Living abroad,you are bound to get sick at least once. Usually it's adjusting to the changing seasons,adjusting to a new living environment,time change,etc. I have gotten sick on more than one occasion since I've moved to China. From the pollution,minimal hygienic practices,chilling winter, and drastic weather change. Mostly, I have gotten sick from working with children. If you've ever worked with children you'll understand how gross little kids are. No matter how many times I wash my hands,work out,and eat health,getting sick is inevitable. I've been sick way too many times this year,and it's really concerning. Typically, it's a small cold,fixable with ginger tea and B.C powder.This time was different, I had FOOD POISONING. If you have never had food poisoning you are blessed and highly favored. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I knew exactly what got me sick,that damn Mcdonald's Chicken sandwich. I was chilling at a friends of mine when all of sudden my stomach started to hurt really bad. I rushed home knowing something wasn't right. Next thing I knew, I was in the bathroom the entire night and next day.
I've dealt with the common cold and the flu before, but I've never had food poisoning. At 23 years old, I needed my mommy and I ain't afraid to admit that. I had no idea how to combat my illness.I was in tears because every time I tried to call her, I had to run to the bathroom. I woke up the next morning physically unable to move.None of my grandma's remedies were helping and I was getting worse. It was time to go to the doctor.
The last time I went to the doctors abroad was in Buenos Aires and they came to my house!I could communicate what was wrong with me in Spanish. I felt comfortable and well taken care of. I had only heard bad things about Chinese Doctor's office. Most of my foreign friends had sworn off doctors for fear of eastern medicine,and poor hygienic practices from Doctors.When ever I hear about my Chinese friends going to the doctors, they are ALWAYS getting an IV.Headache? IV. Tummy ache? IV. Cold? IV. I'm not with the IV thing,and would rather not. Regardless of my uneasiness, I had no choice but to go. So I rounded up my friend who spoke Chinese and we were off to the hospital.
When we got there, we check in at the front desk and I paid 7 yuan (about $1). After paying, we were escorted to a room. The room was the size of patient room with a hospital bed on the right and a doctor sitting at a desk in the middle of the room. The room was full of people waiting to sit with the doctor. Someone was even laying in the hospital bed!You could hear everyone business. I even saw a man's x-ray of his shriveled lung. I waited about 5 minutes and sat in the doctors chair. My doctor asked about my symptoms and looked at my throat. She didn't have on gloves and was coughing behind her mask! Y'ALL, I JUST ABOUT DIED! How the doctor gonna be sick and I'm sick too? ANYWAYS,so she then told me I needed to get an IV. I said,absolutely not. I just wanted some medication so I could go home. She seemed annoyed and told me to go to the front to get my temperature. The nurse at the front gave me a thermometer to put under my armpit for five minutes. Huh? Alright then. Five minutes later, I gave my doctor the results and she wrote up the prescriptions. It cost me $12 USD for my medicine. I took my fist dose on spot to give me some relief! We were sent on our way.All and all,I spent no more than 15 minutes at the Doctor's office. Luckily,after a couple of hours, I started to feel some relief.
All of the anxiety about going to the Doctor was calmed. Regardless though, I would rather not go back if I don't need to. Being sick isn't fun,especially abroad. It's important to stay healthy, but also important to know where you can see a Doctor and get medical attention if necessary.
I've dealt with the common cold and the flu before, but I've never had food poisoning. At 23 years old, I needed my mommy and I ain't afraid to admit that. I had no idea how to combat my illness.I was in tears because every time I tried to call her, I had to run to the bathroom. I woke up the next morning physically unable to move.None of my grandma's remedies were helping and I was getting worse. It was time to go to the doctor.
The last time I went to the doctors abroad was in Buenos Aires and they came to my house!I could communicate what was wrong with me in Spanish. I felt comfortable and well taken care of. I had only heard bad things about Chinese Doctor's office. Most of my foreign friends had sworn off doctors for fear of eastern medicine,and poor hygienic practices from Doctors.When ever I hear about my Chinese friends going to the doctors, they are ALWAYS getting an IV.Headache? IV. Tummy ache? IV. Cold? IV. I'm not with the IV thing,and would rather not. Regardless of my uneasiness, I had no choice but to go. So I rounded up my friend who spoke Chinese and we were off to the hospital.
When we got there, we check in at the front desk and I paid 7 yuan (about $1). After paying, we were escorted to a room. The room was the size of patient room with a hospital bed on the right and a doctor sitting at a desk in the middle of the room. The room was full of people waiting to sit with the doctor. Someone was even laying in the hospital bed!You could hear everyone business. I even saw a man's x-ray of his shriveled lung. I waited about 5 minutes and sat in the doctors chair. My doctor asked about my symptoms and looked at my throat. She didn't have on gloves and was coughing behind her mask! Y'ALL, I JUST ABOUT DIED! How the doctor gonna be sick and I'm sick too? ANYWAYS,so she then told me I needed to get an IV. I said,absolutely not. I just wanted some medication so I could go home. She seemed annoyed and told me to go to the front to get my temperature. The nurse at the front gave me a thermometer to put under my armpit for five minutes. Huh? Alright then. Five minutes later, I gave my doctor the results and she wrote up the prescriptions. It cost me $12 USD for my medicine. I took my fist dose on spot to give me some relief! We were sent on our way.All and all,I spent no more than 15 minutes at the Doctor's office. Luckily,after a couple of hours, I started to feel some relief.
All of the anxiety about going to the Doctor was calmed. Regardless though, I would rather not go back if I don't need to. Being sick isn't fun,especially abroad. It's important to stay healthy, but also important to know where you can see a Doctor and get medical attention if necessary.