A farang friend of mine had the flu once. His Thai environment insisted on a doctor's visit. The friend wrote to me that he then knew what would happen: he received a pile of medicines. His medicine was simple: Flu passes within a week with medication and within seven days without medication. This friend was a GP and GPs are supposed to know that.
My mother used two maxims: It came naturally and it will go away on its own. She had a brother who died of affectation. Rule 2: If you don't have a fever, you're not sick.
These down-to-earth approaches to ailments and inconveniences always remind me of Thai. My (idiot) in-laws, who I lived with for a while, wanted to send me to the doctor after I threw up twice during the night. Not surprising: ate mussels the night before and there can be bad boys among them.
To the grocery store to buy tetracycline
Opened bags of pills strewn all over the house. With the slightest ailment, they ran to the grocery store to buy tetracycline. In the Netherlands only available with a doctor's prescription, in Thailand, in the middle of nowhere for everyone to buy in the countryside.
My girlfriend has the same approach when I'm not feeling well. She wants me on the meds right away. It took her a long time to accept that I didn't like that. She must think I'm a weird brush for not wanting to take advantage of the blessings of modern medicine. And that in a country where herbal medicine is highly regarded.
Drug use threatens public health in the West
Why am I writing all this now? Because I believe that the consumption of pharmaceuticals in Thailand, and perhaps other countries in Asia and Africa, poses a threat to public health, not only in Thailand but also elsewhere in the world.
Resistance, ladies and gentlemen: that is the problem. Some drugs no longer work and the development of new ones takes a long time.
Since I've been running News from Thailand, I've collected all the posts about resistance. Click here to read them, but I warn you: it won't make you happy.
My thesis is that Thais take medicines like sweets. Is that also your experience or do you have other experiences? Respond to the statement.
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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Well, knowing many Thai in home and host countries, most of them self-medicate. And especially with Thai medicines, which are freely available in the local drug store. They are bought there and also brought to the Netherlands or Belgium via a so-called peer-to-peer network. Is it about a cold, heart palpitations, lower back pain, and even more downward hemorrhoids: the remedy is available. And it must come from Thailand. This is just to state that the Thai adheres to his medicine from his drug store, both in his home country and in the host country. If the word chauvinism wasn't invented in France, it must be Thailand.
The dangers come from different angles.
First of all: diagnosis and treatment. If no doctor is involved, only the pharmacist can estimate that what he sells is actually useful, and not just for his cash flow.
Control of the medicines: are they stored, transported, registered in ideal conditions.
Ersatz: not to be underestimated. Sometimes you can recognize by spelling errors in the name of the substance that it concerns a counterfeit. Palacetamol instead of paracetamol. Really and truly. At first thought it was a herbal medicine based on fermented fish from Isaan. More likely it is a Chinese variant.
Dose: usually the packages are small and cheap; for example, against a cold and 'running nose' you can buy 4 pills from Tiffy (brand name) in a blister at 7/11. It mainly contains 4 x 500 mg paracetamol. Fairly innocent. That 4 x 500 mg is therefore the maximum recommended daily dose. But I have already experienced that people bought that 4 times a day, so 16 in total. Because the cold was not over after the first 2 doses… well. This causes liver poisoning. Which is not innocent at all.
Adherence to treatment: most medicines must be taken in a certain amount at certain times. Otherwise they will miss their effect. Taking something when you think it's necessary, that's not how it works.
In short, you can say that there is a lot of work to be done; primarily the store where you buy it.
Consult a doctor who writes you a personal prescription and you follow it strictly. That happens too little, so the statement "just swallow the Thai" is, in my humble opinion and despite that, the reality. Who's going to unlearn it?
It must be really bad if I'm even going to take an aspirin. I believe that I can still easily control my consumption of medicines over the past twenty years.
Our first aid kit, here in Thailand, has more medicines than I have taken in my life. Mostly pain relievers.
I also believe that some Thais really exaggerate with the ailments they have. I believe that when they feel even a little bit of pressure, it immediately becomes excessive. And then quickly look for a pill again.
My girlfriend also buys a drink every month before her period, which should do her good. And then she has another medicine (from Isaan) which is a cheap Thai rum for me, because it contains alcohol. Also likes to use it.
Of course it also has its advantages that you can get good medicines here in Thailand. This saves me the detour to have something prescribed through the GP.
However, I do not want to claim that in our case the medicines are swallowed like sweets. However, more than I am used to from my former immediate environment.
Too many pills are being taken all over the world, and in particular too many antibiotics, resulting in a lot of resistance, a dangerous situation as Dick rightly points out.
I once compared the average drug consumption per person in Thailand and the Netherlands: they are about the same. In the Netherlands too, doctors prescribe too much medication.
Thailand differs from the Netherlands because so much is available in pharmacies without a prescription. By law, a pharmacist must hold sway there, but that is not always the case. In Thailand, there is indeed the absurd idea that an ailment can only pass if you take medication or consult a doctor.
