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Cold/Flu

Kirirao

Lost in the maze of life
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Well, It's not even 1 month yet since I got to Japan, I think I caught a cold or flu. Not sure which is it.

So I'm here hoping someone can help me out by recommending what should I buy from the drug store, expectorants or something. If possible with the medicine name in Japanese. Since I dont really know what to look for right now.

Or should I just go to the doctor here? with my limited japanese skill, I wonder if its going to be a problem. Im guessing it is. And Im not sure how much it would cost either but I heard going to a doctor can cost 1man en or more without kokuminhokensho (just got mine a few weeks ago).

Any help would be very much apprecieated. Thanks.
 
thanks ill try and look it up

Edit : Didnt work for me and I've no idea why, when i tried to search for my location

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Going to the doctor with insurance (which you say you now have) is not going to cost you very much. Your portion will be a few hundred yen, I would guess. Probably not more than a thousand at any rate.

Personally, I think the idea of an otherwise healthy young person with just a cold going to the doctor is nuts, but it seems to be rather common here.

At any drugstore, just walk over to the area where you see lots of little boxes on the shelf behind a counter and talk to the person wearing a white lab coat. (Note: In most drugstores this will not be a licensed pharmacist....just somebody in a white lab coat). Ask for "kazegusuri" (cold medicine) and they'll hook you up. If you need cough medicine, ask for "sekidome". Work the word "kaze" in there somewhere, look miserable, and gestures will take care of the rest.
 
Thanks Mr. Cash, now I just have to go and check if the drugstore by the station is open or not on Sunday. Hopefully it is, just need to relieve the pain a little bit until golden week where I can finally take my time to rest.
 
I echo Mike's sentiment about the absurdity of going to a hospital with "just a cold". Unfortunately, a lot of minor colds here in Japan seem to have a habit of escalating into chest or throat infections and influenza. If you have insurance get your money's worth. There will be someone who is able to communicate in something resembling English at any hospital you go to. If necessary insist that the examining doctor write down his conclusions IN ENGLISH. He/She had to study English to an incredibly complex level (writing and reading only) in order to complete his/her academic studies so be insistent. They all read American medical journals!

Don't be at all surprised if the doctor prescribes an IV drip if their think you're dehydrated or have limited time in order to get better. From personal experience I can tell you that they DO give you an 'instant fix'. Oh yes, and the standard method of lowering a fever in Japan is to stuff a suppository up your back passage - they are also an 'instant fix'.

You've only got until Tuesday to see a specialist - sounds like Internal Medicine in this instance - before it becomes a 'lucky dip' for the Golden Week holiday.

BTW at the pharmacy be equally insistent that they explain the instructions IN ENGLISH - professional pharmacists also studied a bucket-load of English for at least ten years and can definitely cope with something as simple as "three times a day after meals".
--
 
I second the motion that Mike's observation is correct--it's strange that Japanese mother's especially will take what is more surely a child with just a regular cold, down to the clinic.

The advice above is good. Now, here's one more, if you can manage it:

Boil six chicken drumsticks, cut in half, in two liters of water with seven fresh garlic cloves, cut in half, and about 15 black pepper seeds and two bay leaves (or laural) for 6~7 hours.

Remove pepper seeds, make the broth into any kind of soup you want--I usually do tomoto--and eat a good helping of it. The next day you should start to feel somewhat more perky.
 
The weired thing is that I who also is new here in japan also cought a cold, I`m planing on treating it with lots of garlik, ginger and chilly in a wook

On the notion of going to the hospital here for nothing, a japanese chick I know when to the hospital a couple of days ago for pains in here legs after a long walk. lol
 
Thanks all

Well I bought a medicine yesterday, seems like an instant fix kind of medicine. Almost fix my runny nose and my sore throat(was really bad before) but gave me a dizzy/sleepy kind of feeling and still have a slight fever. And thank god its finally getting hotter over here. Anyway thanks for the help everyone. I really appreciated it, since I really have no idea how most stuff in Japan works.

@mr.sumo.snr
I thought shoving the medicine up your behind is just a myth. Didnt think such thing existed? And the pharmacists at my place does seem like he doesnt have any idea what I'm saying in English and only gets it after I said kazegusuri :/ good thing he can say when I should take the medicine.

@Mars Man
thanks, mars man. I'll try that recipe later. Though I don't know where i can find Black Pepper seed and I have no idea what's bay leaves looks like or where i can get that either. sorry.
 

That's what we're here for (well....sometimes, anyway). Glad to hear you got some relief. The only thing worse than being miserable is being miserable and having no idea how to go about alleviating it.


Remember that part where I said most of the people you find in drugstores wearing white lab coats aren't pharmacists?

Actually, in a drugstore that doesn't handle prescription medicines (the bulk of them, it would seem) the odds are that nobody present in the store is a pharmacist.

@Mars Man
thanks, mars man. I'll try that recipe later. Though I don't know where i can find Black Pepper seed and I have no idea what's bay leaves looks like or where i can get that either. sorry.
Click to expand...

The spice section of your local supermarket for both.
 
It's funny , because this week when I was sick, a Japanese friend asked why I didn't go to the hospital for my cold. I said we only go there if we have a)broken something or had an accident b)are dying

Seems it is indeed quite common to go to the hospital for the slightest.
 
