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| Health
in China |
This page
offers general advice regarding Health Issues in China
(September 2008) |
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| In
China, you are personally responsible for paying your
medical bills. Please ensure you have valid adequate
medical insurance, or cash to pay for treatment, including
Emergency |
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Introduction:
Chinese hospitals are very modern and rate amongst the
best in the World. Treatment is usually Western, although
there are always Traditional Chinese alternatives
In Main Western hospitals, you will probably need to
have a Mandarin speaker with you, and your means of
payment will be assessed when booking-in, and before
you are offered any services, exceptions
Hospitals:
Public Hospitals
These are very equivalent to modern Western Hospitals,
and offer the fullest range of services. You should
normally equate your status as being a Private Patient
Private Hospitals:
These are very common, and for the meagre price differential,
offer Westerners exceptional services. Usually they
are informal, and have some English speaking staff and
Doctors.
They also provide excellent treatment - a small example
being injections. These are normally done via an intravenous
drip, rather than a single and general blast into an
indeterminate muscle. I will let you work out the differences
for yourself, just know it works excellently!
Chinese Medicine:
All hospitals will offer Traditional Chinese remedies,
although Private Hospitals are better, and Specialist
Centres the best (And most expensive). Every City will
have at least one State administered Traditional Chinese
Hospital, and often several
Minor Ailments:
Most local Hospitals and street pharmacies will be able
to offer you simple, inexpensive, and excellent cures
for the majority of common maladies. These include:
Cuts and Burns, Bites, Stomach ailments, and persistent
coughs
Local Traditional Cures:
Your local Chinese supermarket or specialist street
shop will also offer Traditional remedies in a range
of pre-prepared packets - which you cook like a soup
for several hours, and drink. They usually taste awful,
and work exceptionally well. These are now the only
remedies I use for minor ailments
Local specialist shops will also offer personal Traditional
diagnosis and remedies. Most are excellent, some are
rip-off, seek local advice, or use your initiative...
What doesn't Work in China:
Imported Western cures for Diahorrea are doomed to failure.
We have tried them all over the years, and have to admit
these minor bugs are different. Pay pennies in a local
pharmacy for something that works instantly!
Health Concerns:
As a generalised guideline, health treatments in China
either rival or exceed Western equivalents. In particular,
alternative therapy is approved and included/optional
as a matter of course
Specifics for Westerners:
Jabs:
China does not have a vaccination entry policy, so choose
your jabs wisely:
1. Cholera is not a problem in China. If you have this
vaccination you will suffer for weeks or months afterwards
2. Malaria. This is another generalised fiction, although
recommended in some parts of South China. We say no,
as the mossies you meet are far more likely to be carrying
either Japanese Encephalitis or Dengue Fever - and you
won't meet them either
3. Bird flu. This is a conundrum, and a very few people
do die from it. There is some vaccine, and I eat rare
bird meat almost daily. I think this disease has an
unknown human disposition for incubation
4. SARS is virtually sorted now
5. China does have a largely unspecified AIDS problem.
This is being addressed emphatically by Central Government
- yet on the streets people still love to have unprotected
sex ... and you could also consider why China is by
far the most populous Country on this planet? ... I
will leave this to your imagination, and simply urge
you to always wear a condom
Otherwise, just be sensible in China - and whilst you
won't die from drinking City tap water, you should only
use it to brush your teeth unless boiled.
Most Chinese bugs are relatively harmless, but like
the Diahorrea one, Western bodies do not know how to
deal with them effectively = a Western 3-year-old having
their first ever cold - far worse than it really is |
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Alternative
Medicines and Practices:
China is actually home to virtually all alternative
therapies. Many Traditional cures and Doctors are in
fact Kung Fu Specialist Masters of Medicine. Here is
an overlap we do not have in the West
Included in this are diverse categories such as Acupuncture,
Traditional Chinese Medicines, Feng Shui, and Chinese
Teas
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| This
information is as supplied by the Chinese Embassy in
UK, as dated 20th June 2008, and/or other reliable sources.
Please check this information yourself as it may alter
without notice, and whilst we try our best to ensure
it is correct, please do not hold us responsible for
any errors - this is intended as a simple guide only |
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