Antiemetic in Spanish

How the types of antiemetics are described

The National Cancer Institute describes several types of antiemetics by what they act on. Its list includes drugs that block serotonin, a chemical in the brain that can trigger nausea and vomiting; drugs that block dopamine, another chemical in the brain that can trigger nausea and vomiting; and drugs that block the NK-1 receptor, a protein in the brain that can trigger nausea and vomiting. NCI adds that a doctor will also say when to take the antiemetics, such as before or after chemotherapy treatments or a certain amount of time before eating.

Words used when antiemetics do not fully work

NCI notes that nausea and vomiting may be described based on how well antinausea medicines work against them. Breakthrough nausea and vomiting happen within 5 days of starting antinausea treatment. Refractory nausea and vomiting do not get better with antinausea medications. NCI also says that, if uncontrolled, vomiting can lead to serious health problems such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and weight loss.

What it means

An antiemetic is a drug that prevents or reduces nausea and vomiting. It is the name of a kind of medicine, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) also calls these medicines antinausea drugs or antinausea medicines. Nausea is feeling sick to the stomach, as if with the urge to throw up, and vomiting is throwing up. Both are common side effects of cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and NCI says antinausea medicines given before treatment sessions work well to prevent or reduce them. There are many types of antiemetics, and a doctor may prescribe multiple types depending on the severity of the nausea and vomiting. This page explains the word only; decisions about any medicine belong with the prescribing health care provider.

Spanish term: Antiemético
Gender and article: masculine as a noun: el antiemético (plural: los antieméticos); as an adjective it agrees with its noun: medicamento antiemético
Pronunciation: ahn-tee-eh-MEH-tee-koh

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
antinauseoso	General	Given by the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary as another name for antiemético; NCI's Spanish page on nausea and vomiting also writes medicamentos antieméticos o antinauseosos.
antivomitivo	General	Given by the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary as another name for antiemético.

The Real Academia Española dictionary enters the word as antiemético, ca, an adjective with a medical label meaning que sirve para contener el vómito, and notes that, applied to a medicine or a substance, it is also used as a masculine noun. Both patterns appear in health texts: the noun, as in los antieméticos, and the adjective, as in medicamentos antieméticos. The written accent falls on the second e. The same dictionary entry gives emético as the opposite word.

The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary defines antiemético as a medicine that prevents or reduces las náuseas y los vómitos, and says it is also called antinauseoso and antivomitivo. NCI's Spanish page on nausea and vomiting writes medicamentos antieméticos o antinauseosos. That page also explains that vomiting, the act of expelling the contents of the stomach, is also known as emesis, and it uses quimioterapia and radioterapia for the treatments that commonly cause these side effects.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I have had a lot of nausea since my last chemotherapy session.	He tenido muchas náuseas desde mi última sesión de quimioterapia.
Clinician	Have you been vomiting, or is it only nausea?	¿Ha tenido vómitos, o solo náuseas?
Clinician	Are you able to keep liquids down?	¿Puede retener los líquidos sin vomitarlos?
Patient	The nursing staff mentioned an antiemetic. What is that?	El personal de enfermería mencionó un antiemético. ¿Qué es eso?
Clinician	An antiemetic is a medicine for nausea and vomiting.	Un antiemético es un medicamento para las náuseas y los vómitos.
Patient	When am I supposed to take the antiemetic, before or after the treatment?	¿Cuándo se supone que debo tomar el antiemético, antes o después del tratamiento?
Patient	I took the antinausea medicine, but the nausea did not go away.	Tomé el medicamento para las náuseas, pero las náuseas no se me quitaron.
Clinician	Please tell me which medicines you are taking now, so I can write them in your chart.	Por favor, dígame qué medicamentos está tomando ahora, para anotarlos en su expediente.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Antiemetic
Spanish (Español)	Antiemético
Chinese (中文)	止吐藥
Korean (한국어)	항구토제
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Thuốc chống nôn
Filipino (Tagalog)	Antiemetic
Portuguese (Português)	Antiemético
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	ยาแก้คลื่นไส้อาเจียน
Japanese (日本語)	制吐薬

Where you'll see it

prescriptionpharmacy receiptformularychart

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Digestive system

All terms in this area: Digestive system — Sistema digestivo

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.