A doctor or pharmacist needs two different facts: the medicines you take, and the drugs you must not take. An allergy is not the treatment you are already on.
Medicines and treatment
A medicine, a dose, and a course of care are different things:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un médicament | a medication, a medicine |
| une dose | a dose |
| un traitement | a treatment |
| prendre un médicament | to take a medicine |
| prendre un traitement | to be on a treatment |
Prendre un médicament is taking a medicine. Prendre un traitement is following a course of care, which may include a medicine you take regularly.
Say what you take
The question is about current medicines. The answer can name a daily medicine or a treatment for a condition:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Vous prenez des médicaments ? | Are you taking any medication? |
| Je prends ce médicament tous les jours. | I take this medicine every day. |
| Je prends un traitement pour l'hypertension. | I'm on a treatment for high blood pressure. |
Allergies
The noun is the allergy itself. The expression that reports it keeps a preposition before the drug:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| une allergie | an allergy |
| être allergique à | to be allergic to |
À stays before the drug.
The question asks whether any allergy exists. The answer names the drug:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Vous avez des allergies ? | Do you have any allergies? |
| Je suis allergique à la pénicilline. | I'm allergic to penicillin. |
From learning to practice
When someone asks Vous prenez des médicaments ? and then Vous avez des allergies ?, those are two questions. A medicine you take every day is not the same answer as a drug you cannot take.