Do these symptoms sound familiar? I have a very bad cough, but nothing is coming up. However, I sometimes cough so hard I almost vomit. I have no other cold symptoms. My throat does not hurt, it’s not scratchy, in fact it feels perfectly normal. I don’t seem to be sick in any other way - no fever or anything like that. I’ve never been allergic to anything. What could it be?
It’s been going on for a couple of weeks, and the coughing is driving me crazy.
[quote=“bababa”]Do these symptoms sound familiar? I have a very bad cough, but nothing is coming up. However, I sometimes cough so hard I almost vomit. I have no other cold symptoms. My throat does not hurt, it’s not scratchy, in fact it feels perfectly normal. I don’t seem to be sick in any other way - no fever or anything like that. I’ve never been allergic to anything. What could it be?
It’s been going on for a couple of weeks, and the coughing is driving me crazy.[/quote]
I don’t want to get you worried, but that actually sounds serious. If you had typical cold or allergy symptoms (phlegm, itchy eyes, etc), that would be better. Get to a good doctor, get some tests. Do it sooner rather than later. That’s always recommended anyway.
The biggest problem (especially if you’re in Taiwan) is making it clear to the doctor that you’re not just another hypochondriac with a cold.
To put forward the other side, while I still recommend seeing a doctor, I used to get the same thing (before I started smoking, before some smartass decides to make the comment 
). I’m not 100%, since it kind of came, stuck around for a few weeks, then disappeared for months on end, if not longer, but it did seem to me to be either a kind of cold or possibly a variant hayfever reaction.
Is it also possible, looking from another angle, that it could be some form of asthma? Just thinking, since I had some pretty bad childhood asthma that in my case it could’ve been a “flashback”, as it were.
Sounds a little like my former four-times-per-year bouts of bronchitis in Taipei. Definitely get checked out. The chances of it being something truly awful are far less than the chances of your being able to get it treated and get on with your life comfortably and even if you have to pay the whole bill yourself, medical care is cheap!
Sounds like a hair ball. Maybe you should quit licking your nuts.
Hmmm… Bob… I hate to tell you this, but you’ve got the crud.
You’re sick. It sounds like bronchitis to me, caused by some bug or another, but it could become serious. These things can progress.
Rule of thumb: If it lasts for more than ten days, it’s serious. See a doctor. Be sure to tell him you’ve had it for two weeks. Doctors here are used to seeing people after they sneeze twice, so emphasize the length of your symptoms. They may be overworked, but they’re well trained. If s/he puts you on antibiotics, be sure to take them for at least a week. (If you go to a clinic, they’ll probably give you 3 days of meds, but you should be able to go back a couple of days later and get 3 more days of meds WITHOUT actually seeing the Dr. Just tell the xiaojie at the window that you need more meds.)
I get the crud when I’m under extreme stress, not eating enough hot soup and good food, and not getting enough hugs. See a doctor, take it easy, eat more hot soup, and get more hugs. That’s Dr. Hoedad’s advice.
Just go to a good pharmacy; AFAIK antibiotics are OTC drugs here. I’ve been getting all sorts of stuff without ever seeing a quack.
I had this “dry cough” thing a couple of months ago. It felt like typical bronchitis. I took a local cough medicine called “Brown Mixture” (aka Compound Glycyrrhiza) that came in a white 200ml plastic bottle. Visit the local NHI for it.
I have recently been to 3 services millitary hospital for some checkup and the doc there checked some part of my body 5 seconds and said he wanted to do an operation. My Taiwan wife talked with him in Chinese, they made up everything and…
at home I checked the symptoms he claimed but I found no problem at all. I mean, should be a thing which can be seen 
Anyway, before I describe my body parts too closely here, does anybody know if 5 second examination is normal in Taiwan? Should I trust?
Well, I want to see another Taiwan doc, but my wife said will be the same stuff. Doc does not talk, just tell you he wants to operate.
Okay, next time I go into doc’s office two more times with false beard and hair, then I guess I will get a 15 sec session…
[quote=“bob_honest”]I have recently been to 3 services millitary hospital for some checkup and the doc there checked some part of my body 5 seconds and said he wanted to do an operation. My Taiwan wife talked with him in Chinese, they made up everything and…
at home I checked the symptoms he claimed but I found no problem at all. I mean, should be a thing which can be seen Anyway, before I describe my body parts too closely here, does anybody know if 5 second examination is normal in Taiwan? Should I trust?
…[/quote]
in a nutshell, no. the fact that you are asking these questions indicates to me that regardless of anything you should get another opinion. try the adventist hospital, the doctors there speak English better than most.
Definitaly get a second opinion. Don’t tell the second doctor what the first one told you until after the exam.
I had very good results when I went to Changgong Hospital (the one on Tunhua Rd near the airport). I’m sure there are other good hospitals too (a lot of people swear by Adventist). And years ago I had good results with Mackay Hospital on Chungshan N Rd. And some people can steer you to a good private clinic.
Anyway, the point is that getting to a hospital or clinic where the doctor spends more than 5 seconds with you is important. Lab tests need to be done to find out just what this bug is - a simple cursory glance is not enough.
