Wednesday, December 01, 2004

just breathe...

I have an asthma.

My daughter has asthma.

I don't smoke. Neither does she (she's four years old, for chrissakes). Well, I tried to once, but I didn't pursue a would-be habit 'coz I know it'll kill me in the end. Not that I wanted to, but I just attempted to put that darn cigarette in my mouth...

Just a single stick. It doesn't matter anyway. It makes no difference whether you it's a stick or a pack.

Anyway, Sas and I brought Brianne this morning to a pediatric pulmonologist due to a recent asthma attack. We don't have this nebulizer thingie here in Florida, so we had Brianne on a continuous medication of salbutamol and celestamine--which I believe would run out in a few days time--considering the dose we normally give her. Since it would be impossible for my folks in Manila to restock us with those medicines through Fedex or whatnots, we decided to have Brianne see a medical specialist.

What amazes me is how the medical system here in the United States caters to its residents, be it citizens or immigrants like us. Nebulizers are not over-the-counter medication unlike in Manila wherein you could purchase this in a drugstore for P 5,000. Since this was our case, we ran out of any option except to bring her to a physician and get us a nebulizer.

Following an x-ray and this some kind of sinus test, she was given a prescription for those steroid inhalers that I similarly use. I don't exactly know the reason, but they say it would be her some sort of maintenance drug, which in my case (it's different, I know)--I had to use it in 'this-dose-for-blah-blah-days-then-you-come-back-and-we-will-adjust-your-dose' thing. The doctor, also, told us that we could get the nebulizer in no time, which, true to his word, the health-care provider called us awhile ago and informed us the device will be on its way in three hours. Delivered. No questions asked and no strings attached.

Sad to say the health care system in the Philippines is far different from how the same thing works here. You pay your tax and the taxpayers literally see where their money go. The state offers you the best treatment you could possibly think of but of course, you have to have your insurance with you. It may take us huge deductibles in our paychecks, however, it is safe to say that you're covered from head to foot.

Still I can't find the answer why a lot of Americans could not see their advantages.

latest musing of Etchie at 16:43

1 Comments:

 Hospitality Lawyer said...

Hi. Thought everyone might find it interesting that more and more cities worldwide are going non-smoking. Beijing announced on Friday that it would ban smoking in time for the Olympics. The ban would cover most public buildings. According to the USAToday article, “restaurants, bars, and hotels can still allow smoking but must provide smoke-free areas or rooms.” In a city where “23% of those above age 15 smoke,” one restaurant preempted the ban and went smoke free last week. The restaurateur already reports improved business and customer satisfaction.

You guys should check out Stephen Barth's challenge to the industry to go non-smoking. His blog on HospitalityLawyer.com is at: http://blog.hospitalitylawyer.com/

10:36 AM  

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