Dog bite

[midasthailand]

on 12 Sep I got bitten after stepping on the foot of a sleeping dog, nasty bite, straight to hospital for injections and wound dressing, cost around 3,500 THB. Dressing needs changing every day and I will have my last injection in March next year. The purpose of this thread is to look at the enormous difference in medical costs between facilities in Thailand.

 

My first three dressing changes were done at my local private hospital, Sikarin hospital. Cost 760 THB per day.

Next was Viparam hospital in Laemchabang. Cost 449 THB

Back to Sikarin Cost 760 THB

Songserm Sukaparp in Na Jomtien. Cost 100 THB

then Koh Chang public health clinic at Khlong Praow cost 100THB

 

The treatment received at each facility was EXACTLY the same using the same sterile kit on each occasion. Why is there such a disparity of charges?

Waiting time at the places outside Bangkok was less than 5 minutes, waiting time at Sikarin up to 1 hour.

 

Total cost of the dog bite will be in excess of 25,000 THB (including the injections).

 

Maybe it's time to take out health inurance cover!

[Dmaxdan]

About eighteen months ago, I was treated for a dog bite. I went to my local public hospital, had two injections but no dressing. Then had a number of follow up jabs over the next few months and the total cost was no more than 2000 baht.
Another time I had a large bamboo splinter cut from the palm of my hand. Same hospital, cost about 700 baht for the treatment. My hand was redressed at a local clinic everyday for a week which I paid 200 baht for.
I honestly believe that private hospitals in Thailand are the biggest ripoff going. I strongly believe people only go private purely because they think it improves their social status.



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[Kwasaki]

Don't really understand your post,  is it 3500 at injection intervals and why not just go to the local 100 baht clinic each time if you do not like the costs.

 

Importantly did you report the dog if it's a biter maybe to save some kids face. 

 

Health insurance does cover that type of health risk, well mine does.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Kwasaki

[Bob9]

Good luck with the recovery period - dont drink too much for a while.

 

Yep - same in CM - you have to find the best value place that does what you want.  IMO that is the best local Govt Hospital - they often have 'special' Clinic attached or in same precinct (for HiSo Thais and Farangs).

 

Some Private Hospitals are as bad as the Pattaya Beach Vendors - there is no Govt control of pricing or standards.

 

 

[robblok]

I am not sure where the bite was but when I was wounded I took care of cleaning my own dressings. Did not really do it to save money but to save time. Its not that hard to do (unless its on a real bad spot).  Just a big bottle of betadine some alcohol and some gazes and other stuff from Facino. (had a broken / crushed toe that they took the nail off and other wounds) 

[Deepinthailand]

Firstly is the dog ok if it was sleeping and you stood on him it would have been a reaction bite.

If you paid that much for injections and a few dressings your barking never mind the dog. Bitten three months ago my fault playing with local dog he got a bit exited anyway fairly big chunk of lower arm. Went to quacks in village cleaned and dressed 100 bht sent to local clinic for jabs 750 bht for the course. Went back to quacks three days later was given dressings and cleansing fluid enough for 6 changes 100 bht end of. Private hospital see a farang oh look cash cow coming.

[tonray]

4 hours ago, robblok said:

I am not sure where the bite was but when I was wounded I took care of cleaning my own dressings. Did not really do it to save money but to save time. Its not that hard to do (unless its on a real bad spot).  Just a big bottle of betadine some alcohol and some gazes and other stuff from Facino. (had a broken / crushed toe that they took the nail off and other wounds) 

Did your own rabies injections too ?

[robblok]

9 hours ago, tonray said:

Did your own rabies injections too ?

I said i cleaned my own wounds, its not that hard to put on a bandage and clean your wound a bit. (depending where the would is located and how flexible you are). I preferred it over going to the hospital or a clinic all the time. Its not like its hard to do and doing it at home is easy. Of course if you see it getting infected or something like that you need to go to the hospital.  I am not really hardcore but cleaning out a wound is not brain surgery and  you can get all the stuff in a local pharmacy.

