jfchandler

in the mall that sits in between Siam Discovery and Paragon, there is a glasses shop on either the second or third floor, that as of about 18 months ago, sold hard lense solution.

Thanks much for the reply. I'm assuming you're referring to the Siam Center building, which is the one between Siam Discovery and Siam Paragon. I'll check it out, and advise back here. --John.

As a longtime sinusitis sufferer, and veteran of three laser sinus operations, I think the medical community, especially in the U.S., is terrible about this. The surgeons only do surgery, but seemingly will do little else, except prescribe antibiotics. And every doctor seems to have their own different diagnosis and different remedy, which is hardly reassuring or helpful. From this painful maze of experience, a few simple things seem clear:

1. Steaming your nose a couple times a day is good, either with straight clean water or with added pure oils like eucalyptus. A sinus specialist at Bumrungrad Hospital in BKK I saw recently prescribed Kamillosan, which is easily available at drug stores (about 140 baht per bottle) and is a mixture of various oils. She recommended a half capful in 200 ml of water, about 10 minutes of inhaling the steam per time. I just heat 200 ml in the microwave, and then add the oil and inhale. It does help.

2. Also good is the recommendation for rinsing your sinuses with warm saline solution. There are several ways to do this. One is the Neti-pot referred to above. Another is with a specially designd (and simple) plastic squirt bottle specially designed to fit into your nostril. See www.neilmed.com for more info.

A third way (and one that I use) is a Water-Pik unit with a specially designed tip also specially designed for nasal rinse. The pulsating effect of the Water Pik device is supposed to be good for your nasal cilia, which help clear mucus. You can buy a regular Water Pik unit at the store, and then buy the sinus tip separately. Or you can order a combined unit together. See the following as an example:

http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/h...-irrigator.html

In general, doctors recommend using about 16 oz of water per session, half into one nostril and the other half in the other. (The water drains out the other side, each time). You usually want to add a mix of non-iodized salt (or sea salt) and a bit of baking soda to pure water, to get a saline solution, which matches your body's fluid Ph. A teaspon or so of salt per 8 oz is normal, though people adjust that up or down depending on their sensitivities and preferences. More salt tends to have a greater drying effect, but it can also cause stinging for some people.

The sinus doc I saw at BH hospital also presscribed Maxiphed, which is a version of pseudoephedrine, as a decongestant (two a day), Zyrtec as an antihistamine (one at bedtime), and Danzen/serrapeptase as an anti-inflammatory (3 a day) to reduce sinus swelling/inflamation. The combination of the above seemed to work nicely, without any side effects that I've noticed.

--John in BKK

Regarding the comments about hard contact lenses (rigid, gas permeaable), I've happily worn them for more than 20 years with little problem (except for the occasional wind blown dust/dirt in the eye problem). And that includes the time I've stayed in BKK and elsehwere in Thailand.

One particular advantage is your eye doctor can employ a technique called orthokeratology, which basically involves using precisely curved hard lenses to reshape the real curve of your eye to optimal vision levels. By doing this, which is like a temporary, non-surgical Lasik effect, you get good vision with the lenses on and keep that benefit for varying periods, even with the lenses off (because your eyes retain the corrected curvature for some time). I wear my lenses for work during the day, and tend to take them off at night and on the weekends at home.

Using hard lenses also tends to keep your natural vision from further deteriorating through the years, obviously, depending on the natural state of your eyes and their particular problems. There's also no hassle about buying and replacing soft lenses all the time. One pair of hard lenses usually will last a year or so, though if you flush one down the sink, it means paying for a replacement.

One challenge, though, where I could use the advice of others here. In my initial checks around BKK, I find many outlets for soft lens solutions. But I've yet to find any in BKK for HARD LENS SOLUTIONS, which are different and intended just for hard lenses. Fortunately, having a feel for this before I moved permanently to BKK, I brough a large supply of Bausch and Lomb hard lense solutions from home in L.A.with me.

But, I'd really like to find an outlet for hard lens solutions here. Today, I stopped by a Charoen Optical shop in BKK on my way home, and they seemed to think I was crazy for asking. They also could offer no suggestions of where else I might go to find them. Among the Thais I know, I don't know any who use hard lenses. Softs seem to be the norm here... maybe because you constantly have to be buying more!

--John in BKK

Regarding the Ambassador pool, I like it very much after having joined there in the past couple weeks.

I concur with some comments stated above: the hotel's fitness center is a bit worn, though the staff is friendly and helpful, and it includes indoor steam rooms and jacuzzis. The outdoor pool is 17 meters, very clean and fresh, and has adjoining bar for drinks and health center for Thai massage, which they'll also do poolside.

I didn't check about pool only acccess. But for fitness center and pool combined, Ambassador is now offering memberships of either 1) a special of two people, one month for 1,100 baht, or 2) a year for about 6,000 baht. I started with the one month trial, but now intend to renew that as annual for access to the pool and fitness center.

The price is great, especially compared to fitness center places like California WOW where you get blasted by techno music. It's also not nearly so pricey as other hotels like the Westin or Sheraton. They certainly have the usual treadmills, bicycles and various weigh machines. It's also rarely busy except with some Thai locals and hotel guests, meaning I can swim and work out in relative peace.

Because the pool is in a hotel setting, the hours are long -- from early morning until night every day, a bit longer on weekdays, and a bit shorter on weekends. But still until 8 pm at night for the pool, and 9 pm weekends and 10 pm weekdays for the fitness center.

Another nice advantage: the Ambassador is just a very short, minutes walk from Nana BTS.

PS - This is my first post as a new member and longtime reader, recently and permanently arrived from Los Angeles. All the coment and advice here, always taken with some degree of caution, has been very valuable to me as I prepared and executed my move here.

Thanks, John