Are you sure you don't have influenza??

Well it finally happened...I came down with my first cold since being in Japan. I usually get an annual cold around this time anyways, but thought I could defeat it being in another country..silly me! It started out as a sore throat last week and progressively got worse. I tried all the home remedy ideas I knew, but nothing seemed to work. After missing 2 1/2 days of school I decided it was time to go to the doctor to get some meds. Setting up the doctor visit was a little more complicated than I imagined. Hospitals have weird hours here and are not open between the hours of 11-2. According to a teacher at school, the staff takes a long lunch break!

A teacher at school had offered to take me around 11:30, but didn't know if a doctor could see me right away. Thankfully, Kyoto Sensei made a few calls and pulled a few strings to get a doctor to see me at 11:30! The hospital was really close to school so it didn't take long to get there. I handed the receptionist my health insurance card and waited to be called. Before arriving at the hospital my friend had given me a mask and told me to wear it at the hospital. While sitting in the waiting room I had my temperature taken and it was normal. My name was called and I went in to see the doctor.

He didn't speak English so I was very thankful that my friend was there to help translate! The first question he asked me was if I had a high fever, to which I responded no. He seemed confused by this answer and spoke in Japanese to my friend. Apparently, Kyoto Sensei had told the hospital that I had a high fever so I would be able to see a doctor! And it just so happened that on the day we went the hospital it was only open from 8:30-11:30, so I wouldn't have been able to go later in the day. Kyoto Sensei meant well, but I could tell that the doctor was a little disappointed in my answer. Wanting to get medicine to speed up my recovery I continued to describe my symptoms to the doctor. He proceeded to check me for swine flu, even though I was quite sure I did not have it. I waited in the waiting room for my results. Once it was determined that I did not have influenza, but a bad cold, he proceeded to prescribe me medication.

I waited once more for my medication. I received two bags- one contained a small container of brown liquid that very closely resembled iodine. I was suppose to gargle this with water a few times a day. The other contained 4 different types of pills, one for each of my symptoms. When I tried to ask what each was for and side effects the nurse told me to just take all four with meals and I should start feeling better soon. Besides a little drowsiness I shouldn't experience any other side effects. Luckily, my friend had taken 3/4 of the pills at one point and was able to describe what they treated. The other pill remained a mystery, so I named it the mystery pill.

It seems that the medicine is finally working and I'm feeling better. I went to school today and wore a mask at school for the first time. Surprised quite a few teachers in the staff room when I walked in.