All this points to a larger problem - I have been hearing from several doctor friends that the National Health Insurance is really screwing up the hospitals. They are underpaying the hospitals and clinics by about 20% and the situation is getting worse. The NHI is going broke, and cutting corners, forcing the hospitals to ramp up the workload on doctors and cut support staff. In general, medical staff are pretty competent in Taiwan, but like everyone else they expect to be paid. Instead, they’re getting laid off as demand for their services is rising. Not a pretty picture.
regards,
Robert
Do NOT take MaoPoSquid’s advice to self medicate with antibiotics. The misuse and abuse of antibiotics is endemic in Taiwan, which in the long run is very bad for everyone.
New generation antibiotics can be very targeted. If you have a bronchial infection, which seems likely, you need to go on an antibiotic regime that is particularly effective in clearing out sinus and lung infections. (In other words, you won’t use the same “silver bullet” to take care of your lung problem that you use for a case of drippy dick).
By all means, demand the full course when you see the doctor, and take it faithfully. Taiwanese doctors will try and give you only 3 days worth, and make you come in for another check-up, to “see how you are progressing”. This is money making ka-ka. If the diagnosis is correct, and the correct medication has been prescribed, you should have a fairly quick response, if your cough is accompanied by fever, otherwise it takes time for the antibiotic to do it’s job. Depending on the antibiotic, a full course will be at least 7 days, but possibly 10. In some cases with a really deep rooted infection, the treatment course can run up to 14 days or more. If you follow the typical Taiwanese doctor’s routine, you’ll have to go back twice, post initial consultation, in order to get your full course! That’s why you have to INSIST that you are prescribed the full course, as per the standard recommended dosing for the drug’s use for the specific indication (in this case bronchial infection).
Don’t drink booze when you’re on the antibiotics, and plan on eating a lot of yogurt or acedopholis after you finish, in order to repopulate your intestinal fauna.
The infuriating thing about seeing a doctor in the ROC is that they are prescribing antibiotics before your ass hits the examining room chair. Insist that you are given a full examination. They need to listen to your lungs, they need to check your throat and sinuses. Make sure that you tell them your weight so they can titrate your dosage based on your body weight. A person of 95kg, doesn’t get the same dosage as someone of 45kg. Once you are sure which pills are the antibiotics, toss the other pills that they give you, they are given to everyone for everything.
One really bad thing about living in Taiwan is the high risk of developing bronchitis that can easily become a chronic problem. Poor ironlady, for example, who got bronchitis 4 times a year in the ROC, shouldn’t be surprised when she continues to get them in the States. I never had bronchial problem before living in Taiwan, but when they started, I had the same annual nightmares as ironlady, and I still get them, a couple of times a year. Bronchitis is a huge health problem in the ROC, for obvious reasons.
Good luck with your problem. After you get the medicine, if you PM with the drug’s name I can help you find the English language prescribing info, including indications, and contraindications, if you want help, otherwise - google it.
Sorry, I didn’t mean that in the way that you read it. If she goes to a doc and he only gives her 3 days worth, she can go to a pharmacy and buy enough additional pills to take a proper course of antibiotics.
Yes, of course, self-medicating with antibiotics is insane unless you really know what you’re doing.
Thanks for all the above advice. I hesitate to go to the doctor here, because I think they’re all quacks. but … Anyway, the doctor I did go see told me that I am allergic to the air, and the antibiotics I was given did a nice job clearing up a few stray pimples. Still coughing, though.
Not only is it a money making scam of sorts, it is also a major reason why antibiotics in Taiwan have such a short period of usefulness. Three days just isn’t a strong or long enough dose, but a lot of ignorant peope who start to feel a little better won’t go back after three days to get another sack of antibiotics. The result is that they’ll feel like they’re over their sinus infection, etc, but then the same bacterial infection will come back in a few weeks, possibly resistant to whatever antibiotic they took in the first place.
The same thing happens in HK, but not as bad. Most doctors will give five days of antibiotics, but some will give as few as three days worth. If the doctor prescribes antibiotics, I always give him the excuse that I’m going over the border the next day and that I won’t be able to come back for another sack. That always gets at least five days worth.
thanks for advise, a second opinion will be good, before the “5 second disagnosis” doc is allowed to use knife on me 
thanks for advise, second opinion will be good before the doc with 5 sec diagnosis can use knife on me :s
Mwalimu wrote:
I can think of some obvious reasons, such as pollution and crowding but why more so than other countries?
Bababa wrote:
The doctors I have seen at Tai Da hospital have always been professional and are well trained. Almost always speak English well too. The larger hospitals charge a bit more money but they Tai Da is worth it.
Re: the antibiotics scam, yes it is a big problem. Sometimes even one week is not enough. Try for ten days. WATCH OUT for side effects. This past summer I had an infection and did not get enough antibiotics to clear it. My schedule did not allow me to return to hospital right away and I had to start over on another one. Each one caused severe diarrhea. The infection went away in a couple of weeks. The diarrhea lasted two months. Unfortunately no real way to avoid it.
Have you tried Chinese herbs? (acupuncture, can also be helpful)
The right prescription can treat all kinds of coughs. What is more, they can help to make your lungs stronger. So you get sick less often.
You can email me directly at michael@maxmedicine.net if you want more specific information.