How medical advice differs in other countries. (Lighthearted but perplexing)

[KnopkaPixie]

The other day I was behind a woman in the queue at a pharmacy here in France. She had oral thrush. The pharmacist took quite a while talking to her about her treatment and the various medications she'd been given by the doctor then went into the general advice section of the lecture. The most important thing was not to eat, "Trop salé." (Too salty.)

I thought, "Pardon?" Surely it's the other way around, nothing too sugary and yeasty? It bothered me so I googled and sure enough at least in the English results - sugary and yeasty were to be avoided.

This happens all the time. I've heard an awful lot of strange medical advice in France over the years and the folk remedies of my Russian ex boyfriend for various illnesses were quite bizarre too. Putting your head over the boiling potato water to cure a cold because the vitamin c evaporated into the steam was a good one.

Have you ever been given strange medical advice abroad?

This thread is kind of inspired by the post about the Germans opening their windows all the time for "Luften"

On the other hand, if you're not a Brit, what are our bizarre medical beliefs/practices?

The weaning advice thing is something that amused me given the large gaps between my children, first one, it was give a little baby rice at 3 months if they tolerate it, second was give them a little baby rice at 4 months and the third it was do not under any circumstances give that baby anything other than milk until 6 months old, which I largely ignored, although I the missed the baby led weaning malarkey by a couple of years. All were weaned on little bits of food, with most of their nutrition coming from milk, be it breast, formula or cows.
All of them hale and hearty, no allergies or digestive issues, no asthma or eczema.

Obviously now, the NHS is in a bit of a state - but waiting times are high in Germany, too, if you are not private.

I think that's relative, and depends very much on both area of medicine and area where you live. I've had to have minor surgery a few times lately, as has dh once, and waiting times were a handful of weeks in each case - for my last one I waited perhaps 5 or 6 weeks for the initial assessment, but then got an op date in 6 days' time You can sometimes wait some months for routine appts with specialists (who you self-refer to) - in some disciplines - but every specialist (and GP) has to offer emergency hours where you go in and wait. You might be waiting an hour or two but you'll be seen. It is a very specialist-oriented system, though, which took me some getting used to. To the extent that you'll go to an ENT to have your ears syringed.

Psychotherapy provision is much, much better here. Waiting 4-6 months is considered an unacceptably long time. And a standard course of CBT is 25 sessions, extendable (on the agreement of an assessor) by another 25. I've no idea how the 6-8 sessions on the NHS are meant to touch the sides.

@atriskacademic Ooh yes forgot about lack of socks being deadly. You only wear sandals if it's over 30C.
Having cold feet under any circumstances is bad. You must wear slippers at all times, even in boiling hot summers, as the floors might be cold. People even have spare slippers for guests, very rude of you don't offer your guests slippers.

Also, it's terrible if your lower back or belly get exposed at any time as "your waist will get chilled" and that's bad for your organs. I remember wearing crop tops in the 90s and old ladies being scandalised about my "chilly waist" (it's also normal for random old ladies in the street to voice their opinions on your clothing choices or behaviour in general, even when you're a grown adult)

@Slavica Whaat, you don't get a UTI from staying in wet swimwear?? I have never questioned this and to this day I religiously change swimwear after every dip in the water on holiday.
Wet hair, also bad, not because of inflammation of the brain, but because you'll get a cold.

Yep, acute bronchitis. I had a run of four or five years where I was constantly getting it, culminating in the pneumonia. I'd had a nasty dose secondary to flu in the outbreak of 2009 and wonder whether it started there. I'd been referred for a bronchoscopy and my GP suspected bronchoectasis, which would have been devastating for me as a very keen amateur singer. Then I got pregnant and it all stopped and I've barely been troubled by it since

Windows open 24/7 if the house is occupied, gRden doors open too spring to autumn

The Germans have a very odd attitude to air from outside. On the one hand Lüften is basically compulsory (cf. the rental contracts thing). I remember when I was first with dh it was an absolutely freezing winter, of the kind we don't really get any more, even here - regularly down to -15, and he would sleep with his bedroom window wide open. On the other hand, 'der Zug' (the draught) is deadly and the source of all sorts of ills. Neck pain, for example, is often attributed to sitting in 'the draught' of an open window.

The nurse is right!

It must vary by country then. I'm in NZ and Advil is ibuprofen (just checked the packet as starting to doubt myself!). Same packaging as in the US. Actually, just checked on Walgreens website - it's ibuprofen.

