If you get stress, distress, illness in Spanish with a mouth ulcer - and need a phramacy

 On holiday in the Spanish-speaking Canary Islands I got a mouth ulcer. I knew the home remedy from experience and my dentist.

So I asked for salt and tap water.

I also have pills which must be taken at home or in hotels on holiday with plain water, not mineral water.

Firstly, the greeting is not Buenos dias or tarde. It it is shortened to Buenos.

Spanish Agua del grifo - tap water (I had trouble remembering the Spanish - gives you grief trying to get it from a grifo).

I googled possible causes of mouth ulcers and these included lack of sleep and stress. I had had stress from minor irritations in the parador hotel on La Palma in the Canaries. I had no bedroom slippers nor towelling robe.

Savanna - slippers, bedroom towelling slippers in a hotel.

When I tried to communicate slippers by pointing to a towel Toalla and to my feet  I was offered a bath mat.

Finally, I achieved my objective. Salt water rinse. Fine for a couple of hours. But, at tea time, the mouth ulcer was still there.

Later I found a Farmacia - pharmacy, and pointed to my inner lip.

The pharmacist understood toothache.  Eventually she understood.

She offered me Aloclair.

10.50 Euros. Expensive

Cheaper than a doctor.

Peace of mind.

Unlike Bonjela in the UK, Aloclair came with an applicator.

The instructions were in Spanish.

.

Spanish - English

agua - water

aguas - waters

agua sin gas - still water (bottled water, not fizzy)

banos - toilets / bathrooms

buenas - hello / good day (any time)

cerrado - closed

de - of

doloroso - sore

entrada - entrance

farmacia - pharmacy

gracias - thanks

grave - serious

(de) nada/ nada - it's nothing / not at all / you're welcome, literally of nothing

mas - more

medico - doctor

Muy - very

necesito - I need

no - not / don't

pain - dolor (noun)

quiero - I want

no - no /not

servicios - toilets / services

si - yes

tienda - shop

toalla - towel

úlcera - ulcer

English - Spanish

pain - dolor (noun)

painful - doloroso

-ends-

Updated with vocabulary when I was back at my desk on June 12th 2026.

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