Guatemala City: I caught cholera there. Sickest I can ever remember being. 106 degrees and going from both ends like a firehose. There was a clinic right next to the hotel we were staying at. Went there first. The doc there diagnosed it as "just another case of turista." I knew THAT was wrong and asked the hotel if they had a doc. They did: he had received his med school education and done his internship and residency in Germany. I said "Get him!" He came to the hotel (I was effectively not mobile by then), made the diagnosis, took samples for confirmation by a lab, and instructed me and the hotel staff in treatment. He said the normal course was hospitalization, but I was probably safer in the hotel than in a Guatemalan hospital. It was over a week before I was up and about again, but I figure the guy probably saved my life. This was my first lesson in how bad 3rd world medicine (that 1st doc missing the diagnosis) can be.
Guatemala in general: The people are unpleasant. Tikal, an archeaological site and the country's main draw, is grossly overrated. Mexico has much better archeaology.
Honduras: My wife developed severe heat rash- -big red wet blotchy swellings on her skin. A DERMATOLOGIST (!) missed the diagnosis! Her dermatologist here had worked in Honduras for a year and said it was the commonest skin disorder there- -that in fact it was endemic. The dermatologist there thought it was an allergic reaction and did prescribe a treatment that worked- -prednisone. UNFORTUNATELY, the dosage prescribed was twice what it should have been, but it did work.
Mexico: Turista AKA Mexican two-step AKA Aztec trots are endemic because of bad sanitation. The situation is improving as Mexico becomes more prosperous and electricity and refrigeration (for food) become more common. Baja is the only part of Mexico where the tap water is drinkable, and not in all of it.
At an archaelogical site, I fell and badly cut one of my lower calves. Gushing blood like a faucet. We controlled the bleeding with pressure bandages and headed for Merida, the state capital. There was a hospital across from our hotel. They cleaned the wound and stitched it up. The doc did an excellent job of stitching, but apparently slept through his pharmacology classes. He prescribed morphine to control pain. I was quite suspicious of the dose he said to take and called my internist back here in the states. After he came down from hitting the ceiling, he said to cut the dosage to 1/5 of that prescribed and that the prescribed dose would have killed me by causing respiratory arrest. Another lesson in 3rd world medicine: The docs can be more dangerous than the injuries and diseases.
The UK: Now you might think it funny they would make the list, but the weather is cold and humid and can cause numerous breathing problems. On the plus side, their medical personnel are quite good.
My internist is of the opinion this climate problem would apply to all of Europe except the southern countries- -Spain, Italy, southern Balkans, and Greece.
Turkey: I got a rather nasty skin infection there that resulted in a raised blood-red welt about 6" long and 1 1/2 inches wide. My internist had given me antibiotics to take with me in case anything happened. I started them and it turned into a large scab. (NOTE: Turkish medical care is supposed to be abysmal.) On returning to the US, I showed the scab to my internist, who referred me to a surgeon. The surgeon said he did think surgery was justified but it would be plastic surgery to correct the appearance of the wound. Since it was not in a visible area, I declined.
Costa Rica: No problems there. Just mention it because the people are very friendly, likeable, and helpful. However, it may possibly be the most boring country in the world. |
