50 Essential Medical Spanish Phrases for Your Upcoming Physical

Checking your physical health is an important aspect of our general well-being, especially if you’re living abroad. Whether you’re a traveler who needs to check your health status or a doctor volunteering in a Spanish-speaking country, language barriers make the whole experience scarier than it needs to be. With these Spanish medical phrases, you won’t have to worry about this!

As a Patient

It’s a priority to communicate any pain, annoyances, and changes in your body that you’ve noticed and are concerning to you. Even if it turns out to be something minor, or nothing at all, the peace of mind of knowing your body’s health is a great way to reduce stress in your life. 

As a Doctor

Your local translator won’t always be by your side. You can save yourself the awkwardness and inefficiency of language barriers by learning some key phrases that will move your appointment along smoothly. Even if you’re not traveling abroad, learning Spanish as a doctor is a very important skill, not to mention the fact that bilingual doctors earn more!

Beyond Vocabulary

Knowing basic medical vocabulary and body parts is a great place to begin if you want to communicate with your doctor or patients. Today, we’re going a step further by providing you with some phrases that will make your appointment go smoothly. 

Knowing medical Spanish phrases for patients and doctors is important since you’ll need to know both ends of the conversation in order to effectively communicate with one another. Let’s get started!

50 Medical Spanish Phrases for Your Physical Check-Up

1. Do you drink? — ¿Usted toma alcohol?
2. Do you smoke? — ¿Usted fuma?
3. I do drink. / I don’t drink. — Sí tomo. / No tomo.
4. I do smoke. / I don’t smoke — Sí fumo. / No fumo.
5. Do you take any medication? — ¿Toma algún medicamento?
6. I do/don’t take medication. — Sí / no tomo medicamento.
7. I’ll check your blood pressure. — Voy a chequear su presión arterial.
8. I will check your heart rate. — Voy a chequear su ritmo cardíaco.
9. I’ll take your temperature. — Voy a tomar su temperatura.
10. Breathe in. — Inhale.
11. Breathe out. — Exhale.
12. Hold your breath. — Aguante la respiración.
13. Open your mouth and say “ah.” — Abra la boca y diga “ah.”
14. Turn your head and cough. — Voltee la cabeza y tosa.
15. Look up. — Mire arriba.
16. Look at me. — Míreme
17. I need to draw a blood sample. — Necesito tomar una muestra de sangre.
18. I’ll conduct a cholesterol check. — Necesito chequear su colesterol.
19. Are you allergic to anything? — ¿Es alérgico/a a algo?
20. I’m allergic to… — Soy alérgico/a a…
21. Do you have your lab results? — ¿Tiene sus resultados del laboratorio?
22. Here are my lab results. — Aquí tengo mis resultados del laboratorio.
23. Which vaccines do I need? — ¿Qué vacunas necesito?
24. You need these vaccines. — Necesita estas vacunas.
25. What screening tests do you recommend for my age? — ¿Qué exámenes recomienda para mi edad?
26. Does your family have medical history of any disease? — ¿Existe historial médico de enfermedades en su familia?
27. Do you use any medical devices such as a pacemaker? — ¿Usa dispositivos médicos como marcapasos?
28. Do you have any emergency contacts? — ¿Tiene contactos de emergencia?
29. How often do you exercise? — ¿Qué tan seguido se ejercita?
30. I exercise every day / week / month — Me ejercito cada día / semana / mes
31. I don’t exercise. — No me ejercito.
32. How is your sleep? — ¿Cómo es su sueño?
33. My sleep is regular / irregular / light / heavy — Mi sueño es regular / irregular / liviano / pesado
34. I sleep _____ hours a day. — Duermo _____ horas diarias,
35. Where do you feel pain or discomfort? — ¿Dónde siente dolor o incomodidad?
36. I feel pain here. — Me duele aquí.
37. What is your diet like? — ¿Cómo es su dieta?
38. My diet consists of… — Mi dieta consiste en…
39. How long have you had this condition for? — ¿Por cuánto tiempo ha tenido esta condición?
40. I’ve had this condition for a week / month / year — He tenido esta condición por una semana / mes / año
41. Have you fasted today? — ¿Ayunó hoy?
42. Can you recommend me a specialist? — ¿Me puede recomendar un especialista?
43. Should I be concerned about…? — ¿Debería de preocuparme por…?
44. When can we make the next appointment? — ¿Cuándo puede ser la próxima cita?
45. How often should I take this medication? — ¿Cada cuánto debo tomar este medicamento?
46. I need you to do the following tests… — Necesito que se haga los siguientes exámenes…
47. I want to get a second opinion on this. — Quiero una segunda opinión de esto.
48. Can I get a medication for this? — ¿Puedo conseguir un medicamento para esto?
49. What are the side effects of this medication? — ¿Cuáles son los efectos secundarios de este medicamento?
50. What can I change to improve my health? — ¿Qué puedo cambiar para mejorar mi salud?

Health as a Priority

You never know when you’ll need a medical check-up. Because language barriers are harmful to effective communication, learning these medical Spanish phrases is going to help you get better medical attention if you’re in a Spanish-speaking country. If you’re too shy or unsure about visiting a doctor abroad, you can always ask a friend to go with you! 

Practice and Memorize

While having support is useful, keep in mind that privacy may be required for these check-ups, and so knowing these phrases is the best option! If you want to get some help practicing for your next check-up, get a free class at Homeschool Spanish Academy where you can practice vocabulary and phrases about medicine and many other topics with a native Spanish speaker!

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Rafael Parra

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

A native Spanish speaker from Guatemala, I'm a psychology student, creative developer, and aspiring polymath who's always learning new things and improving as a person. I'm a nerd when it comes to language, education, and videogames. My goal is to practice all these disciplines in unison and make something great with my time.

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