Ramiro no puede tragar.

Medical Spanish for healthcare providers: dialogue 23

Click on the speaker's name to hear voice.

23. Ramiro no puede tragar. (Ramiro cannot swallow.)

Ramiro: ¡Por favor, ayúdeme! ¡Siento que me voy a ahogar!

(Please, help me! I feel like I am going to suffocate!) Note: "ahogar" can also mean "choke" or "drown."

Doctora: Tranquilo, dígame, ¿qué es lo que tiene?

(Calm down. Tell me, what is it that is going on?) Note: Literally, it says, "Tranquil, tell me, what is it that you have?"

Ramiro: Hace diez días empecé a tener malestar en la garganta. Me recetaron tratamiento porque me diagnosticaron amigdalitis pultácea.

(Ten days ago, I began to have discomfort in the throat. They prescribed to me treatment because they diagnosed to me purulent tonsilitis.)

Doctora: Ah, entiendo. Abra la boca, por favor.

(Ah, I understand. Open the mouth, please.)

Ramiro: Hoy estoy peor que nunca. Ahora, no puedo tragar ni siquiera mi propia saliva. Tengo dos días sólo tomando líquidos. Vine porque siento que me falta el aire para respirar.

(Today I am worse than ever. Now, I cannot even swallow my own saliva. For two days, I am only taking liquids. I came because I feel that I am short of breath.) Note: Remember that double negatives are normal in Spanish. Literally, the sentence reads, "Today I am worse than never. Now, I cannot swallow not even my own saliva. I have two days only taking liquids. I came because I feel that it lacks to me the air for to breathe."

Doctora: Sí, en efecto tiene algo severo. Es un absceso peri-amigdalino, que requiere drenaje quirúrgico de inmediato. Voy a llamar al servicio de cirugía.

(Yes, in effect you have something severe. It is a peri-tonsilar abscess, that requires surgical drainage immediately. I am going to call the surgical service.)

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Ramiro no puede tragar.