Medication Instructions in Spanish

    Clear medication counseling reduces errors and improves adherence. These Spanish phrases cover dose, frequency, timing, food interactions, side effects, and follow-up.

    EnglishSpanishAudio
    medicationel medicamento
    prescriptionla receta
    pharmacyla farmacia
    pill / tabletla pastilla / la tableta
    capsulela cápsula
    dosela dosis
    Take this once daily.Tome este medicamento una vez al día.
    Take twice daily.Tome dos veces al día.
    Take every 8 hours.Tome cada 8 horas.
    Take with food.Tome con comida.
    Take on an empty stomach.Tome con el estómago vacío.
    Take in the morning.Tome por la mañana.
    Take at night.Tome por la noche.
    Finish all the antibiotics.Termine todos los antibióticos.
    Do not drive after taking this.No maneje después de tomar esto.
    Stop if you get a rash.Pare si le sale sarpullido.
    Side effectslos efectos secundarios
    Drink plenty of water.Tome mucha agua.
    Return if symptoms get worse.Regrese si los síntomas empeoran.

    Using these terms with patients

    • Use teach-back: "Para asegurarme de que expliqué bien, ¿cómo va a tomar esta pastilla?" This catches dosing errors that a nod does not.
    • "Una vez al día" is safer than "cada 24 horas" — interval arithmetic is a common source of double-dosing.
    • Warn explicitly about finishing antibiotics. Stopping when symptoms improve is a widespread habit: "Termine todos los antibióticos aunque se sienta mejor."

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    Frequently Asked Questions