Chapter 18

Handling Emergencies

In This Chapter

Knowing how to ask for help

Getting medical attention

Dealing with the police

An emergency would be called something else if it were possible to be fully prepared for it. However, you can avoid some panic if you have a convenient reference guide that gives you just the right things to say in case an emergency interrupts your plans. In this chapter, you find out how to explain yourself in various unpleasant situations: asking for help during an emergency, getting help with a health concern, and talking to the police. Enjoy this emergency guide; we hope you never need to use it!

Finding Help in Case of Accidents and Other Emergencies

Dealing with accidents and emergencies in your native language is enough of a headache; problems seem twice as bad when you have to speak a foreign language to resolve them. But if you know how to ask for help, chances are you’ll find somebody who makes resolving your problems much easier. In the following sections, you find out how to request help, call the Russian equivalent of 911, and explain your problem. And just in case your Russian fails you in a time of need, you discover the way to find somebody who speaks English!

Hollering for help

The first thing you need to know is how to ask for help. If you aren’t feeling well or don’t know what to do during an emergency, address someone with one of these sentences:

Извините, мне нужна помощь! (eez-vee-nee-tee, mnyeh noohzh-nah poh-mahsh’!) (Excuse me, I need help!)

Помогите мне, пожалуйста? (pah-mah-gee-tee mnyeh, pah-zhahl-stuh?) (Will you please help me?)

Make sure you explain what your problem is immediately after you ask for help so that the person you’re talking to doesn’t think you’re a scam artist. Phrases you may want to say include the following:

Я себя плохо чувствую. (ya see-bya ploh-khah choohs-tvooh-yooh.) (I am not feeling well.)

Мне плохо. (mnyeh ploh-khah.) (I am not feeling well.)

Позвоните в скорую помощь! (pahz-vah-nee-tee v skoh-rooh-yooh poh-mahsh’!) (Call an ambulance!)

Помогите! (pah-mah-gee-tee!) (Help!)

Позовите на помощь! (pah-zah-vee-tee nuh poh-mahsh’!) (Call for help!)

Позвоните в полицию! (pahz-vah-nee-tee f pah-lee-tsi-yooh!) (Call the police!)

Держите вора! (deer-zhi-tee voh-ruh!) (Stop the thief!)

Пожар! (pah-zhahr!) (Fire!)

Making an emergency phone call

In the United States, calling 911 is the answer to almost any emergency question, but it’s not this way in Russia. There, you have three different numbers to call in cases of fire, crime, or health problems. The numbers are easy, and any Russian knows them by heart:

01: пожарная служба (pah-zhahr-nuh-yeh sloohzh-buh) (fire brigade)

02: полиция (pah-lee-tsi-yeh) (police)

03: скорая помощь (skoh-ruh-yeh poh-mahsh’) (ambulance; Literally: urgent help)

Reporting a problem

When reporting an accident or an emergency, a good verb to use is происходить (prah-ees-khah-deet’) (to happen). To talk about something that is happening or has happened, you need only the third person singular form in the present tense — происходит (prah-ees-khoh-deet) (is happening) — or one of these past-tense forms of has happened:

произошёл (prah-ee-zah-shohl); masculine singular

произошла (prah-ee-zah-shlah); feminine singular

произошло (prah-ee-zah-shloh); neuter singular

произошли (prah-ee-zah-shlee); plural

Problems that you may have to report include the following:

авария (uh-vah-ree-yeh) (car accident)

несчастный случай (nees-chahs-niy slooh-chuhy) (accident)

пожар (pah-zhahr) (fire)

ограбление (ahg-ruhb-lyeh-nee-ee) (robbery)

отравление (aht-ruhv-lyeh-nee-ee) (poisoning)

инфаркт (een-fahrkt) (heart attack)

ранение (ruh-nyeh-nee-ee) (injury)

If you’ve witnessed an accident, you may be asked one of these two interchangeable questions:

Что произошло? (shtoh prah-ee-zah-shloh?) (What happened?)

