Comments on: Medical Treatment in a Foreign Country: Learn to Expect the Unexpected

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 12 May 2011 22:13:39 +0000

I was in southern South Korea (Daegu area) when I had a terrible case of food poisoning/stomach virus that wouldn’t go away after 4 days. After a doctor’s appointment on a college campus where I was given an IV in a library/back room to a clinic and prescribed pink, powdery pills that did nothing for me, I went to a hospital ER. Apparently when you go to the ER in Korea, you are required to take all kinds of irrelevant tests, including an EKG (for stomach issues? seriously?). Once they admitted me, they put me in a room with five other people (no curtains), and there was no air conditioning. In the middle of summer in the south of Korea, it is in the 90s every day. They believed that air conditioning caused respiratory problems and wouldn’t turn it on. I was not allowed to have any food or water for two straight days; my IV was my only nutrient. I did get better, but it was a hellish way to do so. It was such an interesting experience, though. The whole hospital stay only cost me about $100. It was also interesting to see how they treated a hospital stay- people were admitted for seemingly minor problems, and one woman in my room even checked out to go see a movie and returned in the same day! So bizarre!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:16:20 +0000

James – I feel your pain! Root canal problems are truly horrible, especially far away from home.

Jenny – interesting experiences! No Japanese doctor ever wanted to listen to my heartbeat and now I’m glad!

You reminded me about eye exams – I was surprised, for example, that in Germany you don’t have to read letters off a chart like we do – there are a bunch of circles that don’t quite join up and you have to explain which direction the opening of the circle points. Very tricky for me to express in another language!

By: jenny

jenny — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:09:37 +0000

i got my first check-up in japan last summer.
it was totally different than i had expected (it took a minute to figure out the eye exam). it was overall not too terrible, but i shouldn’t have expected to be made to feel comfortable. i would have liked a little forewarning that the doctor was going to abruptly roll up to me in his chair and pull my shirt up and get the nurse to feel under my bra to check my “heartbeat.” apparently, the more discreet “stethoscope down the shirt” method hasn’t become popularized yet. the nurse also told me to lie down, then unbuttoned and unzipped my pants to feel my stomach.
i live in a smaller town, so perhaps larger cities are different.
i know there are japanese doctors who speak english, but they are rarities.

By: James Grey

James Grey — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:35:26 +0000

I had to have a root canal wile I was living in the Middle East, it was a horrible experience.

First I had to argue with the dentist for 20 minutes so she would open the syringe package in front of me so I could be sure that I did not get a used needle, something still done in some 3rd world countries.

Then she did not use enough Novocain, when I asked for more she said that I would have to pay extra – before I could get more.

After the root canal my tooth still hurt and eventually snapped in half. Fortunately I had to go to Singapore for a few days so I had it fixed there.

Overall it cost me weeks of pain and over a grand down the drain

By: Amanda Kendle

Amanda Kendle — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:32:44 +0000

Thanks, Hal. Yes, I was really surprised at how little information is around on it – even though sharing the experiences can help a lot of travelers out.

Does that mean you also lost your wisdom in Korea … just kidding =)

By: Hal

Hal — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:11:45 +0000

This is great, Amanda. Not something you see discussed very often.

Again, I’ll reference my time living in Korea. It was the first time I had health insurance through a job, so I figured I might as well go to the dentist (it’d been 6 years!). They told me I needed my wisdom teeth out, and I didn’t argue. My dentist spoke great English and even had a good sense of humor. She wanted to do it in two gos, as I guess is usual for Koreans under localized anesthesia. I told her I’d rather get it over with in one, and she agreed. No problems at all, and now I can say I had my wisdom teeth out in East Asia!