At the Pharmacy in Spanish: Phrases for When You Feel Sick

My second week in Mexico City, street tacos finally got me. I stood in a farmacia trying to mime a stomach ache while the pharmacist waited patiently. That day I learned something useful: in Spain and Latin America, the pharmacy is where you go first, not the doctor. Pharmacists recommend medicine on the spot for everyday problems, often without a prescription. You just have to be able to say what is wrong.

This guide walks you through the whole visit in order: what you say when you walk in, what the pharmacist will ask back, and how to understand the dosage so you do not take a sleeping pill for breakfast.

Step 1: Say what is wrong

You need two structures and one magic question. First, me duele for pain. The verb agrees with the body part, so it becomes duelen when the part is plural.

• Me duele la cabeza. (My head hurts.)
• Me duele la garganta. (My throat hurts.)
• Me duelen los oídos. (My ears hurt.)

Second, tengo for everything that is not pain:

• Tengo tos. (I have a cough.)
• Tengo fiebre. (I have a fever.)
• Tengo diarrea. (I have diarrhea.)

Yes, say that last one out loud if you need to. Pharmacists in tourist areas hear it ten times a day and nobody blinks.

And the magic question that works even when you do not know the medicine's name:

• ¿Tiene algo para el dolor de garganta? (Do you have something for a sore throat?)

Swap in any problem after para and you are set.

Step 2: What the pharmacist will ask you

Pharmacists use usted with customers, so the questions come in the formal form. Three come up constantly.

¿Desde cuándo se siente así? (Since when have you felt like this?) Answer with desde:

• Desde ayer. (Since yesterday.)
• Desde hace dos días. (For two days.)

¿Es alérgico a algún medicamento? (Are you allergic to any medication?) Answer honestly:

• No, a ninguno. (No, to none.)
• Soy alérgica a la penicilina. (I am allergic to penicillin.)

¿Tiene otros síntomas? (Do you have other symptoms?) Fire off another tengo sentence or say No, nada más. (No, nothing else.)

Step 3: Understand the dosage

This is the part where nodding along can actually hurt you. Listen for cada plus a number of hours:

• Tome una pastilla cada ocho horas. (Take one pill every eight hours.)
• Tómela con comida. (Take it with food.)
• En ayunas. (On an empty stomach.)

If it goes too fast, use the single most useful sentence I know for pharmacies:

• ¿Me lo puede escribir, por favor? (Can you write it down for me, please?)

They always can, and now the instructions are in your pocket instead of half remembered.

The whole visit in one dialogue

Farmacéutica: Buenas tardes, ¿en qué le puedo ayudar? (Good afternoon, how can I help you?)

Tú: Hola, ¿tiene algo para el dolor de estómago? Tengo diarrea también. (Hi, do you have something for a stomach ache? I have diarrhea too.)

Farmacéutica: ¿Desde cuándo se siente así? (Since when have you felt like this?)

Tú: Desde anoche. Comí en la calle. (Since last night. I ate on the street.)

Farmacéutica: ¿Es alérgico a algún medicamento? (Are you allergic to any medication?)

Tú: No, a ninguno. (No, to none.)

Farmacéutica: Tome una cápsula cada ocho horas, con comida. Y tome mucha agua. (Take one capsule every eight hours, with food. And drink a lot of water.)

Tú: Perfecto. ¿Me lo puede escribir, por favor? (Perfect. Can you write it down for me, please?)

What would you say?

Put yourself at the counter and pick your answer at each moment of the visit.

Your pharmacy cheat sheet