Hand Foot and Mouth

So, this week, Addison started running a fever and complaining of a sore throat and headache.  I'm usually the type to let these things run their course, as most things eventually do resolve themselves, and I just plain hate going to the doctor.  However, given that I am in a new country, and I don't really know if I'm dealing with any strange new diseases, I panicked and decide we needed to find a DR. ASAP.

Problem #1:  We don't have a Dr.  I decided before we left Cincinnati that we would not be getting sick and therefore, not be needing to see a Dr. in S'pore.  I didn't even get copies of our medical records.  Why do that?  We were going to be home at x-mas and the summer...we have all of our shots...why on earth would I need to worry about finding a Dr? 


Problem #2:  We don't have our updated insurance info and Mike is in India.  Of course one never gets sick at a convenient time, but this always seems to happen to us.  We always need to go to the dr. before we actually have our new insurance cards in hand.  So we have this new "international medical insurance", what does that mean?  Where can I go?  What does it pay?  What # do I call to even verify that we have benefits?  Of course, I'm yelling at Mike in India over Skype....to get me the info PRONTO!  Fun, Fun, Fun!!!


Problem #3:  Everyone has an opinion on which Dr. you should see.  This is actually one of those blessings in disguise.  While it is hard to figure out which Dr. you should go to when so many people are offering their opinions, it is a blessing to know that after only 3 weeks in S'pore, we have enough friends with opinions for this to be a problem :)


Aside from these "problems", I had already self diagnosed Addison's symptoms.  I was pretty sure she had contracted Hand Foot and Mouth.  She had the fever, and then woke up with the tale-tell sores in her mouth.  This is a pretty common virus around the day cares and preschools in the US.  At some point, most kids come down with this virus.  

However in S'pore, they are totally neurotic.  Had I known this ahead of time, I wouldn't have taken her to the Dr.  So in S'Pore if your child is in school, the government has to be notified of the HFM diagnosis and the school informed.  Then, the child is to remain quarantined for 10 days and then stay out of any swimming pools for 6 weeks.  REALLY?  I actually busted out laughing as the Dr. told me this.  Like I'm going to keep her out of the swimming pool that is right outside our elevator door for 6 weeks.  RIGHT!  The only thing that "saved" us from this government scrutiny was that we had not actually started school yet.  In the States, if you don't have a fever and your "blisters" are all healed up, you are good to go.

Of course, today the fever had ended and the blisters are healing.  Addison was driving me crazy wanting to swim and see her friends.  So I guess the moral of my story is that my original ethos of "let it run its course" is definitely the way to go :)

Mere hours before the dreaded disease arrived!