How to cure a cough in China - we are sick again
Well ... We are sick again. If last time Yegor and I, now Yegor and Daria. Classes are postponed again, and we are already leaving soon: (If not for this, we would not worry too much, it seems that they are not very sick. Once again I understand why they come here for at least 3 months (or better for six months) to have time to work out between diseases. I thought we would hide in the tropics from Chinese infections, but it wasn’t there. Thank God that it’s much easier to get sick in a warm climate, you don’t need to humidify the air and run from cold drafts.
Okay, I'll tell you why we are treated so strange here :)
Why it's easy to get sick in China
In general, it's a shame, every time during rehabilitation such a garbage begins, which gives a rollback. Egor is weakening and everything must be started anew. So it was in Moscow, then in Olinek, now in China. Wherever there are children, there are viruses :) Although in Thailand, Yegor was almost not sick (for six months, literally a couple of times with snot and almost no temperature), but there we interacted very little with children (classes were almost isolated from everyone), and Thai therapists did not come to work sick or were wearing masks. In ordinary Thai life, there are also enough viruses, but basically all complaints about kindergartens, where winterers send their children, even those who are ill.
While we are sick, we can work out not physically
China is a special case, here it is generally not customary to get sick at home, so there are Chinese sneezing and coughing everywhere, including our doctors and therapists. Add to this constant coughing and spitting (it's good that not on the floor, but somewhere in the window), as well as smearing snot on the wall (no kidding), and we get an eternal breeding ground of infections. It's no wonder to get sick here.
And we are not alone in getting sick. The neighbor boy has been coughing badly for two months now, and only just got better. A family from the next wing, got sick with us both times. A month ago, snot and fever, and now coughing just as well (both mom and child). Our doctor has also been coughing for several weeks now.
How to treat a cough in China
In China, there are two medicine, as I understand it, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Western. Since Yegor is not very sick yet, we did not go to the hospital, but went to the doctor in our rehabilitation center, and he is clearly a supporter of BMT. Therefore, he ordered us to drink balls (?????) or syrup (??????) from the infusion of antelope horns. Oh how! In fact, there are a lot of ingredients, but this one I remember most of all. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the details, because everything is in Chinese, but there is also honeysuckle, orange peel, bell, licorice, etc..
The syrup and balls are different in composition, the doctor believes that the balls are more effective. From experience of use, I can say that the cough has become wet and Egor clears his throat, that is, he gradually gets better. Local guys say that the medicines here are safe (like herbs and all that), but they last longer, so it takes time.
The balls, by the way, are very funny. They resemble kinder surprises, but small. You take it in your hand, press it and it cracks. Moreover, the shell is plastic, but outside for some reason it is covered with something resembling wax, you can pick it off with a fingernail. Like everything natural? Yeah, only I picked it up with my fingernail and on the other hand, and there was ordinary plastic :) Inside the Chinese medical kinder, there is a ball of chewing gum consistency, to taste, like some kind of sweet squeeze from herbs.
Cough balls - ?????
Cough syrup - ??????
Since I don't really trust the antelope horns, I decided to buy also Lazolvan, or rather any syrup / solution with the active ingredient Ambroxol, in English Ambroxol. On its basis, other syrups and solutions for inhalation are made - Ambrobene, Ambrohexal, Bronchoxol, etc. Knowing the Chinese name, buying the right medicine is not such a big deal. A little later I will write instructions on how to look for a medicine abroad, in the sense of an analogue. So in the pharmacy, I showed the Chinese name (a screenshot of the site) and then showed it on the phone in a translator in Chinese «syrup», «for a child», because at first they wanted to give me ambroxol in tablets. As a result, I took ????????? (Abroxol oral solution).
How to treat a cough in China - Ambroxol-based medicines
Ambroxol in China (Lazolvan and analogues) - ?????????
But there are no problems with inhalation in China, everything is the same. Full of all sorts of balms, from the usual and familiar to us star, ending with tiger balm, so beloved by us in Thailand (what i bought in thailand).
China is full of balms for inhalation
The main difficulty in China is that it is possible to show something in a pharmacy, but what you will be told in response, you cannot understand at all. Moreover, when they give a medicine, then you also cannot check, or else they gave it, because there is not a word in English. But I was lucky, I came home, took a picture of the box (thanks, Google Translate), translated it and found out that I had just bought what I needed. Therefore, ideally, come to the pharmacy prepared and with a medicine box or a photograph of it..
P.S. Naturally, do not forget about travel insurance. If something serious begins, it is better to go straight to the hospital than to self-medicate.