Author Archives: maansi
What It’s Really Like When You Fall Ill in India
Falling Ill 😦
What is it like to be an expat (or visitor) and ill in India? There’s no simple answer to this question. It really depends.
For example, the author of 4-hour work week and 4-hour body Tim Ferriss was in Kolkata, India recently and fell seriously ill (along with his traveling companion) from food poisoning. He describes his nightmarish ordeal here. If anything close to that happened to me, I would be on a plane (or whatever vehicle will take me there) to US in a heartbeat! Amazingly, he concludes the post describing his medical debacles with “The Bright Side“. He’s obviously a stronger person than I.
My experience with illness in Mumbai has been rather…uh… pleasant. What a strange way to describe an illness! I mean that, not just in comparison with the above mentioned horrendous occurrence, but on absolute terms as well. It’s never pleasant to be ill (even mildly), but we are not given much choice about it. So, if it had to happen, I got lucky since I would certainly put down my medical experience as one that made me feel better, not worse.
The Hospital
It does make a difference where you live in Mumbai so I believe I lucked out with this aspect first.
When I started having flu-like symptons, I was not about to take any chances (as I would have, had I been in the US) and let the illness work its way out of my system. I wanted to take control of this and find out exactly what I did and did not have.
In order to do this, I visited this hospital. See those picture on the website? Looks pretty neat, right? Modern, clean, well designed and constructed, clean, spacious, well-lighted, did I mention clean..? And guess what? It’s exactly like the pictures display. Now, that’s truly remarkable!
I have not visited too many hospitals in India recently, and frankly, it’s not been my goal to do so.
However, if I had to go to one, it seemed like I picked the right one. Once you entered the premises, you could have been in virtually any developed country in the world.
The Physician
The hospital has every kind of specialist. So, all I had to do is talk to some local friends and they recommended who to see, based on their past experiences. It’s straightforward to get in to see a doc with a same-day appointment.
Because we were unsure as to what my symptoms could point to, a few blood tests were suggested for me on the first day. The results were available for me to download from their website that evening. [Privacy is maintained since you need both the patient and invoice numbers in order to access your test results and I don’t see how anyone but the patient -or a trusted associate of the patient- can have access to these].
Because of the “viral” nature of my illness, I had to repeat a specific blood test every week to ensure that I was getting back to normal. So, I would go to the hospital for the test in the morning and be out of there in 10 minutes or less. That same evening, I would download the PDF containing my results and email it to my physician. He would review them and let me know what they meant – by email from his iPad. Can you say efficient? Clearly, I lucked out with my physician as well!
And The Bottom Line
Now, let’s look at cost. Given the likes of the hospital that you see in the picture and on their website, they must have a relatively high overhead. So, the tests were not cheap (by Indian standards). All my tests – I probably had about 15 tests done through this period – came to about $150.
What seemed pretty ludicrous to me were the physician charges. When I saw the physician at the hospital, the consultation charge was less than $10.
However, when I saw him at his other (low overhead, independent) office, he charged me $4 for the first consultation and $2 for the follow-up visit. And, for all those emails he sent every time I sent him my results? Zero. I’m still trying to figure out how and what to pay him! Mercy.
I guess this just goes to show why medical tourism is all the rage and a growing industry. For example, this particular hospital offers the following medical packages for overseas patients. They don’t publish the cost but that information is but an email away. The above descriptions will perhaps give you some idea of what the cost differential may be.
A final piece of advice – if you are planning to visit India for a short or long stay, do your research. It’s not inconceivable that you will fall ill. So, come to India armed with the name of the best hospital within a reachable, reasonable distance from where you are staying or the contact info of a trusted person from whom you can get this information quickly.
If you don’t believe me, just read Tim Ferriss’ post on his unforgettable nightmare of an experience. No kidding, if I were him, I would find it extremely hard to return to this country. Ever. But, luckily, based on my own personal experience, I can safely say that it doesn’t have to be that way. I think it’s called the yin and yang of life in India.
Except for the cost, which was ridiculously low, the care I received is comparable to what I would have received at home. With a nice dose of efficiency thrown in for good measure. Of course, it’s nice to be well again. And no matter how pleasant, I would prefer to stay well, thank you very much.
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An Awesome Healthy Combo: Coffee and Red Wine
I recently read some really great news. Coffee in the morning and red wine in the evening are good for you. In moderation, of course. Specifically, they help prevent the onset of Alzheimers, along with providing some other really wonderful health benefits that I will get into below. Sure, I had heard this before when various studies came out but it took one article that combined both of these pieces of good news to get my attention. See, now morning and evening are covered. 🙂
But what does any of this have to do with the yin and yang of life in India? I’ll tell you what – after years of living in the U.S., you kinda get used to having a Starbucks fix every now and then, and that of course is nowhere to be found in India. Now, don’t you tell me to go to Cafe Coffee Day for the same stuff. Please!
As for wine, two words: Selection and Cost. The first is much less than I’m used to, the second is exorbitant for the good stuff. Do you realize how sad that is?
Enough of my sob story. After all, I do get back to the US every other month or so, when I can have my fill of both – Starbucks as well as excellent, reasonably priced wine. And, I admit that I do have some 4 bags or so of Starbucks ground espresso coffee beans in my freezer in Mumbai. It’s just so much tougher to bring a few month’s worth of wine from there. Sigh.
But, let’s get into the benefits shall we?
First, the coffee –
The important characteristic and ingredient (for good health, that is) you are looking for in coffee is the caffeine. So, if you feel somehow healthy ordering a decaf, you’re all upside down. It reminds me of the low-cal (go hungry) diet versus the low-carb (be healthy) version. But, I better not get on that soapbox now.
Have you noticed how after you drink coffee you feel more alert and more, for lack of a better word, active? It’s apparently not your imagination. Coffee’s benefits include improved alertness, better moods and endurance for physical activity as well as enhanced memory. So, the wonderful taste of coffee? Well, apparently that’s just thrown in for free.
I love this kind of good news!
So, all in all, studies have shown that coffee – the fully-caffeinated kind – helps against Alzheimers, liver disease, Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer and gallstones.
Just remember, moderation means one or two cups a day. Enjoy!
Now for the wine –
Specifically talking of red wine here (my favorite, so I really don’t care to write about the other kinds), this too offers a range of health benefits. Because the consumption of wine is all too easy (except when you are an expat in India…), it’s a good idea to define moderation first. According to health experts, for a woman, that means one glass a day and for a man, that means two, where a glass of wine is defined as 4 ounces, no more.
A word of caution here. Say you don’t have wine for a four day period, please don’t drink a bottle on the fifth day to makeup for the lapse! You simply don’t get the same benefits, plus your head will pay for it sooner rather than later.
Great quote on the wall...somewhere
According to scientists, the key to the health benefits of red wine lie in the antioxidants, or flavonoids. Flavonoids help to reduce the production of LDL (also known as “bad” cholesterol). They also have the effect of increasing HDL (“good” cholesterol). These combined effects help to prevent blood clots and improve the lipid profile overall.
A recent study also proposes that red wine is good for muscle mass. Other claims about red wine go beyond cardiovascular benefits. A number of studies have discovered that an antioxidant concentrated in the skin of the grape, resveratrol, may actually help inhibit the growth of cancerous tumors as well as in the formation of nerve cells; therefore they be a factor in the treatment of diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Dry red wines – cab, pinot noir, shiraz – have more antioxidants than less dry wines such as merlot or zinfandel, so the related benefits are obviously higher as well.
Now, do you all really need any other excuse…er, I mean reason, to indulge? Let’s drink to all of that, shall we? Cheers!
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The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 