Tag Archives: Doctor

Belize, Medical Related

Busy With Coughs And Colds!

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Together.CourtyardThe business of coughs and colds always fall to the responsibility of the GP and right now, we are having a busy time with it!  As I look back at previous years, I have noticed a spike of this type of ailment in June.  I think this co-insides with the abrupt change in weather from from dry to rainy season in Belize.  On-call, off-duty, on-duty….it’s all the same to a doctor…everywhere we go right now, we are bumping into people with coughs.  Just a few days ago, I stepped into a man’s shop and he was lying on his back (on crates) coughing and spluttering.  I can’t get away from the call of duty.  😉

I am now armed with a stethoscope and medical paraphernalia as I walk down the streets of Punta Gorda.

Munchkin.Hair.Flowing

We have noticed that some  people do start off with a benign cold here…they call it “fresh cold” in Belize.  It usually goes away by itself with a bit of rest, good wholesome food and TLC.  There are however some people who don’t rest and continue to erratically go through life in the same stressful and deleterious way.  These are the ones who get into trouble and the upper respiratory tract infection develops into pneumonia.  We end up seeing these people as patients.

Anyway, for all you people who have recently developed the sniffles…STOP.  Give your body a rest!!  Doctor’s Orders!!  And here is an easy drink that you can make at home (3 times daily for the next 7 days) to help reduce the phlegm and cough.

Munchkin.Drinking

Cough And Cold Remedy.

Put the following in a mug:

Juice of one lime

1 tbsp honey

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp chili powder (or a quarter piece of fresh habanero, finely chopped)

1/4 tsp of ground dried ginger (or 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped)

Top up with hot water.  Allow to steep for 5 minutes and then drink up.

Also, go to sleep early, rest and stop running around!

Belize, Medical Related, Saving Money

Further BNF Clarification.

Munchkin.BossieThanks to everybody that has offered to purchase and send us a BNF.  We appreciate your thoughts.  However, I think that this means that I need to further clarify my request…

The great BNF is the Bible of British trained doctors and when you are in the system, you have a copy in every bag, one in the glove box, several older editions lying around at home and even one in the toilet.  And they are all free (the way socialised medicine is “free!”). Each new edition of the BNF comes out every 6 months and has a lifetime, as it travels through the social system, starting with a ward or a doctor and passing down the hierarchy of various health professions.  My sister (an audiologist) used to come to visit me just to rifle through my book cases for old copies of the BNF.

So as you can see, you are either the type of person who does not have a BNF in their life (This is not who we are looking for) or you are surrounded by them because of your involvement with the system (this is who we are looking for).  There is no need for somebody to purchase a copy for us…this is an exercise in prolonged recycling… We are asking for the people who are “in the system” and have lots of copies everywhere to send us one.  And it does not have to be the latest edition…just better than 5 years old, which is what we have…though you will be acting cheeky sending us one that is four years old!! ;P

Old.BNF

Belize, Medical Related

Can Somebody Send Me a BNF?!

Munchkin.Feeling.Rightous

If you have stopped to read this post, the chances are that you know what BNF stands for which means that you might be a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or some sort of health-care practitioner.  I have an old dog-eared 2011 edition of The British National Formulary which is the definitive British publication providing information on the use and prescription of medicines.  For a medical doctor living in the middle-of-nowhere in Belize, this book is an essential.  If you are able to send me a later edition please email me at dra.tsang@gmail.com.  Your help would be very much appreciated!

Old BNF.
Old BNF.
Belize, Medical Related, Philosophy

Ulysses Syndrome.

Together.Courtyard

Here’s a medical one.  An eponymous syndrome is an ailment named after a person.  During medical school, it was a favourite past time amongst us all (yes, we were a bunch of sad buggers with no mates) to memorise as many eponymous syndromes as possible and rhyme them off whilst intoxicated with alcohol.   Of course, I didn’t  do that kind of thing (Ha-Ha) but I did study up on the syndromes like a swotty Munchkin.

Ulysses Syndrome comes to mind because it is rather the way that I have seen Medicine being utilised everywhere.

And so the Ulysses (Odysseus) story and syndrome goes like this…

After the Trojan war Ulysses, King of Ithaca, had many dangerous and perhaps pointless adventures before he returned to his starting place.  Similarly, many patients with incurable diseases  start with a problem and end up with much the same problem.  This is usually after many dangerous and pointless tests.  The Ulysses Syndrome describes this over-investigation.

To investigate or not to investigate.  Before you embark on your adventure you may want to speak to us about it.

Belize, Medical Related, Philosophy

Good Old-Fashioned Doctors.

Munchkin.Feeling.RightousToday, I will talk a bit about doctoring in Belize since we had a whole day of house-calls:

We are thankful that we are able to practice Medicine in Belize according to our philosophy.  We are both House Call General Practioners and our services include chronic care, post-operative care, palliative care and minor procedures.  We see people of all ages from the elderly to babies to pregnant women.  These days, we find that doctors are so specialised that they are only confident with their specific field.  We, on the other hand are all-encompassing doctors with knowledge in every medical specialty.  Also, prior to Belize, we both already had experience in Tropical Medicine (tropical infections, land and marine envenomation and parasites) as we had worked in Northern Australia.

As doctors, we feel that one of the most important factors of proper care and management is giving time to the patient.  We purposely book one hour for each patient so that we have the time to assess a patient properly and answer all their questions.  In our experience, this time factor is critical for the patient to feel satisfied and get better.

I want to share with you an experience which I had in my early days as a medical doctor.  I used to work under a very stern consultant and every morning, we walked through the hospital to do the ward round.  He used to dictate to me what was required in terms of further investigations including blood and diagnostic tests and I would be scribbling like mad as he ran through the blood tests which he wanted,

He would say, “FBC, WCC, U+E, LFTs, etc, etc,” and then he would look me squarely in the eyes and say, slowly and deliberately, “TLC.”

Tender Loving Care.  I will never forget it because he was such an old cantankerous bat who never smiled nor made a joke.  But, he taught me a very special lesson in being a doctor.  This story still makes me smile to this very day.