An Update From Sick Bay #9

Kindly, I've had a few requests for an update about the medicines issued to treat our little communist pink-o bout with the creeping crud back when we were in China in 2002. We were indeed issued 4 types of antibiotics each. A nice concoction of both topical and systemic medicines, or as I like to call them, horse pills. I am assuming that they were all antibiotics but since all of the little vials and pills were written in Chinese, I am not 100% sure.

You know you are feeling pretty desperate for some relief when you happily gobble up and slather on something that could be snake oil mixed with rat barf for all you know.

All kidding aside, the Dr. was quite good, as our guide assured us he would be. She explained that in China people who study medicine do not have the same choices that American medical students do when it comes to specialities. So, some Western collegues sometimes think of them as not as sophisticated. (Perhaps a little good 'ole American ethnocenticism too) Although the kids who make it to medical school in China are pretty much the kids who have scored very high in school since they were about 6 months old. Kidding but you know the drill, it is an esteemed profession in China as it is here.

Our guides explained to us that doctors in China have lots of education, are quite bright, but are not given the opportunities to stretch, research and shine in the communist setting. They are assigned a post at a hospital or clinic and do the same thing day after day. So, they become very adept at treating illnesses in their area of expertise. Take these opinion comments as our guide's opinions only....she was very nice to share this but I am NO expert on doctors in China, let's be clear.

This turned out to be great for a couple of dippy Americans with a ruckus case of Asian strain conjunctivitis, and without the immunities to fight it all off. The doctor in the opthomology ward saw us and immediately knew what to do. We recovered in several days. The medicines started working right away but it did take a while for my welts to calm down and Main Muffin Man's poor eyes remained red and inflamed for over another week. In addition, we ordered over 30 towels delivered to our room everyday and used a huge bottle of antiseptic cleanser in 5 days. We asked our guides to explain why the house keeping staff must wash their hands after cleaning our room each and every time to help prevent spreading.

Here I am about 5 days AFTER our trip to the hospital?

Being the vain gal that I am I did not want my picture taken...but here I am a few years later posting it on the internet for heaven's sake and grateful that I have a picture with my new babe. The welts had disappeared and I was left with only 2 nice red rings for eyes.

See her pink socks? People kept stopping us on the streets of China asking if she was "boy baby?", with a frown. We assured them, "girl baby." They happily gave us the lucky baby thumbs up. So, I vowed to only dress her in pink socks the rest of the trip to help with the questioning. Sorry, I digress I just noticed that.

Let me also say this about our hotel, which I know for a fact is where I got the pink eye. It is 5 star! They employed people to dust the sparking clean plants in the lobbys of each floor for Christ's sake. I would have happily eaten off the white marble floors in the main lobby, it was that clean. I don't think the staff even knew the word for no, not even in Chinese. They would do anything to please us heathen big nosed Americans. The ladies who worked in the dining rooms even asked to play with the babies so the parents could eat for 10 minutes in peace. My sheet situation I am convinced was a fluke. A person who worked at the hotel obviously had this strain and touched his/her eye and then put the pillowcase on my bed. No need to pack a supply of pillowcases from home next time. Although I will be taking a dose of of meds, just in case.