The best thing is to try (emphasis on "try") to avoid getting sick in the first place. I learned my lesson the first time I went to Japan and proceeded to get sick on the third day. On subsequent trips, I have a regimen of taking Vitamin C pills every day one week before I head to Japan and continue to take them during my trips. Also, I use antiseptic wipes and don't touch things unnecessarily. If I do get sick, I bring aspirin, stomach relievers, Imodium (in case of "Hershey squirts") and nasal sprays along with me.
 
I actually get my doctor to prescribe medicines for possible illness such as cough and cold; sore throat, insect stingsﾂ…etc before we go overseas. :atchoo: If you are going to be living in Japan for a long time, then you should try to find medical doctor that can speak English. Maybe your embassy might have a list? Mine does in France.
 
JISTEC Tsukuba Office | Anna Hotline (March 2003)
ok it was linked already, but i had to get up to get the address, so there it goes again

man, medicine is so expensive (like anything else not secondhand) in japan! a measly box of contac cost $20!!!

not to mention the bribes and the kickbacks to the doctors
anyway, to visit the doctor, go really really early in the morning
 
Over-the-counter drugs are very expensive - compared to the US, not so much compared to western Europe.

The really good stuff - prescription drugs - are relatively cheap, though you have to factor in the costs of medical insurance. The two-weeks of antibiotics I'm on at the moment to clear up an infection of my larynx (pretty useful to actually have a voice if you're going to be a teacher) cost about 1200 yen, which IMAO is damn cheap!

BTW the consultation with the E.N.T. doctor, including the old fiber-optic camera up the nose trick, was 2200 yen - about 800 yen more than normal. I guess the doctor keeps having to buy new cameras when the interns keep nicking them to spy on the nurses' locker room!

--
 
Well seems like my cold gotten worst probably because of Japan somewhat weird weather... from cold to hot to cold and rain(seems like sprinkles to me). Since I was feeling really horrible and starting to get headached, feeling really weak and other stuff and I'm worried its more then a cold since my family have a history and i was told from my doc in malaysia i'm a high-risk for heart problems (because of my weight etc), I went to a English-speaking clinic with help from someone from my school jimusho just an hour ago.

Well here's my question, since Japanese clinic is different from how they do thing in Malaysia, I'm hoping someone can tell me if this is kind of normal over here. Well, before I get to see the doctor I've to fill in this questionnaire about what's my syntopms are, then around 20mins (i was the only one there at that time) I got to see the doctor.

So this is where it get a bit weird (for me). In Malaysia when you get in the doctor will ask me the syntopms and gave me a checkup like bloodpressure check, tempreture check, etc. But over here it seems I had more like an interview. When I said i think I've a fever, rather then checking my tempreture he look at me and ask, how high was it, and I said I dont know, and I said I'm not sure if I'm actually having a fever or not, just I kindda have the feeling that I have. He just nod his head (O.O) After a few more question and he checking my throat and breathing (which is hard for the both of us to Q&A since I cant hardly understand some of his english and mine sucks as well) He came to the conclusion I have a cold and only gave the medicine for fever and cough.

So is this the normal practice for doctors in japan (or is it just this doctor)? For making diagnosis on patient answers, without checking it throughly for themself? Or was it my fault? Should I have insisted on him to make a through checkup?... Man the language barrier is killing me. And being sick in foreign country really sucks. Thank god for the kokumin houkensho. I only had to pay 1020 yen and the medicine for 360yen (really cheap) compared to the one I bought before, 700 yen :/ and thats only for 1 day.
Sorry for the bad english.
 
Sounds pretty normal to me.

And if you hadn't just told us, I never would have guessed that English is not your first language.
 
Yes, Rio Lee san, I go along with Mike's observation. In fact there has been some push for doctors to chat and listen to their patients more than in the past--the effort seems to be to make better bonds between doctor and patient, and to help the doctor get more insight to what may be a root cause for a problem.

And yes, your English is good !!
 
I would guess the nurse assisting the doctor screwed up by NOT handing you a thermometer as you were filling out the questionnaire. A temperature and BP check is standard - especially for new patients.

BTW with the questionnaires I just point blank refuse to write anything myself. I tell them I don't read kanji but can understand their questions. The nurse will fill out the form for you. Milk the fact that you're feeling under the weather: "I'll try my hardest to answer your questions..."

It's worth knowing that nurses who work in the out-patient department are usually older and more experienced. They are often working mothers and don't have to do evening or night shifts. But what this means is that they won't freak out when it comes to dealing with a gaijin.

Told you the good drugs were cheap!!!

Get better soon.
 
Thanks for the help everyone

I guess I'm a bit over crittical when it comes to my health.
On the other note, I just finally realized what mr.sumo.snr and mr. cash said about the difference on the drug store guy wearing a lab coat vs the real pharmacist. Since I was assuming a normal drug store = pharmacist (like in Malaysia). Didnt know that actually would have another section dedicated only for pharmacist inside the drug store, and they even speak very fluent english. O.O!!

@ Mr.sumo.snr
Well I was lucky that at that time there was a guy from my school office accompanied me there, acting as a translator . And I've no idea that the nurse are suppose to take the temp, rather then the doctor. What's funny is I found out everytime I said I have a fever to someone they will always ask me "nando"? Like today when I told my class teacher on the phone that I'm going to be absent today because I have a fever. Seems like I should've buy myself a thermometer pretty soon.
 
maybe because in japan people wear face masks when they are sick
i dunno
 
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