ctira

My husband's Thai wife non-o is due for the renewal stamp (the interview and paper works were done 30 days ago). He can't make it to Chaeng Wattana this time.  Can I just take his passport for the stamp (since there's nothing that requires him to be presented for the stamp renewal)? From my past experience officers never seem to look who's holding the passport. Just making sure it's doable. Thanks

Speaking from my experience...

My daughter, who suffers from allergies since she was born, became asthmatic before she turned 1, had cold every 3 weeks which had to be treated with antibiotics all the time, and had been through 4 hospitals for allregy treatment.

First I took her in at Bumrungrad where she was born. At that point she was too young for them to run any test. The doctor perscribed Singulair which did wonder at first. My kid stopped getting sick and had a normal life like other kids. But after a while things started to turn into a nightmare. She started developing major behavioral problem. She would cry, scream, and got extremely aggressive, and nothing could calm her down. this went on for couple years until I did a research online and found that many parents complained how Singulair DOES have mental side effect on their children. After bringing up concern to the doctor he turned me down like I was taking garbage. He said it was impossible that this med would give such a horrible side effect. So that was the end of this hospital visit. I quit giving my daughter Singulair and her tantrum went bye bye right away.

Next was Phyathai 3 Hospital. They ran a blood test when she was 4. There are 2 different types of allergen test, each one had 40 different kind of allregens. If i'm not mistaken one was "western allergens" and the other was "eastern allergens". Difference was types of trees, foods, grass, animals, etc.. I picked one that I thought would fit my daughter's allergies. It turned out she was allergic to dust mites, birds, feathers, sesame, and shell fish. That test cost about 5000 baht. The pro is you could test many allergens all at once. The con is the result is not promising, so the doctor said. The skin prick test is more accurate but it doesn't work on items like food. We never ran skin test on her . They gave her all kind of anti allergy medicine, be it down your throat, nose, skin, etc. I bought anti dust mite bedsheets and pillow sets for my daughter which I found being sold cheapest at Siriraj hospital. I ended up allergy proof the whole entire house. That included re-upholestered the couch, replacing chairs to non-dusmite materials.

Ky kid's health still was not improving to a satisfactory level. I switched hospital to Eye Ear Throat Nose Hospital. Things seemed to work out better. They have skin prick test which you can choose the allergens you think you might be allergic too. I don't remember how much This costs. Maybe 100 baht per allergen plus doctor's fee. The doctor checked out her nose and decided that nothing could be done until she grows out of it. He suggested lots of vitamins and med to increase her appetite to pump up her bronchial tube. Everytime we went to see this doctor she would get a nebulizer with a bronchial dilating med. They also performed peak flow test to measure her lungs.

By the time she was 5 and a half, I moved to the next hospital, The new Siriraj hospital (SIPH). The reason I moved to this hospital was because they offer immunotherapy treatment. I don't know any other hospitals in Bangkok that offer this kind of treatment. When she was 6 the doctor suggested that we run another allergy test for the child. After looking at the blood test allergen list I realized that it was quite different from Phyathai 3. They didn't offer a lot of allergens like Phyathai 3 so I decided to go for skin prick test. It turned out she is allergic to dustmites, cats, and dogs. Cats and dogs DID NOT show on her previous blood test. By that time she was ready for immunotheray shots. Here's the breakdown cost:

Allergy test: 2000 baht

Immunotherapy med: 1600 baht per every 4 months

weekly visit for allergy shot: 500 baht per visit. You need to go in 20 weeks before the doctor spaces out the shots to every couple weeks, every 3 weeks, every month, every 2 months. This will go on for about 2-5 years depends on how much you improve.

After 15 shots, I can see improvement in my daughter already. Less cold and if she has one she does not need antibiotics. Of course this is done in conjunction with exercise and a change on diet.

My daughter is lucky that her allergens can be combined in a single shot. Some allergens cannot be mixed, thus requires multiple shots in a visit.

