First, please create an account

Already have a Sophia account?

Drug Allergies, Routes, and Preparations

Author: Sophia

what's covered

In this lesson, you will learn how to ask about drug allergies and current medications, as well as say the different drug routes and preparations in Spanish so that you can communicate them to patients. Specifically, this lesson will cover:

Las Alergias a Medicinas (Drug Allergies) and Current Medications
Preparación de los Medicamentos (Drug Routes and Preparations)

1. Las Alergias a Medicinas (Drug Allergies) and Current Medications

In the next two lessons, you will learn the Spanish names for over-the-counter and prescription medications. First, it's important to know how to discuss some of the general topics related to medicine.

To find out if a patient has a drug allergy or is currently taking any medications, you can use the questions below.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation
Are you allergic to anything?	¿Es alérgico a algo en particular?	ace ah-lair-he-koh ah ahl-go ane par-tee-coo-lar
Yes. I’m allergic to…	Sí. Soy alérgico a…	This is a patient response.
No.	No.	This is a patient response.
Are you taking any medication?	¿Está tomando algún medicamento?	ace-tah toe-mahn-doe all-goon may-dee-kah-main-toe
What medications have you taken in the last 24 hours?	¿Qué medicamentos ha tomado en las últimas veinticuatro horas?	k’wall may-dee-kah-main-tohs ah toe-mahn-doe ain lahs ool-tee-mahs bain-tee-k’wah-troh oh-rahs
Yes. I’m taking…	Sí. Estoy tomando…	This is a patient response.
Yes. I’ve taken…	Sí. He tomado…	This is a patient response.

2. Preparación de los Medicamentos (Drug Routes and Preparations)

You also need to learn the drug preparations/routes. These will be useful in telling patients how they need to take their medication.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation
oral	oral	oh-rahl
orally	por boca	pour bow-kah
rectally	rectalmente	rake-tall-main-tay
topical	tópica	toe-pee-call
vaginal	vaginal	bah-he-nall
vaginally	vaginalmente	bah-he-nall-main-tay
capsule	una cápsula	oo-nah cop-sue-la
cream	una pomada / una crema	oo-nah poe-ma-dah / oo-nah cray-ma
drops	unas gotas	oo-nahs go-tahs
elixir	un elixir	oon ay-leak-sair
injection	una inyección	oo-nah een-yake-see-own
inhaler	un inhalador	oon een-ah-la-door
liquid	una líquida	oo-nah lee-key-dah
lotion	una loción	oo-nah lo-see-own
lozenge	una pastilla	oo-nah pa-stee-yah
nose drops	unas gotas para la nariz	oo-nahs go-tahs pa-rah la nah-reece
pill	una píldora	oo-nah peel-doe-rah
powder	un polvo	oon pole-bow
spray	un atomizador	oon ah-toe-me-sah-door
suppository	un supositorio	oon sue-poe-see-toe-ree-oh
suspension	una suspensión	oo-nah sue-spain-see-own
syrup	un jarabe	oon ha-rah-bay
tablet	una tableta	oo-nah tah-blay-tah

summary

In this lesson, you learned how to ask patients about drug allergies and current medications. You also learned various drug routes and preparations in Spanish. This vocabulary provides an important foundation, as the later lessons in this course will teach you how to discuss the use of specific medications and other pain management options with patients.

¡Buena suerte!

Support

If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact SpanishforNursesSupport@capella.edu for assistance.

If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.

Source: This content has been adapted from "Spanish for Nurses" by Stephanie Langston.