May I borrow your jet?

A few years ago a friend of ours had a serious medical condition with their child. The Guatemalan doctors had been unable to treat the condition and the best option was to move the child to the States. However, because of the child’s condition, transportation on a commercial airline was not an option. At great expense, the family had to charter a private jet to get to the hospital in the States. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending, the child received the necessary treatment and is now completely fine.

When we decided to come to Guatemala with our family the question of “What will we do if a serious medical situation comes up?” crossed our minds. In that this had happened to a friend, we knew that it was not just a hypothetical possibility. First, we checked with our medical plan in the States. Yes, we had coverage that paid for services abroad, but there was no coverage to get us back home.

We then spoke to a few of our well traveled friends, local insurance agent and of course, poked around the internet for ideas. What we decided to do was to purchase a medical transportation plan from MedjetAssist http://www.medjetassist.com/ . As the name implies, this company is in the business of returning you home from a foreign hospital to one of your choosing. The company does not own any planes, but rather works through a network of providers specializing in medical transportation. Depending on your condition/location, they will either use medical staff and commercial flights or a fully staffed air-ambulance. The service and pricing plan is well explained on their website, but make sure to call them if you have any questions.

Jungle Medic

On a recent visit to the Rio Dulce area we drove by a building and were surprised to see a variety of ambulances and other medical vehicles parked outside of a good looking building. The “surprise” component was came from finding first class looking medical vehicles in Guatemala, when typically one only sees well worn equipment. The parking area was gated, but we could clearly see “Jungle Medic” painted on the sides of some of the vehicles.

Returning home I Googled “Jungle Medic” and came across the site http://www.junglemedicmissions.org/ . The first line of their website appears to provide a good summary of their work. “Jungle Medic, provides medical and dental care for Mayan Indians living in remote villages in the jungles, mountains and along the Rio Dulce river in Guatemala.”

I don’t have any firsthand experience with this organization, but I have now spent some time reading through their newsletters. The newsletters are compelling and provide an interesting window into the important work that this group is doing in the area.

Stomach not feeling right?

A few years ago, a friend recommended taking Probiotics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotics) following a round of antibiotic medication for some now forgotten ailment. I had mentioned that I did not like the side effects that come with taking antibiotics (loss of appetite/taste, poor digestion) and she felt that Probiotics might offer some help. In basic terms, antibiotics are non-discriminatory and will kill the good bacteria in your body along with the bad. In the case of your digestive system, this means that the bacteria that helps you digest is taken out of commission. Probiotics offers you a faster way to rebuild your digestive system without having to eat loads of cultured yogurt. In the States, Probiotics are easily found in markets with a health food section (Whole Foods), Pharmacies, GNC.com, etc.

Fast forward to Guatemala and a stomach that was not feeling right. By not “feeling right”, I am talking about mild digestive discomfort vs. taking up residence in the bathroom. I know that Guatemala City has GNC stores, but in Antigua my known options were more limited. However, I was able to get a recommendation for Probiotics (see below) from a well respected Antigua pharmacy that did the trick in a few days. The type of Probiotic used in this product is called Lactobacillus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus). So if you have a mild digestive issue you may want to explore this option.

Legal Notice: I want to emphasize to anyone reading this that I am not qualified to diagnose and treat in the manner that a physician would. Anything that I write here is simply a laypersons opinion/experience and should never be used without first consulting a licensed physician.

Information: The Probiotics that I purchased are called “Lacteolfort, Lactobacillus LB”, 12 capsules in blister pack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blister_pack) and I took one per day for 12 days. Purchased from, “Farmacias Roca”, #11, 4th Street West, 7832-0612 (this is the oldest Pharmacy in Antigua).

English speaking Doctor in Antigua

When we arrived from the States our son brought with him a cold that included a cough that he just could not shake. Though he is slowly growing out of his asthma (thankfully), we have been conditioned to keep a watchful eye on anything respiratory.

So as new arrivals, with limited Spanish skills, we were on the lookout for an English speaking Doctor in Antigua. Yes, we should be improving our Spanish skills, but when it comes to a medical issue we were not looking forward to flipping through a dictionary to find the right word.

