HEALTH CARE IN CHINA
Date Modified: 07.13.2008
Content: Information on health care in China
Source: Wikipedia
Drugs are generally available from a pharmacist without prescriptions. You can usually ask to see the instructions that came with the box. Western medicine is called xi yao.
Many Chinese doctors and nurses speak no English. However, medical staff are in plentiful supply and hospital wait times are generally short - usually less than 10 minutes at general clinics (menzhen), and virtually no wait time at emergency rooms (jizhen).
Ensure that needles used for injections or any other procedure that requires breaking the skin are new and unused - insist on seeing the packet being broken open. In some parts of China it is acceptable to re-use needles, albeit after sterilization.
For acupuncture, it is recommended to provide your own needles, as the disposable type used in Hong Kong and Taiwan are not yet in common use in mainland China. Note that there should be no bleeding when the needle is inserted and removed if the acupuncturist is sufficiently skilled.
Parts of southern China have mosquitoes which transmit malaria, dengue fever, etc.
China has only officially recognized the threat of an AIDS/HIV epidemic since 2001. According to the United Nations "China is currently experiencing one of the most rapidly expanding HIV epidemics in the world. Since 1998, the number of reported cases has increased by about 30% yearly. By 2010, China could have as many as 10 million infections and 260,000 orphans if without intervention"; Chinese President Hu Jintao has recently pledged to fight the spread of AIDS/HIV within China.
New diseases are sometimes a threat in China. In 2003 China experienced a serious SARS outbreak; this is no longer considered a major threat. More recently, there have been cases of bird flu; avoid undercooked poultry or eggs.
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