I have some weird growth on one side of my face. It began as a small reddish, itchy spot and spread over three days to turn one side of my face into a hard, hot, swollen elephant man-type disfigurement. ok - that may be a little over the top, but I got endless questions, lots of stares, and many recommendations on what to do next.
the evening of the second day I went to the pharmacy.the old woman there gave me a a korean knock-off version of that pinkish anti itch stuff. It occurred to me as I was leaving, rather disappointed in the diagnosis, that I see her HUSBAND sitting behind the counter during the day, meaning that some old bat who just happens to be married to a pharmacist feels that its OK for her to give out medical advice while here husband eats dinner or whatever. That buuurned me, and, like dirt in the wound, the pinkie stuff didn't help at all.
third day, children's day. Hospitals are mostly private affairs in South Korea and, armed with my wife's Blue Cross travel coverage, I headed out to Yonsei University's absolutly beautiful hospital. Spacious, impeccaably clean, and manned by people in full suits, I headed to emergency with my friend Miwa, a japanese girl studying at Hong ik. A quick wait and we sign in. after a short lunch, we headed back to the waiting room, but there was no waiting! Thirty minutes after arriving, and on a busy holiday, i see a nurse.
So far I am impressed! Then the snow job begins - urine test, blood test, x-ray (I put my foot down on that one. Christ; i have an isolated infection!)and spent over two hours hooked up to an IV drip after getting two needles of what I assume was an antibiotic. I slept most of the time away, and awoke just before the doctor came to talk to me. A full blood and urine test had been run in the time I was sleeping there, (how long does it take in canada, like, two weeks?)and the doc had news
Now, what is the most scary question you can be asked by a doctor? give up? it's this.. (in sort of rough english)
do you know Herpes?
..Now what's going through my head is; how did I get Herpes in Korea, and how am I going to explain to my wife that I got an STD while "doing reserach" an Hong ik university..
the reality was that it was just a missphrased question. After I shakily mumble, "umm, err yes, i do know herpes, it a a umm STD, correct?" He restates the question, "no, i mean, have you ever had herpes?"
a sigh of relief.
"no"
To add to the awkwardness of the situation, as I face one way, talking to the doctor in Konglish about my meds (and another appointment the following day), the nurse is taking the needle out of my arm. either carelessness or the masssive sudden rush of adrenaline caused by the herpes scare resulted in one of those squirting blood situations i believe, because when i turned back, there was a long line of blood droplets across the floor.
The result? no result - maybe an allergic reaction, maybe an infection. so, i get meds for both.
Hopefully tomorrow is just as amusing.
*update* How long does it take to fill a prescription in super-efficient Korea? Less than two minutes. In that time, three different meds were sorted, put into individual packages (each labelled), and put on the counter, where a pharmacist ran over the particulars. Basically, in the time it took to root through my wallet for the money, the drugs were good to go. Fantastic.
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