一步一个脚印

Briefing

A Mandarin-speaking patient is speaking to an English-speaking General Practitioner. The patient is having some trouble with constipation.

Listen to Dialogue

Mandarin English Dialogue #32 – Constipation Troubles

Transcript and reference translation

GP: Hi there, my name is Gerald. Please take a seat. So, what seems to be the problem? (你好，我的名字叫杰拉尔德。请坐。有什么问题吗？)

Patient: 我上周六跟朋友一起去了一家东北菜饭馆吃饭。我们吃了很多，而且食物很不好消化，也很油腻。我到家就开始感觉恶心了。(I went out to a Northeastern Chinese restaurant last Saturday for dinner with my friends. We ate quite a lot, and the food was quite heavy and oily. After I got home, I started to feel sick.)

GP: Did you experience any vomiting, or a fever? (你有呕吐或发烧的症状吗？)

Patient: 没有。但是那天晚上我没睡好，也一直做噩梦 。第二天早上起来后觉得无精打采的。而且全身酸疼 。(No. But that night I had trouble sleeping. I had nightmares too. When I woke up the next morning, I felt so lethargic. And my body ached all over.)

GP: Was there any MSG in the food? It can cause nightmares for some people. Though it may not have been the root cause of your symptoms. (你吃的食物中有放味精吗？味精会导致一些人做噩梦 ，但是它也不一定是你症状的根源。)

Patient: 嗯，我觉得饭馆是放了味精的。但是，主要问题是，自从周日我就患上了严重的便秘。我不知道怎么办才好。(Yeah, I think the restaurant did use MSG. But the main problem is, since Sunday, I’ve had terrible constipation every day. I don’t know what to do about it.)

GP: OK. Please lie down on your back. I’m going to take a look at your abdomen. Does it hurt here? (好的。请仰面躺下。我先看一下你的腹部。这儿疼吗？)

Patient: 不疼。那里还好。(No. It’s all right there.)

GP: How about here? Or here? (这儿感觉怎么样？或者这儿呢？)

Patient: 有点疼，但不是很疼。(Just a little sore, but not too bad.)

GP: OK. Can you tell me, over the past four days, how often have you been going to the toilet? (好的。请告诉我，在过去的四天内，你上厕所的频率是多少？)

Patient: 每个半小时左右都要去上一次厕所。但是拉不出来，我一直使劲儿拉，但是好像有一块儿大便拉不出来。(Every half hour or so I have to go to the toilet. But very little comes out. I keep pushing, but it seems there is some poo that is not coming out.)

GP: I see. Have you taken any medication to deal with it? (我明白了。你有吃什么药来治疗吗？)

Patient: 我去药房时，他们推荐我吃腹泻药。这个药看起来很像一个大块巧克力，只是太难吃了。(When I went to the pharmacy, they recommended I take some laxatives. It looks like a chocolate bar, but it tastes awful.)

GP: I know the brand you’re talking about. I may have to prescribe you something a bit stronger to help evacuate your bowels. (我知道你刚才说的牌子。我可能要给你开一个更强的药来帮助你输通大便。)

Patient: 医生，你觉得是什么导致我有便秘的问题？我从来没有过这样的问题。(Doctor, what do you think caused this constipation? I’ve never had a problem like this before.)

GP: There could be a number of causes. Many people get build-up in their bowels, some without even realising it. This higher strength laxative should give you some relief. (有很多原因导致这个问题。很多人在他们的大肠里有堵塞的问题，有一些人甚至也没注意到。这个更强的腹泻药应该能缓解你的症状。)

Patient: 谢谢你，医生。我希望这个药能管用。我已经不得已请了三天的假了。(Thank you, doctor. I hope it works. I’ve already had to take three days off work.)

GP: Another option is to buy an enema from the chemist. It’s a kind of syringe, which you inject into your anus. It can help push out the contents of your bowels. (还有一个选择，你可以在药房买一个灌肠剂。灌肠剂是一种注射器，你把这个注射器注入你的肛门来帮助你通大便。)