Swine Flu, Expats In Pattaya

[silentnine]

have been having a look round for some info on swine flu prevention, daignosis and treatment as i am here with my farang children also.

as a farang i'm concious that should i or my kids get swine fly then its most likely that we will have to part with real cash for treatment.

and i can't seem to find info on the best course of action should we suspect infection.

logic dictates firstly go to a drs or hospital and should it be severe a inpatient stay would be required. the same for any ilness.

being prepared for the worst and knowing what to do i think is important.

does anyone know what to do should you show symptoms. running down to bkk/patts hospital is of course on the list . 4000bt ish for diagnosis i hear. but if they say inpatient there prices can be scary, and if it ended up in ICU it would be a scary bill. so waht are the options . anyone know which hospitals will treat the sick farang with symptoms without draining them of every penny.

of course treatment quality is important, its no good saying go to some bad hospital that will throw you in a que for hours then let you sit in the corner suuffering.

do we know where tamiflu is available if wanted/needed. is it hospitals only that have 'original' drugs or do pharmacies also sell it. i would imagine prices vary from place to place.

its a bit like saying i'll never fall off a bike so i won't wear a helmet. or its safe to cross beach road as a pedestrian.

both are safe as long as you have full control of yourself and others. and the odds that anything will happen are slim.

the odds of getting swine flu are slim but increasing each day it seems. so in event of infection its best to know what to do in advance.

tried to post this is the swine flu section but new post returned an error message

[Ulysses G.]

the odds of getting swine flu are slim but increasing each day it seems.

On the contrary, the odds of getting Swine flu are not all that low, but the odds of getting very ill are.

[whatchamacallit]

have been having a look round for some info on swine flu prevention, daignosis and treatment as i am here with my farang children also.

as a farang i'm concious that should i or my kids get swine fly then its most likely that we will have to part with real cash for treatment.

and i can't seem to find info on the best course of action should we suspect infection.

logic dictates firstly go to a drs or hospital and should it be severe a inpatient stay would be required. the same for any ilness.

being prepared for the worst and knowing what to do i think is important.

does anyone know what to do should you show symptoms. running down to bkk/patts hospital is of course on the list . 4000bt ish for diagnosis i hear. but if they say inpatient there prices can be scary, and if it ended up in ICU it would be a scary bill. so waht are the options . anyone know which hospitals will treat the sick farang with symptoms without draining them of every penny.

of course treatment quality is important, its no good saying go to some bad hospital that will throw you in a que for hours then let you sit in the corner suuffering.

do we know where tamiflu is available if wanted/needed. is it hospitals only that have 'original' drugs or do pharmacies also sell it. i would imagine prices vary from place to place.

its a bit like saying i'll never fall off a bike so i won't wear a helmet. or its safe to cross beach road as a pedestrian.

both are safe as long as you have full control of yourself and others. and the odds that anything will happen are slim.

the odds of getting swine flu are slim but increasing each day it seems. so in event of infection its best to know what to do in advance.

tried to post this is the swine flu section but new post returned an error message

Get yourself and Wife and kids a health insurance - BUPA or William Russell's agents here in Pattaya will be happy to sell you a family package.

[DonTron]

Relax guys... we just had Swine flu here at my office in Naklua. One of my managers attracted it at a mall in Bangkok, and here is how it felt.

"I had 2 days of downtime with a little fever, headache and coughing. It was exactly like a normal flu, so it’s not really that interesting."

After that my manager was back at work and we havnt had any cases since.

And remember... the normal flu is much more leathal than the swine flu

[gmac]

I think the first thing to do is take some paracetamol and lots of liquids, chances are it'll pass in a day or two with no lasting effects. If it doesn't then I guess you're in the clutches of the hospitals so health insurance is the best option. Without it they will do their best top empty your wallet.

[syd barrett]

I don't think there is any reason to worry unless you are very old or very young. In fact I think this swine flu has been blown out of all proportion. Very few of the dead were healthy to begin with.

I think I had it, I had a very sore neck with swollen glands and a sore throat and felt my whole body ache for 3 days and had no energy. But I didn't bother with medical consultation. I just drank fluids, had some paracetamol and slept a lot.

No worries.

[lor]

I had it. Aches, pains, fever etc but after a few days was OK. Take plenty of water and something like Ibuprofen. Keep in isolation for 1 week from the start of symptoms or 3 days after symptoms stop, whichever is the longest.

If your children get it then the treatment is the same unless they get so bad and irritable that they will not even let you cuddle them. In that case, take them to hospital. NOT Bangkok Pattaya! Try Pattaya International or the Navy Hospital at Sattahip. But from what I hear no hospital in Pattaya has any supplies of Tamiflu!

Chris

[glegolo]

I don't think there is any reason to worry unless you are very old or very young. In fact I think this swine flu has been blown out of all proportion. Very few of the dead were healthy to begin with.