Что случилось? (shtoh slooh-chee-lahs’) (What happened?)

When responding to this question, you may want to say one of the following:

Здесь произошла авария. (zdyehs’ prah-ee-zahsh-lah uh-vah-ree-yeh.) (A car accident took place here.)

Здесь прозошёл несчастный случай. (zdyehs’ prah-ee-zah-shohl nees-chahs-niy slooh-chuhy.) (An accident took place here.)

Note that the verb agrees with the noun in gender.

Requesting English-speaking help

In case you don’t feel like practicing your Russian in the midst of an emergency — or if you just want to speed up the process — you may want to ask for English-speaking help. The question you want to use is

Здесь есть кто-нибудь, кто говорит по-английски? (zdyehs’ yehst’ ktoh-nee-booht’, ktoh gah-vah-reet pah-uhng-leey-skee?) (Is there anybody here who speaks English?)

If you want to insist on finding somebody who can help you in English, say

Мне нужен кто-нибудь, кто говорит по-английски! (mnyeh nooh-zhehn ktoh-nee-booht’ ktoh guh-vah-reet pah-uhng-leey-skee!) (I need somebody who speaks English!)

If you’re making this request at a hospital or some other place staffed with highly educated people, you have a good chance of finding somebody who speaks English; many Russians study English in school and college.

In Moscow and St. Petersburg, you can find clinics with American and British doctors. Here are a few such clinics:

American Clinic, 31 Grokholskij Pyeryeulok, 129090 Moscow; phone 095-937-5757; e-mail info@americanclinic.ru.

European Medical Center, 5 Spiridonievskiy Per., Bldg. 1, Moscow; phone 095-933-6655; e-mail emcinfo@emcmos.ru.

American Medical Clinic, Mojka Embankment #78, 190000 St.Petersburg; phone 812-740 2090, fax 812-310-4664; e-mail info@amclinic.ru.

Receiving Medical Care

If “an apple a day” doesn’t work, you may need to пойти к врачу (pahy-tee k vruh-chooh) (see a doctor). Every culture has different beliefs and procedures related to здоровье (zdah-rohv’-ee) (health) and медицина (mee-dee-tsi-nuh) (medicine), and knowing what they are before you visit a doctor helps. In the following sections, you find out how to talk about medical problems in Russian, how to understand your diagnosis, and what to say and do in a pharmacy.

To make an appointment with your doctor at a big поликлиника (pah-lee-klee-nee-kuh) (an outpatient facility), you need to go to the регистратура (ree-gees-truh-tooh-ruh) (check-in desk) and say Мне надо записаться на приём к . . . (mnyeh nah-duh zuh-pee-saht’-syeh nuh pree-yohm k . . .) (I need to make an appointment with . . .), followed by the type of doctor you want to see in the dative case (for more info on case endings, see Chapter 3). At some поликлиники (pah-lee-klee-nee-kee) (clinics), you may be able to make an appointment over the phone; at others, you always have to show up in person. To find out which is the case, you can call the поликлиника and ask:

Можно записаться на приём? (mohzh-nah zuh-pee-saht’-syeh nuh pree-yohm?) (Can I make an appointment?)

For an emergency, call a скорая помощь (skoh-ruh-yeh poh-mahsh’) (ambulance) by dialing 03. The ambulance will come and take the patient to the emergency room, which is also called скорая помощь.

Health is more valuable than money

According to a Russian proverb, здоровье дороже денег (zdah-rohv’-ee dah-roh-zheh dyeh-neek) (health is more valuable than money). Believing this bit of folk wisdom was easy during the times of the Soviet Union, when medicine was free for all Soviet citizens. Nowadays, numerous частные клиники (chahs-ni-ee klee-nee-kee) (private medical offices) offer a variety of платные услуги (plaht-ni-ee oohs-looh-gee) (services for a fee). State-owned hospitals and medical offices are still free, but you’re expected to pay for your medicine, and a monetary donation to the doctor is strongly encouraged.

Knowing parts of the body

When you go to a doctor, you want to know how to talk about your тело (tyeh-lah) (body). In the following sections, we provide the Russian terms for visible body parts and internal organs.

