Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Wrench]

So I recently got my nose broken. I am not gone go into details of that I had another thread. This is about HOW bad the doctors in this country are.

I went to ENT specialist clinic to get my nose checked out. I have certain alergies which shrink my nasal passages but compounded with a broken nose the nasal passages were completly shut. I have since then lost all taste and sense of smell.

It turns out that a chronic allergy/nasal problems run in my family. I spoke with my mother and she mentioned that she had a procedure done to remove some of the agrivated tissue from her nose so she could properly breathe. I went to the doctor I mentioned this chronic problem I also mention that I might have a broken nose. (Hell I knew I had a broken nose) What does this "Specialist" do, shoves a camera down my nose and tells me that I have inflamed nasal passages, at that point I mention the procedure but he automatically TELLS me you have to small of nasal passages for the procedure.. THE PHUCKING PROCEDURE IS FOR increasing the size of said passages. He gives me a perscription tells me to see him in three days.. As I am leaving the office I think to myself this guy is a complete JOKE. I better get a 2nd opinion.

So of too Pusan to try and find a REAL doctor that can help me. Luckily a friend of mine found a Hospital that treated his condition. He told me about it so off I go to Dongui Hospital in Yangjang. I get there I get immediate help from a Nurse specifically dedicated to and International Clinic. I tell her my problem she gladly takes me to the right doctor.

Doctor 2 just by doing a quick examination tells me that I have a broken nose does a quick exam and I mention my chronic problem. Right away orders a X-ray and alergy blood test. Get back to his office, he looks at the xrays and right away he sits me down and EXPLAINS whats wrong. Not only does he tell me that I have a severly fractured septum but he also finds a cyst in my right sinus which will need to be removed if its growth progresses. Anywho He also finds that I have internal bleeding a large Hematoma has formed in my nose on my spetum. He also tells me that it looks like my nose has been broken more then once and that I have a crooked septum which compounds my chronic sinusitis that much more.

Cut the long story short. He sets my nose straight so it heals right, he removes the Hematome and informs me of a potential risk. Heck he even shows me the model of nose and what has occured to my nose. He takes more then 3 hours to fix my nose (2days) Internal bleeding problem. He also said that I should do the procedure to increase my nasal passages once my nose is healed (he did tell me that it wouldn't cure it but it would definetly improve my breathing ability).

Anywho in the in between sessions I had a good chat with the nurse and she explained to me why some Doctors are SO horrible in this country. They get paid more the more you visit them. Hence perscriptions for 3 days and silly shit like that. Very big Eye opener. This nurse is fantastic, she didn't have perfect english but she was more then understandable.

My question is how did the DOC 1 miss a broken nose and a large Hematoma bump in my nose?

*On a side note I also got hep shots* I was also informed that I need 3 injections when you get them.. The clinic I went to never mentioned that.

*Lessons Learned* Small clinics in Korea are a Joke, the majority of the doctors here are incompetent. All they want is money and they will nickle a dime you there. Go to a large hospital they tend to have much better doctors there. Dongui Hospital Two big thumbs up, well worth the travel from Changwon.

The only thing I am worried about is the fact they might close the international clinic because the Army no longer has a camp close to the hospital. So expats I suggest if you get sick go there, and maybe they will keep it open. *pray* I did pay a bit more but I got proper diagnoses and treatment.

[Gamecock]

Wrench,

Sorry about ribbin' ya in your other post. You've been through a hell of an ordeal and I truly wish you the best in your recovery.

You are spot on about the doctors here. In the States, the doctors screw you the minute you walk in the door (but at least they're usually competent). Here they definitely nickel and dime you, trying to keep you coming back again and again and again. I've also never been in any country where a doc will prescribe the number of pills you get here. For the mildest prognosis, you are suppose to take anywhere from 15-25 pills a day. It makes me wonder how many of those drugs are helping people come back for multiple visits...

In my first year in Korea I got the cold that you just can't seem to shake, the one every newbie seems to get. I was sick for about a month when my cough went down into my lungs and I was getting nervous about possibly being on the verge of pnuemonia. A Korean co-worker took me to a small ENT doc with a private practice in the neighborhood, assuring me he was fantastic. I was told by my Korean friends he would give me an anti-biotic shot and my cold would probably clear up. When I arrived at the doctors office, the doc looked in my ears, up my nose, and down my throat for about 15 seconds and announced triumphantly that I had acid reflux! (Which I didn't) I had already told him of how I had been sick with a cold for over a month.

"Ah yes, I see your throat is sore!"
"Umm, yeah, I have a terrible cold."
"No, no, no. That is the acid reflux. I give you pills to help acid reflux and you come back in 5 days."
"But what about my cold. I'm afraid I'm going to have pneumonia soon. Can you give me something for the cold?" I queried.
"No, I help acid reflux, and maybe when you come back you feel better."

The dude wrote me a prescription for acid reflux that entailed taking 8 pills with every meal. When I asked for something for my cold he told me that I would be taking too much medicine if he gave me more pills!

After tossing the presciption (which my Korean friend could not fathom- It seems doctors are kind of like little gods here and their prognosis should never be questioned), and rejecting another Korean friend's offer to take me to an ancupuncturalist for my cold (!!!), I finally found a real hospital with a real doctor who gave me a shot and my cold cleared up in the next week.

I've found that larger hospitals are the way to go here, but even at the famous and prestigious Cha Hospital in Bundang I saw health care that had far more to do with milking the bank account than with bringing healing...

[mnhnhyouh]

Given that the cold is a virus, for which there is no cure, I would guess you either had a bacterial infection, or the virus ran its course....

h

[Wrench]

You know whats really scary.. Its that these silly doctors in 3 day perscriptions are breeding new anti-biotic resistant bacteria.