Tag Archives: Word of the Week

hormigueo

m. paresthesia; prickling or tingling sensation

ganas de comer

f. appetite; patients may understand this better than “apetito”.

frio -a

m., adj. cold; also used to describe medicines and other physical agents capable of causing/curing disease as well as the diseases themselves. In some areas, pills may be rejected on the basis that they are the incorrect color for the disease (red is hot; green is cold).

echar un pollo

v. lit. to throw out a chicken; to cough up and spit out purulent sputum

desipela

f. cellulitis, esp. of the leg which is treated by rubbing with a frog or tortilla dough with achote; possibly derived from “erisipela” (erysipelas).

cachetes

m. cheeks; according to superstition, babies’ cheeks are thought to sag if you stand them up.

bilis

f. bile; anger; related to old concept of the liver being involved in anger

aguado 

adj. relaxed, hypotonic; parents commonly want calcium supplements for children who  are “aguado”.