veterinary terms + translation

[londoneye]

Hi

Has anyone managed to find any kind of on-line tool for translating veterinary terms from French to English please?

I need to take my dog to the vet tomorrow for an ongoing problem (4 years but getting worse all the time) with what I believe is an atopic allergy and this time I really want to pin them down and list and hand over all of the symptoms and discuss ALL of the treatment options, rather than just let them give me the same stuff that doesn't work. I am stuck on some of the english to french terms, hence this request. Not helped by the fact that for the third night in a row I have sat up with her all night to stop her scratching her ears until they bleed and whining and crying (it's breaking my heart now).

Any help would be appreciated.

[Merlin]

Try Google Translate or a good dictionary - what terms are you stuck with - I have a massive dictionary and maybe I can help you.

[londoneye]

Hi Merlin

Many thanks - I am working on writing everything down at the moment - I will take you up on your kind offer when I have everything finished ...... could be a while !

[londoneye]

Back again - I think sheer fatigue has not been helping the situation. Google translate is pretty good - I normally use babel which is rubbish.

Actually many thanks again but I now seem to have come up with the words I was missing.

the only thing now which I am struggling to think of how to explain is that now my dog has started to walk sideways, sort of lurching along leaning to one side - not sure if its a balance problem or whether she is thinking of lifting her leg up to scratch but is not doing it. You see I can't even explain it properly in english and I don't know if there is an english 'medical' term for it !!

Well back to the drawing board with that one.

[ericd]

Depuis quelques temps mon chien marche de travers, comme si il penchait d'un coté. Je ne sais pas si c'est un problème de balance ou une ébauche à lever la patte pour se gratter, geste qu'il n'arriverai pas à accomplir....

Better to explain the symptoms and let the Vet come up with the correct medical term for it.

[londoneye]

thanks I will have a go at that one .... otherwise I suppose I could always mime it if they still don't get the drift - not really looking forward to having to do that, but I guess if needs must . .. bet you wish you could come with me to watch now !

[lisa]

hi,the translation for what you've wriiten is ' ca fait 3 nuits que je reste debout parce que ma chienne se gratte les oreilles jusqu'au sang et n'arrete pas de pleuré', and the second part is ' quand elle marche elle se penche sur le coté, on dirait qu'elle a un probleme d'equilibre. c'est comme si elle pense qu'elle a levé la patte pour se gratté mais la patte est par terre. Hope this helps sounds like she has a ear infection of some kind as my dog used to do this all the time. She was given a course of antibiotics and a bottle of 'surolan' . Hope your vet finds out what it is,

[ericd]

Hi lisa....where do you get the "3 nuits blanches...." from??...are we reading the same post?

[lisa]

hi,you say you've been up for 3 nights because she's scratching her ears, no? that's 3 nuit blanches

[ericd]

That's my question...where do you get the 3 nights from in this post???

[londoneye]

No, I am sure it's not an ear infection alone because it has been ongoing since she was a puppy (she is now 4) but has got worse has time goes on. She also rubs her face like crazy, shakes her head (constantly these days), staggers around sideways (a relatively new development), bites her paws and her (excuse the language!) bum, and has now developed a bare very dark coloured patch on her abdomen. Apart from that she is fine (!)

I have been doing a lot of research on vet's sites and all of these symptoms seem (!) to add up to an atopic allergy, which is actually what I have been trying to say to the local vet for 2 years now.

Believe me, I understand their point of view, because I do not particularly want to go down the allergy testing route and find it is something I cannot control environmentally (other than moving), neither do I want her to spend the rest of her life on steroids (probably shortening it also) but I do want something more than bunging me another tube of otimax (or whatever it's called) which doesn't seem to be working any more.

Whilst I admit that due to language skills (although my vet-speak is actually not bad these days) I probably haven't pressed the point enough.

But at the end of my tether now - it's pretty bad for me to be honest (lack of sleep starting to make me very irritable) but worse than the lack of sleep is seeing a relatively young dog constantly (pretty much these days) in distress, which of course makes me distressed. Fortunately she responds reasonably well to my presence if she is distressed ... but it can't go on. This is one of the few occasions when I hold my hands up and say I wish I was back in the UK so that I could, I don't know, change vet (although our's has been fine in fairness on all other issues),explain myself properly, throw a tantrum ! I don't know.

Perhaps I should go and have a little sleep !!

[Bernice]

[quote user="ericd"]That's my question...where do you get the 3 nights from in this post???[/quote]

I guess because the OP wrote "for the third night in a row I have sat up with her all night" ......  [;-)]

Bernice

[londoneye]

Hi

The translations are lovely and I am sincerely grateful for them - some little misunderstanding somewhere between the two nice people who have tried to help me out - I am sure they can move on from it !!

[cooperlola]

Atopy is pretty much the same in French - l'atopie (f)

http://www.milouchouchou.com/fiche_fiche.php?fiches=44

[lisa]

hi,sorry to hear about your dog, have you thought of changing vets to get a second opinion, you never know. Hope you manage to find out what is wrong with her.

[londoneye]

thanks lisa

Hi cooperlola (!) - will check out the link many thanks

will update tomorrow ... appointment in morning.

[londoneye]

Hi

I thought I would update, for two reasons, one to say thank you again to everyone who responded and secondly, perhaps to help other people who are in same situation, because it is possible to get the message across even with less than perfect french (albeit my vet-speak french is probably better than other aspects - plenty of practice !)

Firstly, coops, many thanks again I actually printed off the link and took it with me and added any bits a the bottom that I thought relevant, and I think it really helped.

Outcome, for now cortisone injection because her ears are so inflamed (the worst he has seen apparently) that he cannot examine them. Lots of swabs taken, but basically he agrees that we are very likely to be looking at an allergy, so after the results come back from the lab we are going back to discuss the way forward regarding possibly allergen testing, which I was not particularly keen on, but he said was worth trying to see if we got some definitive results, rather than just trying to cope with the situation using cortisone or some other product (can't recall the name now, but anyway it costs 300 euros a month ...... nearly landed me in hospital hearing in that !).

So thats it for now, many thanks all and take care of yourselves as I don't come on here much these days - too busy ...

[cooperlola]

Glad things have moved on at least.

Having had the full set of four legged friends over here (cats, dogs, dobbins) I invested in this :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Glossary-Veterinary-Terms-French-English-English-French/dp/1872739172/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275128729&sr=8-1

Very useful.

I promise I'll get in touch some time but I too have been a bit pushed for one reason or another!

[dragonrouge]

Hi whilst the locals suggest (politely but perhaps simply that) that my French is good it does not extend to Veterinary matters. Thus with 'some' animals I invested in a book from Amazon (French/English vet terms) which came in at £12 or thereabouts and when in doubt I refer to it. Equally our Vets in Fontenay le Comte have a good English base of clients who from time to time have some difficulty in communicating efficiently. I bought reception at the clinique the same book so when problems occur all can refer to all. Not 100% but at least it goes some way. After all it is the well-being of the animal that matters.