UK and America are two countries separated by a common language, UK and US Q&A cont'd

[mathanxiety]

Started another one in case anyone wants to do it again...

To make sure everything is healthy. The same reason you have a physical and an eye exam every year.

How does health care work for under 18's? Do they have to have a private policy too?

They're usually on a parent's policy, but if none is available or if it is too expensive then they have other options...

• Medicaid if they are low income.
• CHIP which covers children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford insurance.
• Obamacare policies, which are subsidised below a certain income level (I looked into this when it appeared, and although DH and I didn't qualify because we already had insurance through our employers I could get insurance for the children through it).
• Some states cover all children automatically.

Yes the pelvis exams/smears/mammograms seem to vary. Insurance will cover annual (I believe they have to by law), but my doctor agreed with me that every two years is fine.

I've noticed a lot of contestants on GBBO use saffron in their baking. Is that a commonly-used spice in the UK? I don't think I've ever had it. The only thing I know about it is that it's very expensive.

Dating - does everyone really date a number of people at once in the USA?

In the UK generally you would only date one person at a time.

With the raise in online dating I think people may be going on dates with more than one person for a short period of time, but that would be coffee, a drink or maybe a meal, nothing physical beyond a kiss for most people.

What are the unwritten rules of multiple dating?

Whispers

I think the idea of dating is somewhat exaggerated. It's true you might date more than one person, but it wouldn't be more than coffee/a drink. Maybe a good night kiss. I'd say by date three you'd probably only date one person, and have a discussion about being exclusive by the time you have sex. I think most people start being exclusive before discussing it - you realize you really like this person you're dating so you start dating only them. But if you don't feel very strongly you might keep your options open.

That's assuming you even manage dates with multiple people at one time! Really for the most part you're happy to find one person to date...

But then, some are more interested in casual dating then relationships, and I think this where the online dating culture is most pronounced. You might date, have sex, and never actually get to the exclusive stage with any one. Some spend their uni years like this, and don't really do relationships until later in their twenties.

Basically, being exclusive would be the marker for a serious relationship, or calling someone your girlfriend/boyfriend here. Most likely you have stopped dating others before that point, but to officially be dating one person would make them your boyfriend.

If you only date one person at a time, when do you think of them as a boyfriend/girlfriend as opposed to someone you are dating?

No, I mean squeaked! :) Do you not say "squeaked by"?

The pelvic exams are (or were) performed every year under the assumption that it's easier to catch and treat cervical, ovarian, and breast cancer as early as possible.

Re dating I don't really know people who dated a lot of people...usually people are either in a monogamous relationship, or shagging a lot of randoms.

I remember having the " so are you my boyfriend" talk with now DH. :) Before that it was just coffee, movies, and snogs (or making out in US terms :o)

*Whispers

We don't really have routine annual physicals as such, although I believe some employers now encourage them. You really only go to see the doctor if you're ill.
I am 37, the only time my blood pressure was checked was when I was on the contraceptive pill and during pregnancy.
We have routine smears from when you become sexually active but routine breast exams aren't until your 50’s (unless there is family history)
I wear glasses/contacts. My contact prescription is checked yearly and a full eye test is done every two years.
Bloods are only taken if you present with any problems, they are not taken routinely.

I haven't lived there for a long time but only ever had bp checked when I was pregnant or ill. My kids had their first American physical this summer, never had their bp taken before, or hearing tested (except for dd1 who had a hearing test at birth in Asia). They only had their weight and height checked when they went to the docs for a complaint, apart from the developmental visits which I think stopped around 2....

In the uk you don't go for annual physicals, you are supposed to get your eyes tested but I think it's every couple of years unless you have a prescription / diabetes etc. Dentist visits are every 6 months too but let's not get on the subject of British dentists as it's nearly impossible to even get registered with one.

I don't know about the uk but keeping up to date on kids vaccinations is very important in the USA too. We had a note from the school nurse at the end of a last term letting us know which ones were due over the summer for our state (Texas). We had this in singapore too as there is a central database and you need to be up to date otherwise you don't go to school (I think you can object for religious or medical reasons but you have to supply evidence). We haven't done schools in the uk .... Are they as hot on vaccinations? Feel weird asking about my own country but haven't lived there with school age dcs.....

You don't routinely have physicals in the UK. You also don't need to take your kids to the doctors for routine checks. Up to about age 3 you'd be seen by health visitors and/or nurses for well baby or well child checks but after that only when sick. You also don't need medical forms signed by a dr every year for school or camp

I am 37, the only time my blood pressure was checked was when I was on the contraceptive pill and during pregnancy.

I get mine tested every year, and found at this year's physical that it was quite elevated. I had no symptoms whatsoever, so I would have had no idea, had I not been so vigilant about my physicals. Hypertension is the silent killer; how do you know if you're suffering from something like that without regular checkups?

You also don't need to take your kids to the doctors for routine checks. Up to about age 3 you'd be seen by health visitors and/or nurses for well baby or well child checks but after that only when sick.

My county offers that, where a nurse comes out to your house for routine checks, until the child is 5 (I think). I always opted-out, though. I just take my kids to the doctor for their well-child visits.

This conversation has reminded me I'm past due for my eye exam! I just made an appointment for tomorrow. Thanks, mumsnet! :)

I never heard of a visiting nurse scheme in the US. That's great that it's available to you. I hate dragging my dd to the pediatrician each time just for a weight check (and paying the $15 copay as well!), seems like a very inefficient use of resources.

