People often complain of suffering from breathing disorders and eye ailments. You probably know someone who has had laser eye surgery so that they can stop wearing contacts and quit worrying about an infection that may arise from dust falling into their eyes.Just this week as I was driving around Kozyatağı I noticed three new medical facilities. They seem to be springing up everywhere and there are probably a few hundred hospitals and clinics already out there, being a mixture of state-run and private facilities.
Private hospitals are definitely preferred by the middle and upper classes. Private healthcare continues to increase, offering short lines and personal service. On the other hand, due to limited funding, Turkey’s state hospitals are known to have poor sanitary conditions. They are always full of patients who wait in endless lines and are tended to by insufficient staff.
This is a situation where it helps if you know someone who knows someone (tanıdık). University hospitals have some of the most well-known and respected doctors on staff and it helps to have a contact -- someone in the medical profession -- among your family or friends who can facilitate your hospital visit.
Some people simply do not like going to the doctor. My father never went to the doctor, but he died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 54. My aunt, who is still alive, only went to the doctor in the latter years of her life; she turned 101 in February! You never know.
The other day I heard about a machine that can prevent you from being hospitalized. A friend told me about someone who has cystic fibrosis in Britain and receives daily medical consultations through software loaded on her cell phone that allows doctors to keep track of her condition. Technology is changing our lives.
* Do you avoid going to the doctor?
* Do you think you understand your body and take notice of symptoms?
* When you feel a little ill, do you keep going?
With the unpredictable weather this past month, typical for İstanbul in March and April, many of you may have gone to the pharmacist to self-prescribe some medicine for your symptoms. It is actually very easy to buy a wide variety of medicine in Turkey that may only be bought with a prescription in your home country.
Many of my Turkish friends go to the pharmacy and purchase medicine for their symptoms. They even expect the pharmacist to give them advice on what to take to feel better. In Turkey, every person working at the pharmacy may not be trained and cannot, therefore, give the best advice for medicinal drugs. I ask my friends why they do this and their main reason is to save on doctor’s fees. I asked them if it did and they said, “Sometimes it does, but other times it ends up costing you more.” I think it could cost you more in more ways than one.
I recently noticed that every pharmaceutical window has a very official-looking sign written in Turkish, warning the general public to be careful about where they purchase their medicine. Westerners may find this warning rather comical since anyone can walk in and purchase what would be considered prescription medicine in the US without a prescription.
Purchasing prescription drugs through illegal means has become a serious problem in Turkey. Such drugs are usually sourced either from stolen or partly divided prescriptions sold by medical practices and occasionally from Internet sales.
Clandestine laboratory produced drugs run the risk of being contaminated or poor to being outright toxic. Some Asian countries have serious problems with medicine sold by people or places that are not authorized to do so.
If you have not been hospitalized in Turkey, here are some tips for you:
* Turkish hospitals vary greatly.
* New, private hospitals in major urban centers have modern facilities, high-tech equipment, numerous US-trained specialists and international accreditation.
* Nursing care and diagnostic testing (including mammograms) meet American standards at specific institutions in the larger cities.
* Some private hospitals in Ankara and İstanbul offer obstetric care considered to meet Western standards.
* Healthcare standards are lower in Turkey’s smaller cities.
“A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” -- An Irish proverb.
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
