At the Dentist

Last year while I was living in Vietnam, I chipped a tooth, so I went to the dentist there where they fixed the tooth in less than an hour & for less than $10. I was pleasantly surprised at the results.

Last week, that filling suddenly came out, so I needed to go back to the dentist. Shanghai is more expensive than Vietnam, & I expected this visit to the dentist to cost a lot more than $10, so I made sure I had plenty of cash on me.

I asked one of the students at my school if she knew of a good dentist, & she offered to go with me to help translate. We took the bus four stops & stepped off in front of a hospital. A hospital? Yep. That's where the dentist is.

We went inside to register for an appointment, & an hour later, I was sitting in the dentist's chair. She took a look at my tooth & said that since it was a break & not a cavity, she could just file it down & it would be alright. 30 minutes & 14 RMB (about US $2) later, I was back on the bus heading home with my tooth fixed & a smile on my face.

I'm amazed at how easy it has been to get treatment here. Both in Vietnam & in Shanghai I've been able to see the dentist on the same day, & the treatments were incredibly cheap. In the US, I would have waited at least a week for the appointment, then paid at least $100 just for the dentist to look at me.

I can now understand why people travel to other countries to get medical treatment. It's sometimes referred to as medical tourism & has been popular among Americans for a while now. It's quite common in Arizona (my home state) for people to cross the border to Mexico for their dental or pharmaceutical needs. A couple of hours drive is worth the savings for many people who might not otherwise be able to afford treatment. 

Since I've been living in Asia, I've also discovered that many people often fly to Southeast Asia, especially Thailand, for surgeries because it's so much cheaper, even after the price of the plane ticket. An added bonus is being able to sleep off the novocaine to the sound of ocean waves, a mai tai in your hand.

Of course there are no mai tais here in Shanghai, but I could easily take a trip to Sanya with the money I've saved at the dentist.

How about you? Have you ever been a medical tourist?

I'm Just Here for the Savasana

For the last several months, my shoulder has been hurting me. I thought it was because I always carry my bag, which is full of books & journals, on that shoulder. I've switched my bag to the other shoulder, but after several weeks, there's been no improvement. My shoulder hurts enough so that I can no longer enjoy my favorite yoga pose: savasana.

I asked one of the yoga instructors at the yoga studio near my apartment what I can do to relax my shoulder, & she suggested acupuncture. So now I'm looking for an acupuncturist in China. Talk about your cultural experiences.

Dental Bliss

I noticed yesterday that one of my teeth was chipped. It wasn't bad, but I wanted to get it looked at before it became a bigger problem.

At 10:00am, Tyler, one of the students at my school said he would take me to a dentist, & asked me if I had time to go the same day. I said yes, & he made an appointment for me at 11:00. He came to pick me up on his motorbike (aka: scooter), & we arrived at the dentist's office a few minutes before 11:00. There were no clients in the office, so the dentist saw me right away. She gave me a filling & a polish, & I was back on the motorbike by 11:20.

All told: 120,000 Dong (=$6.67). Amazing.

A Trip to the Doctor

I've come down with something. It feels like a cold or the flu.

My landlords saw me sniffling & immediately whisked me off to see a doctor. The doctor checked my blood pressure, listened to my heart, asked about symptoms, & then gave me three little baggies of pills, saying to take the pills from one bag right away, another in the morning & the third the next evening. The whole visit took less than ten minutes.

I've taken the pills. I'm also drinking lots of Emergen-C, & I'm resting a lot. My landlord even made me some rice soup, the Vietnamese remedy for a cold. I still feel sick, but I think I'm on the upswing. I hope I'm well enough to go to the wedding this Saturday.

What is MSG?

One of my favorite vegetarian dishes here in Vietnam is "dau hou chien xa", fried tofu & lemongrass. It's pretty yummy, but most of the flavor comes from MSG. They rub it into the tofu before frying it. I've always heard that MSG was bad for you, but I never really knew why - or even what MSG really is.

Wikipedia says that MSG is made from fermented carbohydrates, usually from wheat. The article says that: In the 2004 version of his book, On Food and Cooking, food scientist Harold McGee states that "[after many studies], toxicologists have concluded that MSG is a harmless ingredient for most people, even in large amounts."

The Truth in Labeling website published an article that says that 25% of the population have alergic reactions to the food additive. Several other websites seem to imply that the danger of MSG lies in an alergic reaction, rather than it being bad for your health in general. Those who are alergic have symptoms such as headaches or indigestion.

Does anyone else have more information on MSG?

Ni Hao!

I pulled out my mp3 player the other day, hoping to get some Chinese studying in. It had been a few days. When I turned it on, the volume was SUPER loud. Looks like those ear drops are working.

Ear Doctor - Part Trois

I went to see the ear, nose & throat specialist yesterday. He looked in my ear, sniggered, & asked why I hadn't gotten my ears checked out sooner. Apparently I'm suffering from swimmer's ear, & have been for years. Odd, since I don't swim much. Anyway, he gave me more ear drops & told me to use them for two weeks, after which I should be able to hear crystal clear.

So why *haven't* I gone to a doctor before now? When you don't have insurance, you tend to avoid doctors at all cost, because it'll probably cost you. I spent 10 minutes with the ENT & it cost me $165, which was actually cheaper than what I expected. Hopefully it will be money well spent.

Look for the update in two weeks...

Hearing Imparied

After a week of vitamin A & garlic ear drops, I still haven't seen any improvement in my ability to hear. My students are beginning to get a complex about their Spanish skills because I keep asking them to repeat what they say.

I went for a checkup at the Southwest Medical Center to see how the vitamins & ear drops were working. This visit was much shorter. They looked through the ear-o-scope & found that my inner ear is not so inflamed as before, but I still have the infection. So they referred me to a specialist, whom I will see next week.

What's That You Say, Sonny?

I missed my date with the mountain today because I had a doctor's appointment. I've been having problems hearing lately & wanted to get it checked out. I was thinking it was just a huge ball of wax that they could remove with a flick of their magic wand.

I went to the Southwest Naturopathic Medical Center on McDowell & Hayden in Scottsdale. It's a school as well as a clinic, so your appointment is with a student under the supervision of a real-live doctor. You know, like at the massage school or the cosmetology school. It's cheaper this way, & since I don't have insurance, I took the discount route.

Not only did I get one student to observe & poke & prod, I got THREE! They must be short on patients. Anyway, they spent an hour asking all kinds of questions, including ones that had nothing to do with my hearing, like whether I suffered any rectal bleeding. I guess those naturopaths really like to treat the whole person, not just the symptom.

After a two-hour interview, & a peek through the ear-o-scope, I was diagnosed with an ear infection, which has swollen up my ear canal so that I can't hear properly. No one said anything about any wax. They have me on anti-bacterial pills, ear drops, & some anti-mucus stuff. I'm supposed to go back in a week to see if any of that helps.