What is the role of the doctor in this in Thailand? In Thailand, a doctor always prescribes medication (Dutch GPs for 60 percent of the consultations, but in Italy, for example, for 95 percent) and preferably the most expensive ones, which help better. Why actually? A doctor in Thaland also knows that antibiotics do not help with a flu or a cold. I once asked a Thai doctor if he would also prescribe all those pills to his son. "Of course not," he said with a laugh. Thai doctors also prescribe many different types of pills, some of which contain three to four chemical substances.
Thai (and Dutch) doctors want to be liked. They think they can achieve that by letting patients have their way. (Do you recognize that? 'The pain of being (too) nice'). In addition, in Thailand a doctor has little time for a patient (on average 2 minutes, in the Netherlands 10 minutes), and writing a prescription is simply much faster than explanation, reassurance and advice. In addition, doctors in those small private clinics from 5 to 8 a.m. only earn from prescribing and selling medication. They can earn an additional 50-100.000 baht per month.
What to do? More should be available by prescription only. Doctors should no longer be financially dependent on the sale of medicines. More time for a patient will be difficult to achieve for the time being. An information campaign would also help. But first of all, people should realize that most ailments will go away on their own. The sweets will still go over the counter like hot cakes for the time being.
The biggest problem is that the red, green, yellow or white pills are provided by the private clinics in plastic bags without stating the contents. So you don't know what you're taking. The private clinics are run by doctors who work in a hospital during the day. However, in the hospital the same pills are provided with a statement of content (bromhexine, ranitidine, etoricoxib, etc.). Thai people do not know the concept of a general practitioner and they simply go to the nearest clinic where it is not so busy. The doctor is unfamiliar with the medication history and therefore gives the same pills again.
Dentists also often immediately give a bag of pills, which upon inquiry turns out to be Amoxycillin (antibiotic). At a follow-up visit you will again receive such a bag of antibiotics because the dentist does not keep any information with regard to medications already provided. In a Thai home there are often bags with pills (sometimes many years old) that are also given to other family members in case of some vague complaint.
Over-the-counter ointments and pills in TH are larger in number and type than, for example, what we are used to in NL. Also all kinds of ointments and ointments, including those with penicillin. Many brand names are for sale (in small tubes). Penicillin has the danger of resistance in case of excessive use. In the Netherlands, for example, people ingest far too much penicillin through the intensive meat sector, much to the chagrin and chagrin of the medical profession.
In addition, I see a lot of use of all kinds of herbal drinks and mixtures, but I attribute this to the habituation through the traditional and still existing application of Chinese 'herbalism'. However: homeopathy for example in NL is also still in vogue.
When people feel a pain, they want to get rid of it. That is the case in TH, also in NL. I don't think it's worse in TH. In my opinion, the number and type of painkillers in Thailand is not greater than, for example, in the Netherlands. Sometimes the packaging differs, which could make purchasing easier.
What I also see here in the Isan is the great use of paracetamol in all kinds of looming ailments. For lack of money, a visit to a doctor is postponed. Long-term use of paracetamol is not without danger, but I have not come across the use of 4 x a Tiffy package. You also hear people complain about the poor access they have to TH health care in the event of serious ailments and illnesses, and that they then have to make do with what is available on the home market. This is often also the reason that, for example, a course of treatment is not completed and that medicines are kept in case the ailment rears its head again.
In short: in TH there is a large use of medicines, in addition to a large prescription of medicines, just as, for example, in NL and throughout the EU. See Google, and you are fully aware of how the use of medicines in the Netherlands, for example, is compared to the rest of the world. The words: 'as idem in NL and EU' should therefore be added to the statement.
Morning Dick,
Swallowing too much here is, in my opinion, promoted by the gentlemen doctors.
When you pay, you always get a big bag of pills.
There is also always a strip of one meter (well) of aspirin.
Whether you come for a torn fingernail or for a crooked parting in your hair, that strip is always there.
At least bangkok pattaya hospital.
And then the labels, which they stick on it, say that they are only valid for 1 year after issue.
If you look at the back of the relevant strip, you still have 4 or 5 years.
Somehow it is a gross disgrace and pure scam.
A gigantic study by dozens of doctors, lab technicians and I know a lot has shown that even some pills are still good up to 10 years after the expiration date.
A single pill decreases slightly in strength after 10 years.
This research has partly led to the fact that the American army no longer simply throws all medicines in the ashtray every year, which saves tens of MILLIONS.
They had described the amount, but I don't remember.
Everyone can imagine that this made the pharmaceutical industry very sad.
9 out of 10 Americans also call this industry the pill mafia.
So don't throw everything away right away.
This is not a monkey sandwich story either.
LOUISE
Tiffy and Brophen (Ibuprophen) can help, other medicines of which I do not know the effect and which my wife wants to give to me, I just do not swallow! I know that some medicines from Thailand just don't work for the Dutch. A niece, Thai, but born and raised in the Netherlands, fell ill near Bangkok, the medicines did not help, a phone call from me to the Dutch GP gave the solution, he gave the name of the right medicine. they ordered in Germany and it arrived within 24 hours, the niece was better within 2 days!
A while ago I was in a drugstore. There came an American who had a cut in his finger for a plaster. He was immediately given pills. When he reacted surprised, he received the text "antibiotics Sir, good for anything". Doctors also prescribe pills here to their heart's content. So much that you can skip the meal after a doctor's visit.
