I replied saying I didn't have the names, as doctors here (at least at the slummy clinics I visit) don't tell you what you are getting.
They scribble something on a notepad, which staff at the prescription counter process.
They put your pills in clear plastic sachets, such as those pictured here. The sachets will usually tell you how often you have to take pills, but not what they are.
My doctor gave me a month's prescription for three types of pills, and a small container of ointment, which you can see pictured (sorry, I have since deleted the pics by mistake).
In the West, some GPs (we have no GPs here, either - just doctors who work in hospitals) can send electronically a patient's prescription to the pharmacy across the road. It will be there before the patient is.
Needless to say, the patient knows what he is getting. Doctors usually say so, and if they don't, the pharmacist will.
Thailand is years behind, but never mind. That's why we are here, right? For the innocent olde world charm of the place. As patients, we don't mind being kept in the dark.
I told the doctor the names of the store-bought skin creams which I had been applying to my rash.
'Don't take them! They are for surface allergies, 'he said.
'The more you put those creams on, the worse your rash will get!'
I didn't know. At the slum chemists where I bought them (I visited two places in a shophouse close to my home), I described the rash briefly, and the owners recommended I buy those those creams.
How were they to know that it was a fungal rash, not an allergy-related one or mere surface skin abrasion? How was I to know that rashes come in different stripes?
In this case, despite the inadequacies of the Thai public medical system, I am pleased I eventually visited a doctor, rather than attempting to self-medicate any longer. It just doesn't work, unless you know what you are doing.
PS: Yes, the rash is getting better.
6 comments:
ReplyDeleteMedie00717 June 2009 at 22:51
i wonder how's the pay of a doctor in thailand... hmmm
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bobsaigon17 June 2009 at 22:54
BIOSOLE is an anti-fungal in capsule form (60 baht each for the Thai-made med, considerably more for the imported variety). I take it once a week for maintenance, or three times a week in times of very high humidity and itchiness. My MD said even the best of anti-fungal creams is not sufficient, you do need the capsules. Choke Dee, na.
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Faraway Friend17 June 2009 at 23:38
I thought the pink disk was your birth control pills.
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BODYholic18 June 2009 at 08:43
"A reader emailed asking for the names of the medicine which the doctor prescribed to treat my fungal rash."
Daktarin (layman term) is another very common antifungal agent which is easily available otc without doctor's prescription in Thailand.
It's technical name is micro-whatever ... I'm sure you can find it with google.
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luanghans18 June 2009 at 16:03
I have started to ask the persons handing me the baggies of pills to write down the name of the medications.
I then look up information on the internet.
I have found a few times that I should not take other types of medication with the prescription, something doctors failed to mention (or lost it in translation).
Doctors also tend to only give you medications they have in stock, rather than referring you to a druggist for other medication.
I have also found druggists are more up to date on medicine information, both domestic and imported. Most of their medicines include documentation such as side effects, what medicines not to mix.
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Bkkdreamer18 June 2009 at 18:49
Luanghans:
Thank you for the tip. Asking doctors to write down the name of the drugs they are prescribing is sound advice.
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