Ever go to a clinc or see a doctor for a cold and end up with a 5 day perscription of 9 different pills, 3 times a day? Whereas most doctors in the West might tell you to go home, get some rest, call us if your fever continues, etc. There’s a common misprection on what makes a doctor good, or bad. In Taiwan, people generally feel that if they go to a doctor and they get told “go home, get some rest”, without getting any of those pill-packs, then that’s a bad doctor. The pill-packs generally contain a pill for every symptom…even an antibiotic (or 2 or 3). Perhaps the patient will get better on his/her own in a couple days with rest. why take some much extra medicne you probably don’t need? Or even antibiotics for virial infections? Could this be realted to socialized medicine? I aways hate going to the doctor in Taiwan…
Reminds me of when I was in Taiwan. We had this doctor we all called the fish doctor cuz his name was Yu Yisheng (we only knew the romanization). No matter what your symptoms were, he would always ask the same question - “Are you regular?”
I remember having some problems with ingrown toenails. I went to see the fish doctor and the first thing he asked me was, “Are you regular?” I was like, uh… see, it’s my toes… my toes hurt. “Yes, I understand that… but are you regular? Here, take these little swelly herbal tablets and you should be all right.”
right…
CrazyBoy
You know, overuse of antibiotics is what will wipe out the human race eventually…
Same what I experienced in Malaysia: everytime I had a cough or “air-con flu” I was given anti-biotics when I wanted nothing else then something against the headache or fever and perhaps a couple of days off work.
It’s just so funny when they put the hand in that huge bottle of pills and fill them into little plastic bags, counting them exactly.
I did like the cough juice though …
I’ve noticed that every time I go to any doctor in Taiwan, I’m always given at least five different kinds of pills, each to be taken three times a day. One of the pills is always an antibiotic (even though I have never had a bacterial infection while I’ve been in Taiwan), another one of the pills is always a pain reliever such as aspirin or tylenol (even though I have never gone to a doctor when I have had a headache), and another one is always a pill for a stomache ache (even though I have never gone to a doctor when I have had a stomach ache)!
In fact, I have never once had the experience of going to a doctor in Taiwan and not been given antibiotics, pain pills, and stomach pills! And that’s in addition to at least two or three other kinds of pills that are supposed to be for the symptoms that I really do have! And all of the pills are always supposed to be taken three times a day.
And what I really hate is that the doctor never asks you which pills you want and never tells you which pills he’s prescribing for you. Instead, he just says “Okay, go to the counter to pay the 100 NT insurance fee.” And then as soon as you pay the 100 NT, the girl at the counter hands you a big bag of pills!
At some large hospitals, they separate the pills so that each kind of pill is in a different labeled bag, which is nice, but at the small clinics, they usually don’t label any of the pills and instead wrap one of each kind of pill inside a square piece of paper. Then if you only want to take one certain kind of pill, there’s no way to tell which one it is! So what I have to do is tell the girl to re-package all the pills in zipper bags, with a different kind of pill inside each zipper bag, and each zipper bag labeled.
But then when they label each bag, they always only write down the chemical name of each pill, which is meaningless to anyone who doesn’t have a degree in pharmacy. So then I have to ask the girl what each pill is for.
Then when I finally find out what each pill is for, I tell the girl that she can take back all the antibiotics, pain pills, and stomach pills, and only give me the pills that are for the symptoms that I really have.
They probably think I’m a pain in the ass, but I would never take any pill without knowing what it is. And I also would never take any pill which is for a symptom that I don’t have.
Scanning these briefs on the doc’s in Taiwan I think I see what’s going on!
Each doctor specialises. One in constipation. another in headaches/stomach aches and general viruses. Other doctors specialise in colds and flus.
I propose that Oriented post a list of doctors and their specialty and when the expats get sick they can scroll down and say “oh yeah I’m constipated. Better go see the fish doctor.”
that’s my theory anyway
quote:I do the same thing too! And here I thought I was the only one with enough brains and lack of manners to ask questions about what the doctor was prescribing for me! When I do it, I ask what each pill is for, and if it's for a symptom I don't have, or if it's one of those pills that "coat' the stomach, making it easier to digest, I always decline saying, "I don't have that problem". I've been able to leave with less than half the pills offered to me.
Originally posted by Mark Nagel: Then when I finally find out what each pill is for, I tell the girl that she can take back all the antibiotics, pain pills, and stomach pills, and only give me the pills that are for the symptoms that I really have. They probably think I'm a pain in the ass, but I would never take any pill without knowing what it is. And I also would never take any pill which is for a symptom that I don't have.
Has anybody noticed that locals will go to the doctor’s if they have even a sniffle? If I have a cold, I might stay at home and sleep, or make some chicken soup for myself, but I’ll be durned if I go the doctor every time I’m a little under the weather!
quote[quote] and another one is always a pill for a stomache ache (even though I have never gone to a doctor when I have had a stomach ache)! [/quote]That’s just to keep your stomach OK from the side-effects of the other pills.
Bri
quote:Yeah, but not everybody has sensitive stomachs. I have the constitution of a billy goat and can digest pretty much anything without so much as a hiccup. Lots of people can take aspirin straight also, without having to take Bufferin or Panadol, or one of those other "coated" pain relievers. If the doc would take 5 secs to ask if it's needed, the health industry could save lots of moola every year.
Originally posted by Bu Lai En: That's just to keep your stomach OK from the side effects of the other pills.
Has anybody noticed that locals will go to the doctor’s if they have even a sniffle? If I have a cold, I might stay at home and sleep, or make some chicken soup for myself, but I’ll be durned if I go the doctor every time I’m a little under the weather!
Yep. Everytime I cough (and let it be a dry cough) I am recommended to see a doctor by my co-workers.
Nice if they care but people shouldn’t exagerate.
I haven’t been really sick for the last 10 years, usually I am down with a flu during the weekends and the best medicine for me then is lot’s of sleep and water (room temperature).
That’s all I need and only if it’s really bad or I don’t recover soon I will see the doc.