Our First Trip to the Hospital

Today, we made our first trip to the Bangkok Hospital of Pattaya for immunizations. We are planning a trip to Northern Thailand in a couple of weeks since the boys will be out of school for one week in October in honor of Chulalongkorn Day-I have no idea what that is yet but it sounded like a good excuse to schedule a trip to Chiang Mai, which is supposed to be one of the most scenic parts of Thailand. We had been told that the Japanese Encephalitis immunization should be given if you plan to travel to Northern Thailand or off the beaten path. I really enjoy 'off the beaten path' kind of things so we made our first visit to the physician here. I've told you before that the lobby of the hospital feels just like a hotel. You register at the lobby desk and take a seat until someone escorts you to the specific area of care. Today, we were escorted to the Pediatric area. Dustin and Nathan will be kicked out of pediatrics in one year. I guess in Thailand at 15 you're considered an adult. The boys were none too excited about having to receive injections and they especially disliked having to spend their Wednesday short-day from school in the Dr.'s office. After the boys vital signs, height and weight were obtained we waited about 5 minutes to see a physician. She was a Thai woman who spoke very good English. She was in agreement that we should all receive the Encephalitis immunization to travel to the north of Thailand as, "That is where the Japanese beetle lives?" She also informed us that the boys needed their Varicella booster after reviewing their immunization record. Now the boys were totally bummed that they had to have two injections! She also agreed to give me the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine as well without any prior history from me or obtaining of vital signs or medical history. She was so generous and kind I asked her if she would be willing to send home a dose for my husband as well, explaining that I was a nurse in the US and could administer the shot at home, she was more than happy to oblige. That would have never been allowed in the states! What a nice convenience for us. It is true that you can buy most drugs over the counter here. We have obtained steroidal cream for Ethan's eczema, ear drops for swimmers ear and some sort of eye drops for Nathan's irritated eyes all over the counter just by explaining our symptoms. A friend has received Amoxicillan over the counter but had to make sure to ask for 4 boxes of the drug in order to get a whole 10 days of coverage in, other wise if you only get one box you are only taking 3 days of antibiotics.

After seeing the physician we waited outside the treatment room while the nurse prepared all our injections and my take-home order for Marko. After receiving our medications we were escorted to the billing area and given a number, after about 5 more minutes we were charged about $330 for visit and drugs. I was told that the Japanese Encephalitis injection was $175/shot in the US not counting visit fees. It seemed like a relatively painless visit and we were very impressed with our first trip to the Hospital of Thailand.

One interesting thing I learned from the physician. She was interested in Nathan's history with the Methicillan Resistant Staph and the septic arthritis. She told me that any pregnancy less than 28 weeks is considered abortion in Thailand, I think she meant not viable. She stated that Nathan would not be alive if he was born in Thailand. We are thankful for Nathan and that he and Dustin were born in the US. Bye for now.