How to talk to a doctor abroad when you do not speak the language

Before you go: write it down

Put the essentials in one note on your phone, in your own language, before you leave the hotel. A translator can turn a clear note into the doctor's language in seconds; it cannot guess what you forgot to write.

• What hurts, since when, and how it changed.
• Medicines you take and the doses.
• Allergies — especially to medicines.
• Chronic conditions, pregnancy, recent surgery.

At the reception desk

Reception is a short conversation: name, insurance, what brings you in. This is exactly where face-to-face conversation translation works well — one phone between you, each of you talks in your own language, and Dilinga translates every turn out loud. The receptionist does not need to install anything.

With the doctor

Speak in short, simple sentences and one idea at a time. Let the translation finish before you continue, and read the doctor's answer on the screen as well as listening to it — numbers and drug names are easier to check in writing.

If something is unclear, ask again in different words. "How many times a day?" and "For how many days?" are worth asking separately.

When to ask for a professional interpreter

A phone translator is a great help for describing symptoms and understanding instructions. For serious decisions — surgery, a diagnosis you do not understand, consent forms — ask the hospital for a professional interpreter. Many hospitals that treat foreign patients have one or can call one by phone.

After the visit

At the pharmacy, the same face-to-face mode helps you confirm the dose. If the prescription or the medicine box is in a language you cannot read, point the camera translation at it and read it in yours.

Questions