Visible body parts

The following list names visible parts of the body from the top down:

голова (gah-lah-vah) (head)

шея (sheh-yeh (neck)

горло (gohr-lah) (throat)

плечо (plee-choh) (shoulder)

грудь (grooht’) (chest/breast)

спина (spee-nah) (back)

рука (rooh-kah) (arm/hand)

локоть (loh-kaht’) (elbow)

запястье (zuh-pyast’-ee) (wrist)

палец (pah-leets) (finger)

ногти (nohk-tee) (nails)

живот (zhi-voht) (stomach)

половые органы (pah-lah-vi-ee ohr-guh-ni) (genitals)

нога (nah-gah) (leg/foot)

колено (kah-lyeh-nah) (knee)

лодыжка (lah-dish-kuh) (ankle)

кожа (koh-zhuh) (skin)

In Russian, no distinction exists between the arm and the hand; for both body parts, you use the word рука. Similarly, for both the leg and the foot, you use the word нога.

Parts of your head that you may seek treatment for include the following:

лицо (lee-tsoh) (face)

глаз (glahs) (eye)

ухо (ooh-khah) (ear)

нос (nohs) (nose)

рот (roht) (mouth)

зуб (zoohp) (tooth)

язык (ee-zik) (tongue)

подбородок (pahd-bah-roh-dahk) (chin)

Internal organs

The internal organs you may need to talk about include these body parts:

сердце (syehr-tseh) (heart)

печень (pyeh-cheen’) (liver)

желудок (zhi-looh-dahk) (stomach)

мозг (mohzk) (brain)

лёгкие (lyohkh-kee-ee) (lungs)

кость (kohst’) (bone)

мышцы (mish-tsi) (muscles)

почка (pohch-kuh) (kidney)

нервы (nyehr-vi) (nerves)

Describing your symptoms

The best way to start describing your symptoms if you’re in pain is with the verb болеть (bah-lyeht’) (to hurt): Say У меня болит . . . (ooh mee-nya bah- leet . . .) (. . . is hurting), adding the name of the organ that hurts in the nominative case (see Chapter 3 for details on cases).

You can also point to the place where it hurts and say

У меня болит здесь. (ooh mee-nya bah-leet zdyehs’.) (It hurts me here.)

You may want to specify whether it hurts внутри (vnooh-tree) (inside) or снаружи (snuh-rooh-zhee) (on the outside).

To describe other specific symptoms, you can say У меня . . . (ooh mee-nya . . .) (I have . . .) followed by one of the phrases from the following list:

температура (teem-pee-ruh-tooh-ruh) (fever)

понос (pah-nohs) (diarrhea)

запор (zuh-pohr) (constipation)

тошнота (tahsh-nah-tah) (nausea)

рвота (rvoh-tuh) (vomiting)

головокружение (gah-lah-vah-krooh-zheh-nee-ee) (dizziness)

болит горло (bah-leet gohr-lah) (sore throat)

болит голова (bah-leet gah-lah-vah) (headache)

болит живот (bah-leet zhi-voht) (stomachache)

болит ухо (bah-leet ooh-khuh) (earache)

кашель (kah-sheel’) (cough)

насморк (nahs-mahrk) (runny nose)

сыпь (sip’) (rash)

ожог (ah-zhohk) (burn)

боль (bohl’) (pain)

In Russia, temperature is measured in degrees Celsius (C). Normal body temperature is 36.6°C. Anything higher than that is a высокая температура (vi-soh-kuh-yeh teem-pee-ruh-tooh-ruh) (high fever).

Understanding questions a doctor asks

The first question you hear from a врач (vrahch) (doctor) is usually one of these two:

Что у вас болит? (shtoh ooh vahs bah-leet?) (What is hurting you?)

Что вас беспокоит? (shtoh vahs bees-pah-koh-eet?) (What brought you here? Literally: What is bothering you?)