Her pediatrician just perscibed another anti allergy spray called NOAL. It is all natural ingredients and is safe to use all the time. You inhale this minty powder and it coats your nostril lining which prevents allergy symptoms. This might work for you.

Hope you feel better soon.

Normally colds are caused by viruses. antibiotics have no effect on viruses but if given often and indiscriminately have heaps of negative side effects.

"Normally", yes. But in my daughter's case her allergy which already aggrevates her upper respiratory tract makes it easier for bacteria to enter her body while the immune system is overloading from fighting viral infection. After she started immunotherapy shot she began to heal out of the cold without the need of antibiotics. She used to get about 6-10 doses per year. This year it has been only 2. Huge difference.

I bought anti dust mite bedsheets and pillow sets for my daughter which I found being sold cheapest at Siriraj hospital.

That's interesting... I brought some dust-mite proof bed coverings with me from the States, and then ordered some more via airmail after being here a few years. But I've never seen or heard of any quality anti-allergen bedding being sold here.

Can you elaborate a bit on just where you found the bedding, what they had and how you purchased it? And did what you bought turn out to be helpful, as best as you could tell?

As far as I know, Siriraj hospital is known for the most effective, most cost-friendly allergy treatment. Their anti dustmite products are being sold at allergy department which you can walk in on the 8th floor of Chao Fah building. They have standard size bedsheets/pillow cases in stock. They also custom made to whatever size you need and mail it to you. I have many odd sized pillows and they are all dustmite proof. As far as quality, I am pleased with it. Care instruction given is to wash lightly and hang dry in the shade. Was told life span is about 5 year depending on how you take care of it. Pillow cases are zippered. I have bought dustmite pillow cases from a private company which is more expensive, and I can honestly say the quality is about the same.

Speaking from my experience...

My daughter, who suffers from allergies since she was born, became asthmatic before she turned 1, had cold every 3 weeks which had to be treated with antibiotics all the time, and had been through 4 hospitals for allregy treatment.

First I took her in at Bumrungrad where she was born. At that point she was too young for them to run any test. The doctor perscribed Singulair which did wonder at first. My kid stopped getting sick and had a normal life like other kids. But after a while things started to turn into a nightmare. She started developing major behavioral problem. She would cry, scream, and got extremely aggressive, and nothing could calm her down. this went on for couple years until I did a research online and found that many parents complained how Singulair DOES have mental side effect on their children. After bringing up concern to the doctor he turned me down like I was taking garbage. He said it was impossible that this med would give such a horrible side effect. So that was the end of this hospital visit. I quit giving my daughter Singulair and her tantrum went bye bye right away.

Next was Phyathai 3 Hospital. They ran a blood test when she was 4. There are 2 different types of allergen test, each one had 40 different kind of allregens. If i'm not mistaken one was "western allergens" and the other was "eastern allergens". Difference was types of trees, foods, grass, animals, etc.. I picked one that I thought would fit my daughter's allergies. It turned out she was allergic to dust mites, birds, feathers, sesame, and shell fish. That test cost about 5000 baht. The pro is you could test many allergens all at once. The con is the result is not promising, so the doctor said. The skin prick test is more accurate but it doesn't work on items like food. We never ran skin test on her . They gave her all kind of anti allergy medicine, be it down your throat, nose, skin, etc. I bought anti dust mite bedsheets and pillow sets for my daughter which I found being sold cheapest at Siriraj hospital. I ended up allergy proof the whole entire house. That included re-upholestered the couch, replacing chairs to non-dusmite materials.

Ky kid's health still was not improving to a satisfactory level. I switched hospital to Eye Ear Throat Nose Hospital. Things seemed to work out better. They have skin prick test which you can choose the allergens you think you might be allergic too. I don't remember how much This costs. Maybe 100 baht per allergen plus doctor's fee. The doctor checked out her nose and decided that nothing could be done until she grows out of it. He suggested lots of vitamins and med to increase her appetite to pump up her bronchial tube. Everytime we went to see this doctor she would get a nebulizer with a bronchial dilating med. They also performed peak flow test to measure her lungs.