It's local to my county, I don't know what other areas have it. They always had incentives for you to participate, like books or toys or gift cards. I think it's meant to connect with people who might not otherwise take their kids to the doctor, but they offer it to all new mothers in the county, regardless of income. We don't have a copay for well child visits, and we use a family doctor, so it's pretty fast and easy there.

It might be a good idea if we did all have regular check ups at the doctors I think, as in the USA. But it is not something offered by the NHS I believe, except as Shakshuka says, for very young children. Most people only go to the doctor when something is wrong. If they did check everyone annually it would obviously cost the government a fortune, so not likely to happen, the NHS services we do have are being cut back. Sometimes I wonder how many lives could be saved if we did do the routine check up thing? Or maybe it wouldn't make that much difference, I don't really know, not being a medical person, but we have our cars and boilers checked annually, aren't our bodies more important? I suppose the answer is that if you can afford it get regular check ups done privately and go back to the NHS if any problem is found. But we are all so used to not having to pay for medical care that this wouldn't occur to most Brits.

The NHS is far from perfect, but I am still really glad we have it, would hate to have to rely on insurance provided by my employer, as in the USA, (doesn't it discourage mobility in the employment marketplace?) To lose cover for yourself and your family when you lose your job must be a nightmare. You hear horror stories from the USA of low-income people with conditions like cancer going untreated.

I work with people on Medicaid, most low-income people qualify for it. It covers things like cancer treatment, etc.

In the US, we hear horror stories of people not being able to get into a doctor for treatment for weeks and weeks due to the burden on the NHS. Neither system is perfect, but I don't really know what would be.

I've never had a job that didn't offer insurance, even when I was a cashier at a grocery store, which was a minimum wage job.

It's surprising to me that prevention isn't a focus, I'm sure overall, prevention with things like annual visits is cheaper than treatment of advanced conditions.

Well yes, things do go wrong on the NHS and waiting lists can be a problem but it is mostly an vital safety net and people don't seem to fall through the gaps so much as in the US? I read a magazine article once about a group of doctors and other qualified medical personnel who had a free travelling clinic that toured the US. They would set up in a field or somewhere and were overwhelmed with patients, who would be queuing (waiting in line?!) from before dawn as they were unable to access any other healthcare. I think a lot of them were homeless people, maybe.

There are lots of mobile and permanent clinics offering free check up and medical and dental care to homeless people in the USA. Many medical schools run free clinics too, personally I think this is a great idea.

Golden syrup looks like honey. It is refined from sugar cane and pretty difficult to find a USA substitute. You can get is on amazon though and my local supermarkets sell it. Great in flapjack recipes.

No it isn't, it is produced in Sadden Treacle mines along with black treacle and should always be referred to as treacle even though the label does say golden syrup. Has anyone ever made a 'golden syrup pudding'? No they make treacle pudding.

www.treacleminer.com/Mines/Sabden.html

I had the good luck to find the 'birthing suite' available when I went (with minutes to spare) to the hospital to have DD2, so delivered there. Part of the birthing suite package was a home visit from a nurse a few days after I went home. It was fantastic, and she also diagnosed me with asthma -- up to then I had called that 'breathing'....

In the US, we hear horror stories of people not being able to get into a doctor for treatment for weeks and weeks due to the burden on the NHS. Neither system is perfect, but I don't really know what would be

It does vary between surgeries (which is what we call the GP - general practitioner's office) and hospitals and specialties.

So my GP will open at 8am today, if I want an appointment I cal between 8 and 10am and I will be seen today, but I might not see the Dr I prefer, it will be one of 3 or I might be asked if I mind being seen by a registrar - who is qualified Dr training to be a GP. Other appointments are booked ahead for things that are not urgent such as contraception (have to have blood pressure taken before they will give you the pill).

If I want the Dr to come out they will come out between 12 - 2pm, there is a notice int he waiting area saying they will always respond to a request for a home visit, however if the service is abused then patients can be removed from their 'list' - you are registered with one GP who has a list of patients.

After that if I need to see a Dr I can go when the surgery is about to close and sit and wait, it might be 10mins it might be 2 hours - it depends on how many people are waiting.

I can also see a nurse for things like injections, smear and blood tests.

Hospital referrals are different. I had an ovarian cyst, I was admitted to the hospital near work but not near home and once I'd had pain relief I wanted to go home, so my GP had to make a referral to a gynae at my local hospital. This did take a few weeks as it wasn't urgent. When I've had urgent referrals I've been seen withing a week.

I was seen by the Gynae in June, had preop checks in July and went in for the op the first week of August.

They actually found I have a rare syndrome when they operated, part of this is that there is an abnormal vascular system connected to the ovary so they didn't remove it as there was a higher chance of needing to convert keyhole to open surgery and the ovary itself is healthy, I have been referred to someone more specialist who I will see in November.

I obviously have the option of being seen by the same specialist in a private hospital and being seen sooner, but I don't have insurance and I don't have any spare cash to pay.

I think that's fairly typical for a non urgent referral, cancer referrals are much quicker and obviously so are emergencies.

I think that is fairly typical.

Eye tests - I get one every year and because I am over 40 with a relative with glaucoma I don't pay for it. Children, pensioners and people on some benefits don't pay. Because I am on a low income I also get a voucher towards the cost of glasses/contact lenses. For children there are a lot of glasses that can be bought outright with the voucher.

The last time I saw the optician and my prescription changed I kept the same frames, the cost of the lenses was covered by the voucher but I paid extra because I wanted transition lenses.