Your doctor will want to find out when the pain started to bother you by asking

Когда это началось? (kahg-dah eh-tah nuh-chuh-lohs’?) (When did it start?)

The doctor may also ask about your temperature:

Температура есть? (teem-pee-ruh-tooh-ruh yehst’?) (Do you have a fever?)

While examining you, the doctor may ask for specifics about your pain by asking

Здесь болит? (zdyehs’ bah-leet?) (Does it hurt here?)

Communicating allergies or special conditions

Asking about allergies and special conditions isn’t always part of a Russian doctor’s routine. Make sure you take the initiative and tell the doctor if you have an allergy. Say У меня аллергия на . . . (ooh mee-nya uh-leer-gee-yeh nuh . . .) (I am allergic to . . .) followed by the word naming the cause of the allergy in the accusative case (see Chapter 3 for details on cases). Common causes of allergies include

пенициллин (pee-nee-tsi-leen) (penicillin)

орехи (ah-ryeh-khee) (nuts)

обезболивающие (ah-beez-boh-lee-vuh-yooh-shee-ee) (painkillers)

укус пчелы (ooh-koohs pchee-li) (bee stings)

кошки (kohsh-kee) (cats)

собаки (sah-bah-kee) (dogs)

яйца (yay-tsuh) (eggs)

пыльца (pil’-tsah) (pollen)

молоко (mah-lah-koh) (milk)

моллюски (mah-lyoohs-kee) (shellfish)

рыба (ri-buh) (fish)

If you’re on some kind of medication, tell your doctor Я принимаю . . . (ya pree-nee-mah-yooh . . .) (I am on . . .) followed by the name of the medication in the accusative case. Some other special conditions that you may need to announce to the doctor include the following:

У меня астма. (ooh mee-nya ahst-muh.) (I have asthma.)

Я эпилептик. (ya eh-pee-lyehp-teek.) (I have epilepsy.)

Я диабетик. (ya dee-uh-byeh-teek.) (I have diabetes.)

Я беременна. (ya bee-ryeh-mee-nuh-yeh.) (I am pregnant.)

Seeing a specialist

In Russia, each doctor specializes in a type of organ (for instance, the skin, bones, or nerves). If you go to a Russian physician and say that your foot hurts, he doesn’t send you to a foot doctor. Instead, he finds out what type of problem you have and then sends you to a дерматолог (dehr-muh-toh-lahk) (dermatologist) if your problem concerns the skin of your foot, to a хирург (khee-roohrk) (surgeon) if you’ve broken a bone in your foot, or to a невропатолог (neev-rah-puh-toh-lahk) (neurologist) if your problem stems from nerve connections.

Some other doctors and their areas of specialization include

ухо/горло/нос (ooh-khah/gohr-la/nohs) (ear/throat/nose)

дантист (duhn-teest) (dentist)

венеролог (vee-nee-roh-lahk) (a specialist in venereal diseases)

терапевт (tee-ruh-pyehft) (internist)

глазной врач (gluhz-nohy vrahch) (eye doctor)

гинеколог (gee-nee-koh-lahk) (gynecologist/obstetrician)

ортопед (ahr-tah-pyeht) (orthopedist)

педиатр (pee-dee-ahtr) (pediatrician)

психиатр (psee-khee-ahtr) (psychiatrist)

кардиолог (kuhr-dee-oh-lahk) (cardiologist)

Undergoing an examination and getting a diagnosis

During a medical examination, you may hear the following phrases:

Разденьтесь до пояса. (ruhz-dyehn’-tees’ dah poh-ee-suh.) (Undress from your waist up.)

Разденьтесь полностью. (ruhz-dyehn’-tees’ pohl-nahst’-yooh.) (Take off all your clothes.)

Закатите рукав. (zuh-kuh-tee-tee rooh-kahf.) (Please roll up your sleeve.)

Глубоко вдохните. (glooh-bah-koh vdahkh-nee-tee.) (Take a deep breath.)

Ложитесь. (lah-zhi-tees’.) (Please lie down.)

Откройте рот. (aht-krohy-tee roht.) (Open your mouth.)

