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You are here: Home Health & Fitness Healthcare Practical French: I need a doctor!

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04/01/2012Practical French: I need a doctor!

Practical French: I need a doctor! Can you say doctor in French? Here is a short list of medical terms that could come in handy when you have a doctor's appointment, and health terms for every-day life in France.

You can find a family doctor by looking up médecins in the a-z listings. But just making the appointment won't make you feel better; first you have to tell him or her where it hurts.

Basics
Doctor Status
Children Treatments
Common Symptoms and Illnesses
Questions a Doctor May Ask
Specialists
Body Parts

- GP: un généraliste
- Family doctor: un médecin de famille
- Primary physician: un médecin traitant (a specific relationship in the French Social Security system; these doctors are responsible for all basic treatment and supply referrals to most specialists in order to receive reimbursement payments. See 'A guide to French healthcare' for an explanation of these terms.)

- Waiting room: la salle d'attente
- Examination room: salle de consultation
- Diagnosis: un diagnostic
- Prescription: un ordonnance
- To refill a prescription: renouveler un ordonnance
- X-ray: une radio
- Ultrasound/sonogram: une échographie
- Examination of heart, lungs, ears: l'auscultation du cœur, des poumons, des oreilles
- To take your blood pressure: prendre votre tension
- Pap smear: un frottis
- Social Security medical card: la carte vitale (An adult patient must always carry the carte vitale for any medical visit as it proves he/she is covered by Social Security; future versions of the card will also carry a limited medical history.) top

Before going to the doctor, it's advisable to find out his/her status
Doctors in France
- Is he/she a fund doctor or not? Est-il conventionné ou non?
- Does he/she charge more than the basic fee? Pratique-t-il des dépassements d'honoraires? (Some doctors, médecins conventionnés à honoraires libres, are covered by Social Security but authorised to charge more than the state-set consultation fee; a médecin non-conventionné has signed no agreement with Social Security and the reimbursement will be made at a fixed and minimal rate.)

- Medically authorised work stop: un arrêt de travail (usually required by an employer to approve sick time) top

Medical treatment for children

- Medical record book: carnet de santé (This book is the proof that compulsory vaccinations, les vaccinations obligatoires, are up to date for school enrolment or any group childcare setting. It also records the child's growth and illnesses. If you're recently arrived, these are available for free from your local CPAM.)

- Medical authorisation: (usually required for a child to practice an extracurricular sport) un certificat médical pour pratiquer un sport

- Vaccine booster: un rappel de vaccin
- Chicken pox: la varicelle
- Measles: la rugeole
- German measles: la rubéole
- Mumps: oreillons
- Head lice: des poux

- He/She mustn't scratch or the spots will get infected. I'll prescribe an antihistamine to soothe the itching. Il ne faudra pas qu'il/elle se gratte pour ne pas infecter les boutons. Je vais vous prescrire un antihistaminique pour calmer les démangeaisons. top

Common Symptons and illnesses

- I keep coughing, sneezing, I have a headache, my nose is running, I keep having to blow my nose, I have aching muscles. Je tousse, j'éternue, j'ai mal à la tête, j'ai le nez qui coule, je n'arrête pas de me moucher, j'ai des courbatures.

- I have a sore throat/earache. J'ai mal à la gorge/à l'oreille.
- My nose is blocked and I'm having difficulty breathing. J'ai le nez bouché et j'ai du mal à respirer.
- I can't shake this cold.  J'ai un rhume qui traîne en longueur.
- I have chills. J'ai des frissons.
- My voice is hoarse. J'ai la voix enrouée.
- My eyes water. Les yeux pleurent.
- I feel dizzy/have difficulty standing. J'ai des vertiges, je ne tiens pas bien sur les jambes.

- I've got a stomachache and diarrhoea. I have to keep going to the toilet. J'ai mal au ventre et j'ai la diarrhée; je n'arrête pas d'aller aux toilettes.
- Rash: des démangeaisonsDoctors in France
- Pimples/spots: des boutons
- Swelling: des oedèmes
- Blotches: des plaques
- Coughing fits: des quintes de toux
- A stabbing pain: une douleur vive
- Earache/ear abcess: une otite
- Post-nasal drip: une rhinopharyngite
- Bronchitis: une bronchite
- Asthma: l'asthme (m)
- Flu: une grippe
- Stomach flu: une gastro
- Hay fever: le rhume des foins
- Allergies: des allergies
- Diabetes: le diabète
- Migraine headaches: des migraines
- Bladder infection: une infection urinaire, une cystite
- High-blood pressure: la hypertension artérielle
- Slight inflammation: une légère inflammation top

Questions the doctors may ask

- You probably have a fever. Have you taken your temperature? Vous avez sans doute de la fièvre. Vous avez pris votre température?
- You've got a temperature of 39° (102.2 Fahrenheit). Vous avez 39 de fièvre.
- Is it a dry or a productive cough? Votre toux est sèche ou grasse?
- Does it hurt when you swallow? Ca vous fait mal quand vous avalez?
- Your throat is irritated, does it tickle? Votre gorge est irritée, est-ce que cela vous picote? top

Specialists: Most of the names of medical specialisations correspond roughly to those in English.

- Gynaecologist: gynécologue
- Midwife: sage-femme
- Ophthalmologist: opthalmologiste
- Cardiologist: cardiologue
- Physiotherapist: kinésithérapeute
- Physical therapy: des séances de kiné top

Body Parts: Knowing a few terms can help the doctor help you:

- Arm(s) - Bras
- Bladder - Vésicule or Vessic
- Bone - Os
- Blood - Sang
- Breast - Poitrine / Sein (women)
- Cancer - Cancer
- Chest/breast - Poitrine
- Doctor - Docteur
- Ear(s) - Oreille (s)
- Eye(s) - Oeil (yeux)
- Gums - Gencives
- Head (ache) - Tête (mal de tête)
- Heart (attack) - Coeur (arrêt cardiaque)
- Infection - Infection
- Insurance(s) - Assurance
- Kidney(s) - Rein (s)
- Leg(s) - Jambe (s)
- Liver - Foie
- Lung(s) - Poumon (s)
- Mouth - Bouche
- Inflammation - Inflammation
- Pain - Douleur
- Penis - Penis
- Rash - Rougeur
- Sick/unwell - Malade
- Skin - Peau
- Stomach - Estomac
- Tonsils - Amygdales
- Tooth (teeth) - Dent (s)
- Vagina - Vagin top


1 reaction to this article

bubbah posted: 2012-01-04 22:33:47

auscultation des oreilles ?? cela veux dire "ecouter" habituellement avec le stethoscope ...alors??

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1 reaction to this article

bubbah posted: 2012-01-04 22:33:47

auscultation des oreilles ?? cela veux dire "ecouter" habituellement avec le stethoscope ...alors??

Add a comment
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