[dotpoom]

I was told to have dressings changed daily like yourself a few years ago.   Yeah,... I said and went into the nearest pharmacy the next day, bought a role of bandage and some iodine, and cleaned it every day, .....Just a few Baht

    Am still here to tell the story.

[Grubster]

I love dogs and would gladly put about half of the soi dogs to death to put them out of their misery. I would also hope someone would do that for me if I was in that horrible condition. Spaying and Neutering should be paid for by the government, and any care by a vet of non spayed or neutered dogs should be taxed to pay for the program. Yeah I know, I'm a socialist pig.

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, Keesters said:

 

 

If the dog had not been there he could not have stepped on it. Not always easy to step over these nuisance dogs in doorways etc. No it is not the dogs fault it is the fault of all the people who allow them to be there, feed them etc.

 

 

Fell over a stray dog laying across the doorway walking out of 7-11 day before yesterday,  l suppose you can say it was my fault for not looking where l was going,  l was looking back saying bye to someone who acknowledged me as the auto door opened, " Oh hi bye now whoops "  fell ok but a bottle drink broke a few things swashed. 

The 7-11 owner replace my stuff and made sure l was OK.  

Haven't seen the dog since so people do, do something about them,  OK it's after the event but that's the Thai way l guess.  

[Sheryl]

Off-topic posts, flamers and bickering have all been removed.

 

Please stay on topic.

 

Care is always more expensive in private hospitals than public ones, usually about 3 fold.

 

There are reasons - good ones - for seeking care in private hospitals (or, where available, in the private channel of a government hospital) rather than govt if living in a place like Bangkok where the top specialists usually have hours at one or more private hospitals. (In the countryside it is different - private hospitals are usually best avoided)   Among other things, at a government hospital you will not be cared for by an experienced senior doctor but rather by either doctors still in training or a very newly graduated one (and this applies to who will operate if surgery is involved). However, for  an animal bite, even a medical student is fine, for that matter a nurse can manage fine - the protocol is quite clear and straight forward unless there was deep injury lacerating vital structures.

 

Dressing changes can certainly be managed at home if there are no signs of infection.  But unless it is sure the animal was vaccinated against rabies, getting rabies prophylaxis is a must.

 

I am concerned by the poster who said the "jabs" were 750 baht for the course - this is unlikely to  have been rabies prophylaxis. Even at a government hospital, full course of rabies prophylaxis usually runs in the vicinity of 5,000 baht.

 

 

 

[Deepinthailand]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Off-topic posts, flamers and biockering have all been removed.

 

Plerase stay on topic.

 

Care is always more expensive in private hospitals than public ones.

 

There are reasons - good ones - for seeking care in private hospitals (or, where available, in the private channel of a government hospital) rather than govt if living in a place like Bangkok where the top specialists usually have hours at one or more private hospitals.  Among other things, at a government hospital you will not be cared for by an experienced senior doctor but rather by either doctors still in training or a very newly graduated one (and this applies to who will operate if surgery is involved). However, for  an animal bite, even a medical student is fine, for that matter a nurse can manage- the protocol is quite clear and straight forward unless there was deep injury lacerating vital structures.

 

Dressing changes can certainly be managed at home if there are no signs of infection.  But unless it is sure the animal was vaccinated against rabies, getting rabies prophylaxis is a must.

 

I am concerned by the poster who said the "jabs" were 750 baht for the course - this could not have been rabies prophylaxis. Even at a government hospital, full course of rabies prophylaxis runs in the vicinity of 5,000 baht.

 

 

 

Well I can assure you the full course was 750 bht and it was rabies prophylaxis and have card to prove such .

[jippytum]

A recent dog bite cost me around 2800 for the full rabies injections and daily dressing .One thing about the daily dressing my local hospital charge a service fee of 200 baht per visit for foreign patients  plus the small cost of the dressing .A local clinic

will do the daily dressing cheaper.

Ps I suppose my health insurance would have covered it under personal accident outpatients cover but the 10% no claims discount would have been lost.