Clinic visits in Thailand

Any building with a green or red cross will be able
to provide basic medical and pharmaceutical care
Photo from Nana Thai Herb

Some of our coworkers have an ongoing joke that Thailand hates us, because Emiliya and I rarely go a week without one of us being injured or sick. The environment here is definitely giving us a run for our money, and at the very least the constant change of 90 degree weather to an air-conditioned room is always giving us colds. This week I've been presented with a new challenge following an inevitable motorbike crash that I had last week. There's chatter in the expat community which says you're not a true expat in Asia until you get hurt from a motorbike, because with more bikes than cars on the road it's just bound to happen at some point. Emiliya has her motorcycle license so in the past she's always been trusted as our chauffeur whenever we rent a bike on the islands or in Chiang Mai, but last week I attempted to prove myself capable, which resulted in my lasting about 2 minutes before crashing into the sidewalk. Overall I walked away relatively unharmed, and thankfully there was a Thai guy who stopped nearby and drove me back to Emiliya so I wouldn't do any more damage. Lesson learned: I'm going to stay away from motorbikes for now. Unfortunately my immune system isn't up to par with Thailand, and the wound on my foot quickly got infected giving me a rather painful and swollen foot, thus resulting in another adventure with healthcare in Thailand.
As I've previously mentioned, there are countless clinics throughout Thailand which seem to be helpful with ailments anywhere from the flu to infections, and it's the first place we head whenever we're having health issues. Unfortunately we've become somewhat of regulars at our local clinic, as we've visited in the past for bad cases of food poisoning, tooth infections, stomach problems and now my foot. I've been pleasantly surprised by healthcare in Thailand, and this most recent visit was no exception. The nurses speak minimal English, but the doctor himself probably has a better vocabulary than myself. He quickly informed me that the wound on my foot was infected, and assured me that I would receive a good cleaning and some meds to help me get back on my feet (pun intended). He sent me to another room to get care from a nurse, but he popped in every few minutes between other patients to help translate and make sure that I understood what was going on. He was also extremely patient with me while I looked up my medical history online with Cleveland Clinic (thank goodness for MyChart) and urged me to get a tetanus shot because my most recent was almost ten years ago. I was also informed that I could come back each day to get a proper cleaning and redressing of my foot, which is awesome and something I will definitely take them up on.
Overall I got an exam, wound dressing, topical ointment, a tetanus shot and 7 days of antibiotics for about $25, which in the end will be reimbursed by my Thai health insurance. I believe that if I go back in the future for redressing that won't be covered by insurance, but it shouldn't cost more than $3-4 each time. Of course following true Thai disarray, when checking out the nurse told me to take the antibiotics twice a day. Later while at a nearby coffee shop I noticed that although the package has a number two on it, there's also a number four mixed in among the Thai letters. Fortunately we've made friends with the barista at this coffee shop and I went up to her for some clarification. In almost perfect English she informed me I have to take two pills, four times a day. Leave it to the cafe worker to outshine the nurse! With just about 6 weeks left in Asia I'm hoping this will be the last of any health issues, but it's also good to know that minus a few translation issues, the clinics have yet to fail us!