I think I had it, I had a very sore neck with swollen glands and a sore throat and felt my whole body ache for 3 days and had no energy. But I didn't bother with medical consultation. I just drank fluids, had some paracetamol and slept a lot.

No worries.

--------------------------------

Yes yes yes, at last somebody with open OWN eyes!!!! have experienced the so called Hong flu in the sixthies and all the other

flues every decade. And this is not worse than that. Dont get too exiced..

Glegolo

Edited July 25, 2009 by glegolo

[Carlosm]

I had it. Aches, pains, fever etc but after a few days was OK. Take plenty of water and something like Ibuprofen. Keep in isolation for 1 week from the start of symptoms or 3 days after symptoms stop, whichever is the longest.

If your children get it then the treatment is the same unless they get so bad and irritable that they will not even let you cuddle them. In that case, take them to hospital. NOT Bangkok Pattaya! Try Pattaya International or the Navy Hospital at Sattahip. But from what I hear no hospital in Pattaya has any supplies of Tamiflu!

Chris

Chris, why NOT Bangkok Pattaya hospital ? Seems very modern and uptodate so whats the score ?

[Phil Conners]

^ Try searching this forum for Bangkok Pattaya Hospital (or BPH) and you will find plenty of reasons NOT to use them.

[ErikD]

The farang guy that works at Phya Thai hospital in Sri Racha was on the radio a couple of week ago (morning guest on 96FM) talking about swine flu and said exactly what you are all saying that it is no worse than normal flu for healthy people and not to panic about it. The normal flu treatments seem to be the best cause of action unless you are already ill or have other health issues in which case you will probably need to see a doctor but not Bangkok hospital Pattaya it is just a money making machine the Navy hospital at Sattahip is your best bet.

[lor]

IMHO - Bangkok Pattaya is just a money making machine. They can kill you by false diagnosis to get you to pay for treatment you do not need. By over prescribing drugs, just so you pay them more money. Also alowing people to die just because they cannot prove they have insurance.

There are many more reasons not to use them but I have only listed things that I have personaly seen happen to people I know. Unfortunately my daughter's teacher cannot comment personaly as they let him die because they did not know if he could pay for the needed blood transfusion.

I was in Pattaya Memorial last year. A man there was being told that he needed an urgent operation and that hospital could not do it. The man replied that he did not care how much it cost or which hospital did the operation, either here or in Bangkok as long as it was NOT Bangkok Pattaya! Guesse he already knew about them!

[Carlosm]

^ Try searching this forum for Bangkok Pattaya Hospital (or BPH) and you will find plenty of reasons NOT to use them.

Cheers for that. Had no idea.

I've used them twice, once went to enquire about laser eye surgery. They said i needed to be 50 years old but they'd do it anyway (i was 44yrs old at the time). After ringing my sister in England, who's a hospital manager, she said that they shouldn't have said that as my eyes were not ready and would change again after the surgery making it useless.

Guess thats what makes using this forum soooooooo good !!!

[Carmine6]

I don't think there is any reason to worry unless you are very old or very young. In fact I think this swine flu has been blown out of all proportion. Very few of the dead were healthy to begin with.

I think I had it, I had a very sore neck with swollen glands and a sore throat and felt my whole body ache for 3 days and had no energy. But I didn't bother with medical consultation. I just drank fluids, had some paracetamol and slept a lot.

No worries.

Actually, at least in the US, one unusual feature is that there are very few elderly cases. Most of the severe cases and deaths have not been at the age extremes. I think the highest death rate is in those in their 30's or 40's and the highest number of cases in age groups lower than that. You are correct that the deaths have been mainly in people with pre-existing conditions, and the death rate is low.

The hospitalization rate isn't too high. I can't find it, but recall is was around 10%. The death rate is pretty low - 302 of 43,771 cases in the US. Probably more than the 43,771 have had it. These cases are about half the world total. The US CDC (Centers for Disease Control) believes that 1/3 of people over 60 in the US have antibodies, but no one under 60. I'm not sure if that was some worldwide or just US outbreak.

From the US CDC: "The median age of hospitalized cases is 19 years old. When we look at the most severe outcomes, the people who have died, the age is a bit older. The median age of those who have died is 37"

Another: "So far, with novel H1N1 flu, the largest number of novel H1N1 flu confirmed and probable cases have occurred in people between the ages of 5 and 24-years-old. At this time, there are few cases and no deaths reported in people older than 64 years old, which is unusual when compared with seasonal flu."

General info:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/sick.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Transcript of a conference call which has higher statistical content. Some of the other calls had more stats:

http://www.cdc.gov/media/transcripts/2009/t090626.htm

[zzaa09]

Mother Nature's way of thinning out the herd.

[zebina]

Just be careful with breathing difficulties as this can indicate a more severe reaction

to swine flu. Some cases in australia with otherwise healthy people ie no other underlying illness

have had to be put on breathing machines to keep them alive.

Edited July 25, 2009 by zebina