By the time she was 5 and a half, I moved to the next hospital, The new Siriraj hospital (SIPH). The reason I moved to this hospital was because they offer immunotherapy treatment. I don't know any other hospitals in Bangkok that offer this kind of treatment. When she was 6 the doctor suggested that we run another allergy test for the child. After looking at the blood test allergen list I realized that it was quite different from Phyathai 3. They didn't offer a lot of allergens like Phyathai 3 so I decided to go for skin prick test. It turned out she is allergic to dustmites, cats, and dogs. Cats and dogs DID NOT show on her previous blood test. By that time she was ready for immunotheray shots. Here's the breakdown cost:

Allergy test: 2000 baht

Immunotherapy med: 1600 baht per every 4 months

weekly visit for allergy shot: 500 baht per visit. You need to go in 20 weeks before the doctor spaces out the shots to every couple weeks, every 3 weeks, every month, every 2 months. This will go on for about 2-5 years depends on how much you improve.

After 15 shots, I can see improvement in my daughter already. Less cold and if she has one she does not need antibiotics. Of course this is done in conjunction with exercise and a change on diet.

My daughter is lucky that her allergens can be combined in a single shot. Some allergens cannot be mixed, thus requires multiple shots in a visit.

Her pediatrician just perscibed another anti allergy spray called NOAL. It is all natural ingredients and is safe to use all the time. You inhale this minty powder and it coats your nostril lining which prevents allergy symptoms. This might work for you.

Hope you feel better soon.

Sounds like the dog owner isn't a nice human being. He terrorizes people by carrying a 2x2 around when his dogs are being a nuisance. Perhaps his pooches pick up this behavior from him.

Just to let you know, there are cases of dogs attacking people. Owners are responsible for medical bills and emotional distress at a reasonable amount, like ten thousands++. If you really want to get even with this owner you might want to consider in the range up to 6 figures. It's called "Kha Tum Kwan". I predict it's just a matter of time before the dog owner gonna have to reach deep into his pocket to fix the problem.

And yes, all Thais run into this very problem like you do. Some people here are just jerks. Period.

I have friends who are traveling to Trinidad. They are flying to transit @Canada before taking a flight to Trinidad. Do they need to apply transit visa?

My Russian friend said she does not need transit visa if she does not stay @the airport more than 24 hours. But for Trinidadian we are researching and do not have an answer.

If anyone has information please post. Thank you!

Do you have the barcode sticker on the back of your passport?

There is a barcode printed on the inside back cover of the passport, not a sticker.

Thanks Mario. I thought so that it happens quite often. However immigration is quite unpredictable (seems to me). I'm being paranoid they would jail me or do something similar lol.

U.S. passport non o marriage visa. Due for another 90 day report and found out the 90 day card is missing. It was printed so I figure it should be in their system when I last reported. Or are they gonna fine me big time? Any suggestions?

I'm going to Chang watthana tomorrow. The due date is actually Friday 9th.

You HAVE to file tax every year even if you declare $0 income. IRS is getting tougher and more strict every year. If they find out you didn't file income tax things will get ugly---auditing, re-filing on years you didn't file, possible fees, etc. And think of the long term benefit---what if one day you have to move back to the U.S.? Yes, you can use your relative address for your permanent address as long as they are ok with it. Do it. You have couple days left hurry up!

An advice for you speaking from my situation. I work outside the country and I declare income. I get a decent amount of money back from IRS. Along with that I have to pay small amount of local and state taxes. You might want to look into getting an accountant and have things set up for you. Good luck. And don't forget to file!

Good for you Drew, and I'm sure she will "overcome" this letter. Oops.

PM caught crying due to stress from flooding crisis

I'm gonna vote for the red. If they don't win this election they'll burn down the whole city.

Joking...

(Joking about voting for the red)

I sell astro turf. I sent you info via email.

Obviously the accusers are trying to taint the monk's reputation by making the story "big" so people have negative view on him. If they are so very certain that he is wrong why would they go to DSI for "investigation" instead of filing a court case.

