Korean Job Discussion Forums

[EZE]

Has anyone on here ever caught tuberculosis while in Korea?

[Sector7G]

[EZE]

I didn't realize how epidemic TB is in South Korea until I was reading a lot about it after being diagnosed with it. Out of the 36 OECD countries, South Korea, Japan, and the USA rank #1, #2, and #3 in new TB cases. In the USA, there are 4 new cases for every 100,000 people. In Japan, there are 21. In South Korea, there are 97!

I've been diagnosed with TB by doctors at two different hospitals, but neither place seems 100% confident about their diagnosis.

About six weeks ago, I had a sudden bout of mild fever with hoarseness. A local doctor gave me some pills and I got better, except for a sore throat much deeper in the throat than usual that lasted for two or three weeks. I felt great otherwise, but since the sore throat was so persistent, I went to an ENT specialist at Bundang Jaesaeng Hospital and he gave me some meds. It got better, but I started feeling bad.

I went to Bundang Jaesaeng Hospital on Friday the 13th and asked them to do blood tests for "everything" and a chest x-ray. They did and told me to come back on Tuesday the 17th. The family medicine doctor showed me the chest x-ray and told me I have TB and all the children at the school where I work need to be tested. She sent me up to the second floor to see a pulmonary specialist. The pulmonary specialist told me I have pneumonia, prescribed me 7 days of meds, and told me to come back on Christmas Eve for another chest x-ray and more blood tests.

I was disappointed about receiving two different diagnoses from two different doctors at the same hospital. I felt like I needed to know ASAP what I have since I teach children and should probably be off work. I was also disappointed they didn't do a TB skin test, a sputum test, or more blood tests, and I decided I'd try to find a hospital that would. I called the International Clinic at Asan Medical Center in Seoul and they said they could do the tests I was requesting.

I went to Asan Medical Center on Thursday, and they did a chest x-ray, a TB skin test, a sputum test, and took a blood sample. I was pretty happy and optimistic on Friday and yesterday morning, since the TB skin test didn't react at all. Then I showed up for my 9:20 follow-up appointment and things went downhill fast. As soon as I walked in, the nurses started putting on masks and handed me one to put on as well. A nurse told me I have active TB. I went in to see the doctor and she told me I have active TB. She showed me the chest x-ray and was concerned about the right lung, just like the doctors at Jaesaeng. As we continued to talk, it seemed like she became less and less confident about the TB diagnosis. She said they tested my sputum for TB bacteria and it came back negative, but she thought I had possibly just spit out phlegm from my throat and not my lungs. I then rolled up my sleeve and showed her the TB skin test, which was negative as well. The fact that I haven't lost weight, haven't had night sweats, and haven't had bloody sputum, which are common symptoms of TB, also seemed to create more questions than answers. She even told me to continue going to work until I get diagnosed with TB for sure.

They ended up taking more blood, doing another sputum test where I was very careful to make 100% certain it was only lung sputum, and they did a CT scan of my chest.

I have an appointment at Asan Medical Center tomorrow to find out some of the findings.

[Sector7G]

Hey man, sorry about your troubles. It sounds like you are handling it fairly well. I would be at my wit's end. I hope you get better soon.

My father contracted TB in Japan at the tail end of WWII, which is another reason your post caught my eye. He was drafted at age 18 and was trained as a paratrooper. But then the war ended so he never saw action, but he was sent over to Japan as part of the occupation forces.

After a stateside hospital stay(not sure how long it was), he made a full recovery, but received a monthly check from Uncle Sam for the rest of his life. He used to call it his "TB check".

[Unposter]

I had a check up which included an x-ray and a few days later I got a call saying that they thought I had TB and I should come in.

This really surprised me because I basically was fine and I had no other symptoms.

I went in and they took another x-ray and they said, yes, you have TB and wrote out a prescription for me.

But, I complained to the doctor. How can I have TB if I don't have any other symptoms. But, the doctor insisted that the x-ray showed I had TB and that they don't do skin tests anymore.

But, I insisted so they gave me the skin test.

It came back negative.

The doctor literally threw her hands in the air and said I should go to a larger hospital because she didn't understand why the x-ray showed me to have TB.

So, I went to a larger hospital and had a CT. I was diagnosed with another lung ailment, which I'd rather not get into, but it was not TB.

So, all I really want to say is that there are a lot of false positives for TB. And, good luck with everything!

[World Traveler]

[EZE]

Thanks guys. One thing the doctor at Asan Medical Center told me yesterday is that if you do catch TB, you get free treatment at the community health center.

My one piece of unsolicited advice is what I would do if I could do it all over again...on the subways, I think it's probably better to not stand near the geriatric section since they have a higher rate of infection.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-koreas-legacy-battle-with-tuberculosis/

[le-paul]

Dont always trust doctors. Despite what most people believe, they're human, they don't know everything and they make mistakes.

I have had more than one doctor back home tell me this; 'you should have 2 doctors, one you trust and the other you go to for a second opinion'.

If you have a serious condition, get a second and third opinion before starting treatment.

Id be amazed if you have TB because you should have had a vaccination before you were about 15 years old. Call your mum and ask her about it.

[Weigookin74]

Do they catch this on your annual blood test you have to take every year? I had some kind of scratch test before coming over here that said I didn't have it. I got a whole bunch of shots before coming here as I didn't know what to expect and Korea was not as well known as today.

Most important one I was really glad I got was the Hep A and B shots. (Twinrix) They were combined. Considering how much everyone slobbers into a communal bowl of shared food, I'm really glad I had those dang shots!! Don't want to be catching those, thank you very much.

[Weigookin74]

Anything else to catch over here?

Had Measles and Mumps boosters. Had chicken pox when I was a kid; so, I'm immune to that one.

I always tell my kids to cover their mouth when they cough as I don't want what they've got.

[young_clinton]

Do the high rates of TB in South Korea have anything to do with a lack of public health to some degree?

[EZE]

I agree about getting second and third opinons.

As far as a TB vaccine, I wish I would've had one but I'm from North America where, unfortunately, they didn't do those when I was a kid. If you've been vaccinated, the skin test shows positive but mine was negative.

I wish I would've been vaccinated. I just didn't know until this week that I was so vulnerable to TB infection. In North America, TB is generally associated with AIDS patients, intravenous drug users, and so on. But here, it's epidemic throughout the population.

[young_clinton]

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[EZE]

[Steelrails]

The should make a Korean Oregon Trail game that chronicles your 1 year teaching experience. Load up on supplies, but be careful some stuff you can buy at home won't be out there on the trail. Go fishing and "hunting". Watch some of your friends drop off and "die" (pull a runner) along the trail. And yes, battle diseases along the way that you thought belonged back in the 1840s- Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Dysentery, and more all as you battle extreme weather conditions.