@PaddingtonsDeathStare* *
I remember being told as a kid that sitting on a cold surface could give you piles so maybe that's the British version?!

But I was told that I'd get piles from sitting on a hot radiator.

@TheBoots Well, yes, in some counties (like the one I was born in) you'd get a swab taken and they'd tell you exactly what virus or bacteria you have, and therefore what the most suitable remedy is.

This thread is great! Anyone heard anything good for infertility?

I’m the opposite prefer continental herbal remedies and pharmacies that don’t sell paracetamol and think the U.K. take way too much.

We used to have a medicine cupboard with OTC medicines but instead use herbal medicine, homeopathy, essential oils etc where possible. Honey and lemon for sore throats and colds, lavender EO for burns, arnica for bruises and swelling and lots more. Been doing this for years so our paracetamol lasts for years lol.

Gah! Ignore this. I was looking at a bottle of "Aleve" not Advil. Apologize for the confusion (on my part😂).

Which might be worth it for a bacterial infection that isn't responding to the usual broad spectrum antibiotics, or to ensure the most appropriate treatment is being prescribed. But for a viral infection that does not require hospitalisation there is absolutely no need as there is no at home treatment specific to any particular virus. Waste of time and resources.

Funnily a few things I've found that work

Washing my hair sometimes helps with a headache, no idea why
If you're cold to your bones, drink a hot drink and put your feet in warm-hot water with mustard powder in

When I had food poisoning I was absolutely craving full sugar coke. The hospital vending machines were full of diet because "health"

Had a holiday in Portugal and chatting to the waiter who was swearing by magnet therapy, apparently the most popular medicine in Portugal. Lots of money pumped into it every year. He was amazed we didn't do similar in UK.

The tea brand "Salus" is pretty good, but pricey. You can get it in a Reformhaus or Apotheke

I didn't know neck pain from a draught wasn't true as my English dad said that and I hadn't thought to question it. My dad's grandmother was German though. Maybe it got passed down. He was the same about needing slippers too.

Depending where you are in Belgium, head over to the Netherlands. You can buy basic OTC stuff in Kruidvat (only in the Dutch stores, not the Belgian ones), and paracetamol and other things in Albert Hejn and Lidl - check their websites where everything is listed. Probably other supermarkets, too. No prescription and no pharmacy necessary. Last time I was in Kruidvat, a woman before me in the queue bought plenty of packets, obviously to store up, too.

As for the fennel tea and onions: many of these herbal remedies come from times when our conventional medication either didn't exist (yet) or wasn't available. As others have mentioned, they are not just wishful thinking: many herbs have antibacterial properties or help settle stomachs or help improve the skin. This is not to confuse with homeopathy which is probably indeed snake oil, as it is such a diluted medication.
There is plenty of literature on herbs which can be used as remedies, and in (German) pharmacies you can often buy "pharmacy-grade" herbs which are supposed to have a specific amount of active ingredients, as opposed to tea from the supermarket or drugstore, which doesn't have to fulfil any requirements apart from being safe to drink.

It is a very specialist-oriented system

This puzzles me about the (many) places where you go first to a specialist. How do you know which one you need? Some examples would be obvious but a hell of a lot aren't. Consult a GP about your back pain, she'll do a set of simple tests and ask some questions to identify the likely cause, then go from there.

Yep with most viruses the treatment is the same regardless - treat the symptoms.

i had a cat once with congenital issues caused by a virus. I remember the vet saying he could test for likely viruses but it would cost me a fortune and make bugger all difference to the treatment and outcome. All that just to give it a name was a complete waste of everyone’s time and money.

In France when you are prescribed cortisteroids which they do a lot more freely there than in the UK , you are strictly put on a salt free diet. Le sans-sel is practically the law.Bakers won't raise an eyebrow when you put your order in for salt free bread, they'll have a good idea you're on steroids. Whereas the few people I know who were prescribed steroids in the UK were not give the salt free instruction whatsoever.
Specific to Tenerife 30 years ago. I had very serious bacterial tonsillitis. A doctor came to my hotel for 5 days in a row to give me a massive intramuscular antibiotic shot in my arse. It was quite pinchy, but my goodness me, in less than an hour of the first shot my tonsils had deflated and my fever had broken. I wish this were available everywhere. The whole treatment came to £80 back then.

HPandthelastwish

^

You can get tablets now for cold sores

You need to start taking them as soon as you feel the tingle

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/valacyclovir-oral-route/description/drg-20066635

These. They really work