I've been in Shaghai for about 6 months now. It seems to me that in Shanghai compared to the US or France there are more people getting sick. In the last two weeks I've heard of five or six people (including myself) who had a health issue (sometimes a serious one).

Is it just me or is this something more people have noticed? Is it the weather? Is it the food? Is it the water?

Thanks for your comments!

I think it's the pollution and bad food quality.

andreas is right. among the chinese the fact that no heating system at home is used in winter for sure does not help. 50% of my chinese colleagues get sick at least twice every winter and 70% at least once

If you are eating out often, it may be the amount of MSG in the food as well...

Just the general lack of hygiene too i think. There was a nasty virus going round my office, people coughing and spluttering everywhere, not covering their mouths, not washing their hands then touching everything in the office.

Then the ayi comes round and uses one rag to 'clean' everyone's desks, computers etc spreading it all around nicely.

I grew up in a house where if you were cold, you put a jumper on...but they take it to the extreme here wearing coats and thermal underwear indoors. No wonder there's the general impression Chinese people are weak bodied, they've had to put up with crap conditions since birth, but nothing will change - the girls in my office moan the foreigners wont let them have the windows open in this weather, because their grandma says it's the thing to do. No one has yet successfully convinced me how sitting at work with a padded coat, fingerless gloves so you can type and a scarf is good for your health.

I agree fresh air is good, but working in sub zero conditions with people who can't even cover their mouths when they cough is a recipe for disaster!

+1

I'd have the windows open though.....TB is still around in China and coughing and sneezing in closed rooms is more dangerous here than elsewhere.

the thing that really bother me the most in China is the continous sneezing. I am sure all of you noticed. the lower the level of the person the more often is the sneezing. ayi's and other low level workers are top of the list. some can sneeze up to 4 times per hour. I have never seen anything like this in other countries. the air china flights from europe to china are full of chinese sneezing ALL THE TIME

5 or 6 whole people huh?

sounds like a full on epidemic!

Better call the WHO.

I've been sick for about a month now. In fact my boss and I were talking about this... we were talking about how every time we blow our noses recently... it's BRIGHT YELLOW. And I mean... bright yellow. It's not normal. Even my snot is f*cked up.

^bright yellow or green snot means there is an infection, it will not go away by itself, hence why you two have had it for a month. You need antibiotics.

You probably just have a weak girly immune system that can't handle not being pampered.

^ hahahahaaa!!!!!!!!!! Hilarious! What a tw*t!
Well, I feel much better and it's a lot less yellow than it has been, so I guess it's getting better!

CoffeeHawk_0 wrote:^bright yellow or green snot means there is an infection, it will not go away by itself, hence why you two have had it for a month. You need antibiotics.

It will never go away by itself. The bright yellow or green signifies bacteria (vs. a virus), which your immune system can not kill.

And, the longer you and your boss have it, the more people you will infect, because it is likely airborn, which is likely how you received it, subway, etc.

Antibiotics are cheap in the pharmacies, go to a Chinese hospital, pay $10~$20, get a prescription, then $20 more for 8 days of antibiotics.

Well, my immune system is rock hard then... seriously, it's gone away by itself...
I think it was from the air con at work.

Forget the antibiotics here. The reason a lot of the stuff we get here goes away that slow is because there are so many resistant strains already. It's not a specific Chinese problem, but more an Asian one. Too many doctors who don't have the faintest clue what they are doing, are prescribing antibiotics for everything, but usually in doses that are to small, and courses of taking antibiotics which are not long enough. Hence a lot of resistant strains, and less and less effect of antibiotics when you really need them.

pineapple wrote:I've been in Shaghai for about 6 months now. It seems to me that in Shanghai compared to the US or France there are more people getting sick. In the last two weeks I've heard of five or six people (including myself) who had a health issue (sometimes a serious one).

Is it just me or is this something more people have noticed? Is it the weather? Is it the food? Is it the water?

Thanks for your comments!

I dont know where you are from but in the UK about 12,000 people die every winter from flu. We're in the middle of winter here in Shanghai, so I don't think there's anything odd about a lot of people being sick.

CoffeeHawk_0 wrote:

CoffeeHawk_0 wrote:^bright yellow or green snot means there is an infection, it will not go away by itself, hence why you two have had it for a month. You need antibiotics.

It will never go away by itself. The bright yellow or green signifies bacteria (vs. a virus), which your immune system can not kill.

Wrong, wrong and wrong.

And, the longer you and your boss have it, the more people you will infect, because it is likely airborn, which is likely how you received it, subway, etc.

Right, wrong and wrong.

Antibiotics are cheap in the pharmacies, go to a Chinese hospital, pay $10~$20, get a prescription, then $20 more for 8 days of antibiotics.

And stop taking them after 2 days, at which time your viral infection will have resolved by itself, and the bacteria living in your nose will have had a big Darwinian boost toward developing multiple antibiotic resistance.

