Going to hospital anywhere isn’t a fun thing. Going in the third world can be a real adventure. Unfortunately it’s one that you might want to avoid. Here are a few things you might hear uttered in the halls that might show you why you want to avoid it.
Photo From World Bank Collection
I’ll Just Clean the Needle – In many understocked hospitals in the third world, there is a crisis regarding the supply of new medical equipment due to economics, corruption, organisation or any number of other problems. In many places that means that needles can and will be re-used. Sometimes an effort is made to clean them with bleach etc, sometimes not. Either way, you don’t want a dirty syringe anywhere near you. Some people even pack their own clean syringes when travelling to these remote areas to avoid this exact scenario.
We’ll Need to Chop it Off – The thing about under qualified, under equipped and under paid doctors is that they seem to have a real preference for hacking, chopping, poking, piercing and cutting – even when it may not be totally necessary. If you hear this line, then you need to organise to get the hell out of Dodge, because it isn’t going to end well for you if you stay.
Photo from World bank Collection
We’re Just Waiting for the Doctor – When this one is uttered in the third world, you might well be waiting for hours or days (and it’s not really confined to only doctors). I have never figured out if this is just the town big-man exercising his superiority and letting everyone that he doesn’t run for anyone, or if it’s something else. Either way, if you hear this in a hospital, you might want to consider finding other means of treatment.
We’re Out of Morphine – Just like syringes, other medical supplies can and do run short. Not fun.
I’ll Just Get the [Insert Name of Sharp Medical Instrument Here] – Be especially frightened if you hear this and you only went in for a routine complaint. I once went to a doctor with an ear ache. After looking at the ear he declared that the ear-drum was burst and he would need to cut the other ear-drum with a scaple to “even it up.” No shit. When they start bringing out the silverware you need to get your ass out of there.
There is a fairly easy solution to many of these predicaments. It is called travel insurance and it often comes with a phone number that you can call when you get into health trouble. Travel insurance companies want you to get to a competent medical facility to be treated properly because they know that if you get poor treatment in some backwater, they might be paying the bills for a long time to come when you get home and need rehabilitation.
Get travel insurance. Get the help number. Keep it in your wallet. Use it when you need to. It is in their financial interests to know where the competent doctors are and how to get you to them or them to you.
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On the packing clean needles front: Adventure Medical Kits makes a small kit of needles, both suturing and injection needles of various gauges, for the traveler who wants to ensure having a clean supply. Might be difficult to travel with in some cases, but for what its worth, it does exist – http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/product.php?catname=Travel&prodname=Suture/Syringe%20Medic%20&product=198
It also might not be complete enough, depending on the travelers needs but a medical supply experienced in providing for travelers should be able to put together something similar.
Thanks or that link MD – there looks like some good stuff on that site.