Through a friend we located an English speaking Doctor just a few blocks off of the central square (contact information below). Though his English is not perfect, we found it to be far better than our Spanish. The office consists of a comfortable waiting room, with his office/examining room attached. Unlike the US we have found that local Doctors typically do not require an appointment, though you may have to wait a short period of time to be seen. Though his office appears to be equipped with only basic diagnostic equipment (e.g. no fancy boxes with blinking lights), we found him to be both pleasant and knowledgeable. For non-life threatening situations he offers a reasonable first step.

In our case, he diagnosed my son as having a minor bronchial issue common to this environment. We received a “prescription” for an inhaler along with some oral medication and instructions to return in one (1) week for a checkup. The visit was Q150 and the medications ~Q100. The medications did the job and we received a clean bill of health at the follow-up appointment.

Contact: Dr. Ruben H. Marroquin M., Office: 7832-2785, Cell: 5200-9197, 6th Avenue South #25, Antigua, drrubenmarroquin@hotmail.com, Monday to Friday 3PM to 7PM, Saturday – by appointment

Note: Subsequent to our doctor visit I have received additional information on Dr. Marroquin (not verified). He is a surgeon working in one of the Antigua hospitals in the AM and keeps afternoon office hours at his home/office.

Call the Nurse...

It’s midnight, you are in Guatemala and someone in your family is not feeling well. You don’t think it is too serious, but you are not sure and would like some guidance. Who are you going call?

If you are still on a US health plan than there may be someone who can help. Many plans offer a free 24-Hour “Dial-a-Nurse” service to their customers. You simply call a designated number, identify yourself through your membership and you are soon talking to a registered Nurse. We have used this service to help us determine if a doctor’s visit is needed and each time found it helpful. The Nurses all appear to be experienced vs. those that may have recently graduated from nursing school. So the information is balanced and reasonable.

Check the website of your provider to see what they offer. Our provider is Blue Cross Blue Shield and their service is described in more detail here https://www.bluecrossma.com/wps/portal/members/tools-resources/member-care-resources/24-hour-nurse-line/

Dad my foot hurts.

Dad my foot hurts… my daughter was limping around complaining of a sore foot. As my daughter is one who can sometimes be prone to exaggeration her theatrical production was not being well received. “Well walk it out and you will be fine”, I said and moved onto something else that seem more pressing. A few hours later at bedtime was approaching the same complaint was again heard. So, I complied and offered to take a look. “Look Dad here is what hurts”, she said pointing to a pinpoint dot on the ball of her foot. The dot did not look like much, maybe only the size of a pencil tip, but the flesh around it had a firm feel. My guess was that it was a wart which due to its poor choice of a location was going to present a legitimate problem.

Through the help of a friend, we were able to locate an English speaking Dermatologist in Antigua (contact information below). His office was clean, neat, well staffed and everything that you might hope for. If you are willing to wait for a few minutes, than no appointment is necessary. The Doctor quickly confirmed that it was indeed a wart and provided two options. Use a wart removal solution for two (2) weeks in the hopes of removing it or freeze it off. His recommendation, which we readily accepted, was to use the wart removal solution and then check back in two (2) weeks.

The doctor’s office sold us the wart removal gel (Duoplant, Salicylic Acid 27%) and we purchased a small role of Micropore tape at a local pharmacy. Instructions were to apply three (3) thin coatings of the gel (let dry by blowing on between coats) via. a Q-Tip at night and cover with a piece of the Micropore. In the AM, remove the tape and wash. Doctors visit Q135 and maybe Q50 for materials.

We are now one (1) week into the treatment… stay tuned.

Contact Information: Dr. Manuel Antonio Samayoa (Dermatologist), #13 West 3rd Street, Antigua, Guatemala. Phone 7832-4854, email: samdele@itelgua.com, Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10AM to 2PM and 3PM to 7PM, Wednesday 10AM to 2PM, Saturday 8:30AM to Noon

What this blog is about…

This blog is an attempt to capture some of the healthcare related information and stories related to our living in Guatemala. Moving out of the States meant leaving many familiar things behind. Most of these seemed manageable… figuring out how to buy food, educate our children, pay bills, rent a house, etc. However, family healthcare was more of a question. How would we find an orthodontist for my son’s braces? Who would we call if our child, with a known food allergy, had an exposure that could be fatal if not immediately treated with intravenous medications? We are not a sickly family, but in the States we were averaging at least one visit to the doctors a month. You can pack a lot of things in your bag, but the US medical system that we were familiar with was not one of them.

So here is what we have learned along the way and maybe you will find it helpful.