Jaundice in Spanish

What it means

Jaundice is a yellow color of the skin, mucus membranes, or eyes. The yellow coloring comes from bilirubin, a byproduct of old red blood cells: the liver helps break down bilirubin so that the body can remove it through the stool, and jaundice can occur when too much bilirubin builds up in the body. Symptoms commonly include yellow skin and a yellow color in the white part of the eyes, dark or brown-colored urine, pale or clay-colored stools, and itching. MedlinePlus says jaundice is often a sign of a problem with the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas, and that many healthy babies have some jaundice during the first week of life. It tells readers to contact their provider if they develop jaundice. MedlinePlus also calls it icterus.

Jaundice in Spanish

Spanish term: Ictericia
Gender and article: feminine: la ictericia
Pronunciation: eek-teh-REE-syah

Ictericia is a feminine noun: la ictericia. The Spanish dictionary marks it as a medical term and defines it as a yellow coloring of the skin and mucous membranes caused by an increase of bile pigments in the blood; it gives aliacán as a synonym. MedlinePlus en español uses ictericia as the title of both its topic page and its encyclopedia article. In English, MedlinePlus lists icterus as another name for jaundice.

Words that go with it in MedlinePlus en español: bilirrubina (bilirubin); la parte blanca de los ojos, with esclerótica in parentheses, for the white part of the eyes; orina oscura o de color marrón for dark urine; heces pálidas o de color arcilla for pale or clay-colored stools; and picazón, with prurito in parentheses, for itching. Its encyclopedia article also lists coloración amarilla de la piel y los ojos among its alternative names.

Phrases for an appointment

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

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	My skin and the whites of my eyes have turned yellow.	La piel y la parte blanca de los ojos se me han puesto amarillas.
Clinician	When did you first notice the yellow color?	¿Cuándo notó por primera vez el color amarillo?
Patient	About three days ago. My urine is also very dark.	Hace unos tres días. También tengo la orina muy oscura.
Clinician	Have your stools been pale or clay-colored?	¿Ha tenido las heces pálidas o de color arcilla?
Clinician	Do you have itching?	¿Tiene picazón?
Patient	Yes, my whole body itches, especially at night.	Sí, me pica todo el cuerpo, sobre todo por la noche.
Clinician	I am going to order a blood test to measure your bilirubin.	Voy a pedirle un análisis de sangre para medir la bilirrubina.
Patient	My newborn baby's skin looks yellow. Is that jaundice?	La piel de mi bebé recién nacido se ve amarilla. ¿Es ictericia?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Jaundice
Spanish (Español)	Ictericia
Chinese (中文)	黃疸
Korean (한국어)	황달
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Vàng da
Filipino (Tagalog)	Paninilaw ng balat
Portuguese (Português)	Icterícia
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	ดีซ่าน
Japanese (日本語)	黄疸

Where you'll see it

charttriage notemedical record

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: R17 → Unspecified jaundice

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.