains the exact translation of ‘to the’ which becomes “a la”.
Just like across Europe and the United Kingdom, there are different levels of emergencies, meaning there are different reasons and places you need to see a doctor. It’s important to have the right place.
If you need to call an ambulance (ambulancia), it means it is serious (grave). The same general rules apply when calling an ambulance in Spain and when you call one in the UK. Just like you wouldn’t call an ambulancia in the UK for a cold (un resfriadio), don’t call for one here. Ambulances are for (emergencies) urgencias. If you do need to call the emergency services in Spain, such as ambulance, fire or police, you can do so by calling 112.
If your illness is relatively mild, enfermedad leve, or it’s an enfermdad común (common illness). Then your best place is either the pharmacy (la farmacia) or heading to your centro de salud (healthcare centre).
To make an appointment, you can do so with the following phrases:
“Me gustaría pedir hora con el médico.” – I would like to make an appointment with the doctor.
“Necesito pedir hora con el médico” – I need to make an appointment with the doctor.
“Dígame qué le pasa.” – Tell me what’s wrong
Tengo dolor de cabeza – I have a headache
Me duele la espalda – I have a backache
Tengo fiebre – I have a fever
Me pica la mano – My hand itches
No puedo mover el cuello – I can’t move my neck
Me cuesta respirar – I have trouble breathing
Me cuesta doblar la pierna – I have trouble bending my leg
Tengo mocosidad – I have mucus
Tengo tos – I have a cough
Me he dado un golpe – I hit something
Me he caído – I fell
Me he cortado – I cut myself
Soy alérgico a… – I’m allergic to…
Me he clavado un cristal. – I have a splinter of glass.
Tengo un problema de corazón – I have a heart condition
Useful Vocabulary at the doctors in Spanish
El médico – The doctor
Diagnostica – Diagnostic
Tratamiento – Treatment
Pastillas – Tablets
Jarabes – Syrup
Crema – Cream
Cada 8 horas – Every 8 hours
Tres veces al día – Three times a day
Sangre – Blood
Dolor – Pain
Pruebas – Tests
TAC – CAT scan
En ayuna – Fasting
Hospital – Hospital
Infección – Infection
Urgente – Urgent
(Estoy) Mareado – I feel faint
Fiebre – Fever
(Soy) diabético/a – I’m diabetic
(Soy) epiléptico/a – I’m epileptic
(Soy) asmático/a – I’m asthmatic
I hope these help you to make that doctors visit a little bit less daunting. I hope you never have to use them, but in case you do, they’re available for you to use. If you don’t feel confident speaking, you could also show or copy down the writing on a piece of paper.
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Next week – 4th September 2018 – CLOTHES!
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