OP, if you get a bill in the mail from Coffee tomorrow for his consultation fee, my advice is: don't pay it.

Viruses don't repond to antibiotics, bacterial infections do, however you must take them for a bare minimum of 5 days; 7 is better and 10 days for a heavy infection.

There is truth to more people getting infected during winter. People cluster indoor because of the cold weather and have closer contact to each other.
I rarely get sick but I caught it in China where regardless of weather there is little personal physical space.

pineapple wrote:I've been in Shaghai for about 6 months now. It seems to me that in Shanghai compared to the US or France there are more people getting sick. In the last two weeks I've heard of five or six people (including myself) who had a health issue (sometimes a serious one).

Is it just me or is this something more people have noticed? Is it the weather? Is it the food? Is it the water?

Thanks for your comments!

More ppl = easier to catch something, simple like that.

BONNIE wrote:Viruses don't repond to antibiotics, bacterial infections do, however you must take them for a bare minimum of 5 days; 7 is better and 10 days for a heavy infection.

I realize this is true, but what about when you get a massive IV infusion from 1 to 3 days straight? Seems to be the common way to administer antibiotics here.

I was very sick recently, acute bronchitis among other ailments. The doc prescribed me 2 big bags of antibiotic IV and three days of heavy duty antibiotics in pill form. I felt fine the day after the injection. (I paid extra money for imported US antibiotics, not Chinese ones).

I figure the major reason more people get sick here is the air quality. Our lungs are overtaxed from trying to clear out the pollution that bacteria gets stuck in them. Also, on dusty days, the air is full of bacteria as well (just a pinch of soil can have thousands of types of bacteria, most unknown to medical science).

Bacteria in soil!!! Isn't this because many Chinese people spit???!!! Can't stand this habbit! Stop spitting!!! pleeeeaase...

The use of IV drips here is perplexing. Gets your blood drug levels up quickly, but after that, all you need is a steady-state blood level and that is amply provided by tablets. So all you are really buying is maybe 3-4 hours' time, while exposing yourself to an increased risk of contamination by blood-borne diseases. (To be fair, that risk is probably low.)

I think the real reason doctors use the IV route here is they know that patient compliance with oral regimes will be low to zero - same as with road rules, queuing etc.

chingiskhan wrote:

pineapple wrote:I've been in Shaghai for about 6 months now. It seems to me that in Shanghai compared to the US or France there are more people getting sick. In the last two weeks I've heard of five or six people (including myself) who had a health issue (sometimes a serious one).

Is it just me or is this something more people have noticed? Is it the weather? Is it the food? Is it the water?

Thanks for your comments!

I dont know where you are from but in the UK about 12,000 people die every winter from flu. We're in the middle of winter here in Shanghai, so I don't think there's anything odd about a lot of people being sick.

That many? Really?
In France people are crazy... they have a cold, they think they are dying. So extreme. Also French drugs are way too strong- I was better off not taking them as they always made me worse!

tylerdurden wrote:I think the real reason doctors use the IV route here is they know that patient compliance with oral regimes will be low to zero - same as with road rules, queuing etc.

Exactly - i went to Shanghai East with my flatmate who was sick and they told her to come back every day for the next few days for her IV....she politely asked to have the tablets, you know being foreign n all we all know how to take them and even if the symptoms disappear you need to finish the course and we were told NO, that's not the best way. After about 15 minutes of polite debate she went mental at them saying it's a pointless thing, she doens't live in Pudong nor should antibiotics be given to the masses this way amongst some other borderline racist comments about local procedures.

Hell hath no fury like a sick woman asked to come back to sit with a drip in her arm.

Chinese people are conditioned to take their IV drips this time of the season, wait scratch that...they take it for any type of little pain all year 'round. Thus making them world leader in IV consumption. Guess its some sort of long term natural selection process...

miss_t wrote:
Exactly - i went to Shanghai East with my flatmate who was sick and they told her to come back every day for the next few days for her IV....she politely asked to have the tablets, you know being foreign n all we all know how to take them and even if the symptoms disappear you need to finish the course and we were told NO, that's not the best way. After about 15 minutes of polite debate she went mental at them saying it's a pointless thing, she doens't live in Pudong nor should antibiotics be given to the masses this way amongst some other borderline racist comments about local procedures.

I think it's highly unethical to insist a patient takes IV when it's already been expressed that oral antibiotic (also effective) is preferred. I would have been furious and mental as well if it happened to me.

Bad air, bad water, questionable quality of the food produced here, people coughing in your face and spitting at your feet, lack of warm water and soap in the restrooms... welcome to civilisation

Anyone notice how much more chlorine in the H20 these days? It's like a cloud of chlorine gas every time I try to have a shower or run hot water. I used to think the steam helped deal with the bad air I breathe into my lungs every day here...now it's cancer-causing too.