Diarrhea in Spanish

What it means

Diarrhea is loose, watery stools (bowel movements). A person has diarrhea when they pass loose stools three or more times in one day. Acute diarrhea lasts a short time, usually about one or two days, and then goes away on its own. Chronic diarrhea lasts at least four weeks and can be a symptom of a chronic disease. Common causes include bacteria from contaminated food or water, parasites, some medicines, and problems digesting certain ingredients or foods. Other possible symptoms are cramps or pain in the abdomen, an urgent need to use the bathroom, and loss of bowel control. Diarrhea can make a person feel weak and dehydrated, and dehydration can be serious, especially for children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.

Diarrhea in Spanish

Spanish term: Diarrea
Gender and article: feminine: la diarrea
Pronunciation: dyah-RREH-ah

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
heces sueltas / heces acuosas	General	Plain descriptions that the MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia lists among its alternative names for diarrea.
curso	Mexico, Panama, western Venezuela; euphemism in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador	Masculine noun recorded by the Diccionario de americanismos with the meaning diarrhea, with those country marks; marked obsolescent for Colombia.

Diarrea is the word MedlinePlus en español uses, and it is feminine: la diarrea, la diarrea aguda, la diarrea crónica. MedlinePlus en español defines it as heces acuosas y blandas and says a person has it when passing heces sueltas three or more times in a day. Its encyclopedia lists heces acuosas, deposiciones frecuentes, heces o deposiciones sueltas and heces sin forma among the alternative names.

Words MedlinePlus en español uses alongside it: deshidratación (dehydration), diarrea del viajero (traveler's diarrhea), intoxicación alimentaria (food poisoning) and solución de rehidratación oral (oral rehydration solution). The Diccionario de americanismos records the regional word curso with the meaning diarrhea, marked for Mexico, Panama and western Venezuela and as a euphemism in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Ecuador. It does not replace diarrea as the headword on this page.

Phrases for an appointment

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

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I have had diarrhea for three days.	Tengo diarrea desde hace tres días.
Clinician	How many times a day are you having loose stools?	¿Cuántas veces al día tiene heces sueltas?
Clinician	Have you seen blood or pus in your stool?	¿Ha visto sangre o pus en las heces?
Patient	I also have cramps and a fever.	También tengo calambres y fiebre.
Clinician	Have you traveled recently or eaten anything that might have been contaminated?	¿Ha viajado recientemente o ha comido algo que pudiera estar contaminado?
Patient	My mouth is dry and I feel dizzy when I stand up.	Tengo la boca seca y siento mareo al ponerme de pie.
Clinician	I am going to order a stool test to look for the cause.	Voy a pedirle un análisis de heces para buscar la causa.
Clinician	Blood in the stool or signs of severe dehydration need urgent care; in an emergency, call 911.	La sangre en las heces o los signos de deshidratación grave necesitan atención urgente; en una emergencia, llame al 911.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Diarrhea
Spanish (Español)	Diarrea
Chinese (中文)	腹瀉
Korean (한국어)	설사
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Tiêu chảy
Filipino (Tagalog)	Pagtatae
Portuguese (Português)	Diarreia
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	ท้องเสีย
Japanese (日本語)	下痢

Where you'll see it

chartintake formtriage notemedical record

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: R19 → Other symptoms and signs involving the digestive system and abdomen

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.