Lyme Disease in Spanish

What it means

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that people get from the bite of an infected tick. In the United States it is usually caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, and the ticks that spread it are blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks. Early symptoms start between 3 and 30 days after an infected tick bites and can include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and a red rash called erythema migrans, which the MedlinePlus encyclopedia describes as a "bull's eye" rash. If the infection is not treated, it can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system. Most Lyme disease tests check for antibodies made by the body in response to infection, and the disease is treated with antibiotics. MedlinePlus also gives the name borreliosis.

Spanish term: Enfermedad de Lyme
Gender and article: feminine: la enfermedad de Lyme
Pronunciation: ehn-fehr-meh-DAHD deh LAIM

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
borreliosis	General	Listed among the alternative names in the MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia article on Lyme disease.

Enfermedad de Lyme is the name MedlinePlus en español uses on both its health topic page and its encyclopedia article. It is feminine, la enfermedad de Lyme, and both pages write Lyme with a capital letter. The encyclopedia article says the disease was first reported in the United States in 1977 in the town of Old Lyme, CT. The other name appears in two spellings: borreliosis among the encyclopedia's alternative names and borrelosis on the health topic page.

A tick is una garrapata, and the kinds named on the health topic page are garrapatas de patas negras or garrapatas de venado. The bite is a picadura. The rash is eritema migratorio; the health topic page introduces it as un sarpullido rojo, and both pages also say erupción. The two pages describe its look differently: tiro al blanco on the health topic page and forma de escarapela in the encyclopedia. Symptoms that continue after treatment are called síndrome posterior a la enfermedad de Lyme.

Phrases for an appointment

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

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I found a tick attached to my leg after a hike last weekend.	Encontré una garrapata adherida a la pierna después de una excursión el fin de semana pasado.
Clinician	Do you know how long the tick was attached?	¿Sabe cuánto tiempo estuvo adherida la garrapata?
Patient	I think more than a day. I pulled it off with tweezers.	Creo que más de un día. Me la quité con unas pinzas.
Clinician	Have you noticed a red rash that is getting bigger where the tick bit you?	¿Ha notado un sarpullido rojo que se va agrandando donde le picó la garrapata?
Patient	Yes, and I have also had fever, chills, and a headache.	Sí, y también he tenido fiebre, escalofríos y dolor de cabeza.
Clinician	Do your joints or muscles ache?	¿Le duelen las articulaciones o los músculos?
Patient	Could this be Lyme disease? I was camping in a wooded area.	¿Podría ser la enfermedad de Lyme? Estuve acampando en una zona boscosa.
Clinician	I am going to order a blood test for Lyme disease. We may need to repeat it later.	Voy a pedirle un análisis de sangre para la enfermedad de Lyme. Es posible que tengamos que repetirlo más adelante.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Lyme Disease
Spanish (Español)	Enfermedad de Lyme
Chinese (中文)	萊姆病
Korean (한국어)	라임병
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Bệnh Lyme
Filipino (Tagalog)	Sakit na Lyme
Portuguese (Português)	Doença de Lyme
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	โรคไลม์
Japanese (日本語)	ライム病

Where you'll see it

chartmedical recordprescription

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: A69 → Other spirochetal infections

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: Blood and immune system

All terms in this area: Blood and immune system — Sangre y sistema inmunitario

Sources

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