The accusers said in Thai news that it is "possible" that the monk has up to 100 million in his ex-wife's account. They do not have any kind of proof. So before we all "believe" that he has that much money, let's wait til evidence shows up. And even if they had that much money where would it have gone to I wonder. The place is not at all grand and there has been no further constrution at the site. No one ever sees Phra pramote nor his ex-wife owns anything fancy. DSI should investigate on DMC aka UFO cult. They make some serious cash over there.

Country of freedom yet forcing someone to change his religion is ok?

It's sad how some people abuse the system, their rights & others and constitution.

Thai birth certificate only? Does ti need to be translated and notaraized by the U.S. embassy?

I tried contacting the embassy. They do not answer the phone for these type of questions.

Or should I call the airlines?

My friend will be traveling to the U.S. to visit a friend for 3 weeks. She will be taking her 5 year old son along with her. She already had a U.S. visa, but her child doesn't. Obviously the parents need to apply for him. Questions are:

1. I assume both parents will need to be at the embassy for the child's visa process, right?

2. Since the child will be traveling with one parent, does any document or written consent need to be presented at the counsular during application? Does it need certified by the foreign ministry?

3. How about problem at the airport, immigration U.S. checkpoint?

I'm asking this b/c I've read somewhere about airlines becoming more strict with children traffiking. They need proper evidence that the child is not being abducted.

Please help clarify. Any other things that needs done please tell. Thank you!

Do not go see this movie unless you're mentally stable and grounded. Some people reported feeling depressed and wanted to commit suicide after watching the film. <deleted>.

TRUE HI SPEED-Bangkok area

package is download @ 8MB, upload @ 1 MB

Testing on Thaivisa

Last Result:

Download Speed: 5734 kbps (716.8 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 699 kbps (87.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

Latency: 87 ms

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 11:33:34 AM

1434readers are worried about the size of the penis??? Now thats pretty big

So after reading this topic how many of you got a measuring tape out, or thinking about digging it out of toolbox?

You need to do the right thing:

Be a man, step up and take care of the baby. The baby will have your name as a father on the birth certificate. Like teddy_bear said you don't need to be married to be certified as the father of your child.

Divorce, well, if you can you should, but it's not as important as what needs done above. Divorce is not necessary at this point.

I think you should tell your family. Who in the world would hate a little baby for crying out loud! Most people are thrilled to be grandparents! I've seen it happened to lots of people and I don't ever see one family that hate the baby. It's more like when is it my turn to hold the little bean.

My first child was born at Samitivej. The second one was born at Bumrungrad. Both by natural birth.

I think they are equally good. Their package is about the same. Just think of best location for your wife if she HAS TO GO.

The only thing that seems to be the problem at both hospitals is...the doctors. If you choose female OB/GYN chances are you will have to wait a looonnnggg time before getting to see your doc. If your wife is OK to have a male OB doctor, go for it. Mine is a male and I never have to wait more than 15 minutes to get checked out (Thai women are very genderphobic when it comes to OB doctors. That's why female doctors are always booked).

That's my two cents.

If you can afford it sent your child to an international schoool, otherwise you do not have the choice. Your child will learn Thai from you.

Yes, she will learn to talk. Even though I know some Thai parents who sent their children (who were born and raised in Thailand) to international schools and them kids speak very little Thai...Parents ended up having to speak English to them. Thai grammar, reading+writing is very difficult to teach & needs to be taught in school, unless you're a dedicated parent who will homeschool your child during her free time. The new school curriculum, the EP program, is quite decent. Here's an example of my kid's school EP curriculum:

In Thai by Thai teachers: grammar, language arts, religion, math, science, social studies, art, home-ec

In English by native English teachers: grammar, language arts, science, math, physical education, computer

However the EP program doesn't reinforce English as much as the international school program, so you can't expect the English part to be as good as the international schools. Since your child already has a strong English skill, she should work on her Thai (once again if you think it's necessary...)