Покажите язык. (pah-kuh-zhi-tee ee-zik.) (Stick out your tongue.)

You also may have to undergo the following tests:

анализ крови (uh-nah-lees kroh-vee) (blood test)

анализ мочи (uh-nah-lees mah-chee) (urine test)

рентген (reen-gyehn) (X-ray)

электрокардиограмма (eh-lyehkt-rah-kuhr-dee-ahg-rah-muh) (electrocardiogram)

сонограмма (sah-nah-grah-muh) (sonogram)

ультразвук (oohl’-truh-zvoohk) (ultrasound)

After all the turmoil of going through the осмотр (ahs-mohtr) (medical examination), you’re ready to hear your диагноз (dee-ahg-nahs) (diagnosis). The doctor will probably phrase it this way: У вас . . . (ooh vahs . . .) (You have . . .) plus the diagnosis itself. For instance, you may hear that you have one of the following:

простуда (prahs-tooh-duh) (cold)

ангина (uhn-gee-nuh) (sore throat)

грипп (greep) (flu)

бронхит (brahn-kheet) (bronchitis)

инфекция (een-fyehk-tsi-yeh) (infection)

пневмония (pneev-mah-nee-yeh) (pneumonia)

сенная лихорадка (syeh-nah-yeh lee-khah-raht-kuh) (hay fever)

растяжение связок (ruhs-tee-zheh-nee-ee svya-zahk) (sprain)

Russian doctors aren’t in the habit of explaining what they’re doing, either during the examination or while prescribing treatment. If you want to know what’s actually wrong with you, you may need to ask:

А что у меня? (ah shtoh ooh mee-nya?) (What do I have?)

If the doctor recommends that you go to the ложиться в больницу (lah-zhit’-syeh v bahl’-nee-tsooh) (hospital), you have a more serious condition. Maybe you have аппендицит (ah-peen-dee-tsit) (appendicitis), перелом (pee-ree-lohm) (a broken bone), or пищевое отравление (pee-shee-voh-ee aht-ruhv-lyeh-nee-ee) (food poisoning).

Don’t panic if the doctor recommends that you go to the hospital; it doesn’t necessarily mean that your condition is critical. Russians tend to go to the hospital more often and stay there longer than Americans generally do. For example, a new mother with a baby stays in the hospital for at least a week in Russia versus only 48 hours in the United States.

Your doctor may recommend that you ходить на процедуры (khah-deet’ nuh prah-tsi-dooh-ri) (take treatment). This type of recommendation doesn’t necessarily imply that you have to stay at the hospital; you may need to come to the hospital daily or several times a week for a certain type of treatment. In this case, the doctor gives you a направление (nuh-pruhv-lyeh-nee-ee) (written treatment authorization).

Visiting a pharmacy

In most cases, a doctor will прописать лекарство (prah-pee-saht’ lee-kahrst-vah) (prescribe medicine) for you. The Russian word for prescription is рецепт (ree-tsehpt).

To get your лекарство, you need to go to the аптека (uhp-tyeh-kuh) (pharmacy). Unlike in the United States, a Russian pharmacy isn’t usually part of a big department store; it’s a separate little store where only medicine is sold. To get your лекaрство, you simply hand your рецепт to the аптекарь (uhp-tyeh-kuhr’) (pharmacist).

You can buy many drugs that require prescriptions in the United States as over-the-counter drugs in Russia. So, to save the time you might otherwise spend going to the doctor, you can just ask the pharmacist for what you need. For example, you may ask for что-нибудь от простуды (shtoh nee-booht’ aht prahs-tooh-di) (something for a cold). Even if you don’t have a prescription, chances are there will be something you can buy without one. For example, for a high fever you’ll be offered dry raspberries, an excellent folk remedy that you can consume with hot tea.