One of the (many) reasons why I can't have a steady relationship with a Thai is that I can't live with someone who lacks the most basic common sense and worse, who also thinks they know better, because Westerners are by definition not as smart as the Thais. I think Nietsche said that stupidity is an unforgivable fault. You can fall in love with someone who knows nothing. Nothing wrong with it, but living with it for a long time is another matter. People who believe in ghosts and in the healing power of anything you can swallow are an abomination to science. You just have to hope that if they really have something they'll do what's right for them. In the Netherlands, of course, we also have the Jomandas and their victims such as Sylvia Millecamps and then of course the homeopaths. Many people still live spiritually in the Middle Ages unfortunately and in Thailand they are shorter ago.
In my opinion, resistance to antibiotics is less due to the amount taken, but more due to the fact that courses are not completed. Many people feel completely back to their old self after a day or so of taking it and 'forget' to take the pills afterwards. The amount of bacteria still present is too small to be affected. However, those bacteria that have not been 'killed' now 'know' the antibiotic in question and know how to arm themselves if someone tries to attack them afterwards with the same substance.
You can rarely, even with a long course, kill all bacteria. It is the immune system that ultimately ensures that all harmful bacteria disappear. Bacteria also need time to develop resistance.
The vast majority of common and simple infections, such as a laryngitis, a skin infection, a urinary tract infection, can be treated with a short course of three days.
Short courses of antibiotics, when possible, and as few courses as possible is the answer to the emergence of resistance.
I don't pretend to be a Thailand connoisseur as I've only been there twice.
My limited experience during my stay there is that the advice of the Thai people in my entourage to solve my "discomforts" was more focused on tips about a healthy diet and lifestyle.
I am therefore the “farang” type with a “big belly”. My tummy sticks out their eyes literally and figuratively. My 1.80 meters is also a bit, I must say, but that says nothing about my preference for good food.
I must now admit that their advice on drinking different types of tea has actually helped me, as has the use of some herbs or a certain herbal gel.
Cholesterol, high blood pressure, headaches, sugar levels, sunburn, traveller's diarrhoea.....unbelievable but true, it actually made me better.
On my return journey I received a number of sachets and I still use them regularly, because the taste is also pleasant!
Pills or any other form of medication was not offered to me when I discussed my symptoms with my host family. I must admit that these people were very well informed about what nature has to offer.
Last but not least, I have also made several temple visits with them and probably our prayers and sacrifices to get well soon will have contributed to a speedy recovery or to the disappearance of the discomforts.
Who's to say? What I do know is that I was fit again without using pills!
I also suffer from high blood pressure
what kind of tea did you get for this.
Louis Chiang Mai
Dear Louis,
Regular green tea was advised for my blood pressure. In the meantime I have fallen in love with the mixture of green tea with jasmine: super delicious and healthy too!
I drink at least a liter a day and my blood pressure has dropped from 14/10 to 12/8 after a few months just by drinking tea. Unbelievable but true. I don't know if this “therapy” has the same effect on everyone, but it is certainly worth a try.
If you find the tea too tart, you can always add a slice of lemon or lime as an extra flavoring and this is also a source of vitamin C.
In the attachment I also provide you with some additional useful tips:
Tips to lower your blood pressure:
Take a magnesium supplement (tablets available in most
department store chains)
Eat beets or drink beetroot juice (department store chain)
Get enough relaxation
Stop smoking in case this is a (bad) habit
Avoid alcohol (well…..)
Lose excess weight (well… very difficult for me and butt of ridicule for me Thai
friends)
Eat lots of vegetables, even raw
Choose only unrefined sea salt (or don't add extra salt at all)
Take the right fats (low omega-6, high omega-3/9 & saturated fat)
Choose food from the sea (fish, mussels, scampi, squid, seaweed,…..)
Walk for at least half an hour every day
Add garlic to your diet
Drink green tea daily
Take a close look at your medication
Eat potassium-rich foods
I wish you a lot of succes !
Moderator: Would you please stop chatting. This has nothing to do with the statement.
I had burned my forehead badly. As a result, the moisture went down and I had swollen eyes. All I wanted was an aloe vera ointment to smear on my forehead. I knew that the eyes would recover on their own by cooling them with a compress. I myself worked in a drug store for seven years and knew how to treat this. But they also wanted to give me antibiotics and some other pills (what they were for was not entirely clear to me). I only walked out with the ointment….
try it with a tomato
squeeze it on your bandaged body part
you chalk up a new kind of skin at that moment
do it yourself
Louis
Moderator: please don't chat.
Hello Rina,
Simply apply CALENDULAN OINTMENT to the sunburnt skin immediately after showering.
I've been doing this for at least 20-25 years. Helps huge.
Be careful when buying.
There is also a calendulan cream.
Great for your face but doesn't help if you're sunburnt.
Bring from the Netherlands, not for sale here.
LOUISE
Dear BramSiam, you hit the nail on the head with my situation. I am married to a thai pill box. Can't think of a better name for it. Oh nevermind…….