Some common medicines include

нейтрализующее кислоту средство (neey-truh-lee-zooh-yooh-shee-ee kees-lah-tooh sryehts-tvah) (antacid)

аспирин (uhs-pee-reen) (aspirin)

капли от кашля (kahp-lee aht kahsh-lyeh) (cough drops)

сироп от кашля (see-rohp aht kahsh-lyeh) (cough syrup)

средство для снижения температуры (sryehts-tvah dlya snee-zheh-nee-yeh teem-pee-ruh-tooh-ri) (fever reducer)

болеутоляющее (bah-lee-ooh-tah-lya-yooh-shee-ee) (pain reliever)

средство от изжоги (sryehts-tvah aht eez-zhoh-gee) (heartburn reliever)

Calling the Police When You’re the Victim of a Crime

In the difficult situation of becoming a victim of crime, you need to know where to turn for help and what to say to the people assisting you. In the following sections, you find out how to talk to the police about different crimes and answer their questions.

If the crime is serious, you should try to contact your embassy before contacting the police. A person at the embassy will advise you on what to do and help you through the difficult situation.

Talking to the police

You can contact the полиция (pah-lee-tsee-yeh) (police) by calling 02 (see the section “Making an emergency phone call” earlier in this chapter) or by going directly в отделение полиции (v aht-dee-lyeh-nee-ee pah-lee-tsee-ee) (to the police station). To find the nearest police station, you can ask a passerby:

Где ближайшее отделение полиции? (gdyeh blee-zhahy-shi-ee aht-dee-lyeh-nee-ee pah-lee-tsi-ee?) (Where is the nearest police station?)

Here are some useful sentences you can use to describe different types of crime to the police:

Меня ограбили. (mee-nya ah-grah-bee-lee.) (I was robbed.)

Меня обокрали. (mee-nya ah-bah-krah-lee.) (I became a victim of a theft.)

На меня было совершено нападение. (nuh mee-nya bi-lah sah-veer-shi-noh nuh-puh-dyeh-nee-ee.) (I was attacked.)

Мою квартиру обокрали. (mah-yooh kvuhr-tee-rooh ah-bah-krah-lee.) (My apartment was broken into.)

Мою машину обокрали. (mah-yooh muh-shi-nooh ah-bah-krah-lee.) (My car was broken into; Literally: My car was robbed.)

In order to report a specific item that’s stolen from you, use the phrase У меня украли . . . (ooh mee-nya ooh-krah-lee . . .) (They stole . . .) plus the name of the item in the accusative case. (For more info on case endings, see Chapter 3.)

Answering questions from the police

When a crime is reported, the police want to gather more information about the преступление (prees-toohp-lyeh-nee-ee) (crime) and the преступник (prees-toohp-neek) (criminal).

When talking to the police and describing the incident, you may need to use the words вор (vohr) (thief), карманник (kuhr-mah-neek) (pickpocket), or бандит (buhn-deet) (gangster) to refer to the criminal.

The police may want to know the время (vryeh-myeh) (time) and место (myehs-tah) (place) of the проиcшествие (prah-ee-shehst-vee-ee) (incident). They may ask you to describe the внешность (vnyehsh-nahst’) (appearance) of the criminal, and куда он скрылся (kooh-dah ohn skril-syeh) (in what direction he escaped). They may also ask whether he was один (ah-deen) (alone) or с сообщниками (s sah-ohp-shnee-kuh-mee) (with accomplices).

If you’re physically assaulted or threatened with an оружие (ah-rooh-zhee-ee) (weapon), the police may ask

Чем вас ударили? (chyehm vahs ooh-dah-ree-lee?) (What were you hit with?)

Чем вам угрожали? (chyehm vahm oohg-rah-zhah-lee?) (What were you threatened with?)

To answer the preceding questions, use the noun in the instrumental case, because this case expresses the means or tool with which something is done: ударили рукой (ooh-dah-ree-lee rooh-kohy) (hit with a hand) or угрожали пистолетом (oohg-rah-zhah-lee pees-tah-lyeh-tahm) (threatened with a gun), for example. (For details on the instrumental case, see Chapter 3.)

After answering the questions, you may need to state the same information in a заявление (zuh-eev-lyeh-nee-ee) (police report).