I�m not too sure if this is the right part of the forum for this, but I think it is related to Residency, and so have put it here.
Okay, I realise this is not exactly a topic that is totally in tune with things in general and/or to do with Madrid & Spain, but it is indeed very relevant and of major importance to all expats and well, anyone really, who is health conscious, and might like to take note of this post, as it is something that is really a very serious matter, especially if you need to pay into a health care insurance policy, or whether you are reliant upon the local or national health services.
What I am going to tell you here now is very true and very scary, and it is about something called Cellulitis, and just how dangerous it really is.
I had a call from a family member on Tuesday this week, to tell me that one of my brothers was taken seriously ill, and that I should call his wife to get more info.
I did, and what she told me was very worrying indeed, and that on Monday morning this week, he got ready to go to work as normal, and was not feeling all that good, kind of groggy, with flu like symptoms, aching all over, and a pain in his foot, like the pain of a bruise, and it was aching & tender, but still he forced himself to get going, and set off in his car.
He got to work, feeling even worse, and within an hour he was feeling chilled and feverish, within another 30 mins he was starting to shake and feel sick, he was rushed home and the emergency house call doctor was called, but within minutes of that call he started to have rigours and started shaking uncontrollably, the doc got there, and looked at his foot, by which time had inflated to about 4 times it�s normal size, and said �you�ve got Cellulitis� very, very serious and dangerous indeed, and that he was going into some kind of toxic shock from the infection getting into his blood, which if untreated rapidly would turn into Septicaemia..(Blood poisoning).
Anyway, he was treated and is now on strong antibiotic�s, but is quite poorly as you could imagine. Now, the thing is this, that this infection called �Cellulitis� was triggered off by an infection in his foot, which came about as a result of having had very long term Athletes Foot, from which he had suffered from a few �cracks� in the skin around the heal of the foot, and also in between the toes, and he had been treating that with all kinds of stuff sold over the counter, but had never had his feet checked out properly by a physician, and in so doing was leaving himself open to just this kind of infection.
What I am trying to say here is this, just like you would take care of your eyes & teeth by having then checked out (once in a while) I think that it would also be a good idea to have the condition of your feet checked once in a while, especially if you have had any problems with your feet, such as Athletes foot, or diabetes, (in which case, you must have the feet checked regularly anyway) because to neglect them, is leaving yourself open to the potential of a much more costly problem, especially if you are away from home, (as in the case of U.S & U.K expats living in Spain) and even more so if you do not have any kind of medical insurance.
If something like that happened to you while in Spain, and your not covered, you could be in real trouble, or, they would treat you, and then you could possibly find yourself in real debt for the treatment, and even the possibility of needing to travel back to the U.S or U.K, because convalescence costs money, one way or another, and so you really do not want to be getting sick like that while in Spain, unless of course you are fully covered, and if such a calamity did befall you, you would not need to worry half as much.
Fortunately, that particular brother is in the U.K and has paid his National Insurance to date in full, and will be treated without any other costs, but could lose some salary because of his lousy contract of employment, if he has to convalesce for too long, (which he probably will have to do now) which dose not help with his family bills & mortgage repayments etc which will continue regardless, sick or not, bills still have to be paid.
And so I�m wondering about all those here in Madrid, and exactly how much attention do you pay to you're health, and do you really get yourselves checked out thoroughly each year, once a year? Twice? More often?
I�m thinking that there are more people who do not bother too much, if they have got a problem, and are reluctant to go & see doctors, mostly because of the probability that they will find themselves having to spend money on medications (some pretty expensive) money that they cannot really afford to be spending on anything other than their main living expenses, rent, community charge, phone line, internet connection, travel, other materials that are needed for work etc, all the things that they must spend money on in order to live here and function normally, and so extras like medications and/or treatment in a hospital are generally avoided like Anthrax these days by many.
But I advise you now, all expats in Madrid/Spain, do take particular care of things like your feet, hands, skin etc, and at the first signs of anything unusual, do try to see a GP/MD/MP/doctor, what he or she is called, just see someone, and sooner not later, because later could turn out to be too late.
I know only too well what is like to fall ill suddenly in Spain, as I did a few years back while in Barcelona, when I suddenly found myself collapsing in the street, and unable to walk properly for a couple of days after, and I didn�t even have travel insurance, and so had to get the next available flight out, just in time as is happened, because I developed a high fever, which they at the airport thought was the SARS virus, but turned out to be just a bad dose of Influenza, and I had been pushing myself too much, which aggravated the problem that I have in my lower Spine. Discs, which is what caused me legs to weaken & buckle under me.
That was a scary moment for me, and I don�t like to recall it, but now & then I need to remind myself of just how easy it is for us to suddenly fall ill-get sick, or have an accident of some kind.
Well anyway, enough of that, I sincerely hope that you all do take good care of your feet, as well as your eyes, dentistry, and Skin in general, because the las the thing you need in any country, is dermatitis, and I have had a sever case of that between 1989 & 1992, with constant tiny blisters all over my hands, (like an orange skin) simply because I had used some break fluid when fixing my Motorbikes breaks, and did not wash my hands properly afterwards, and a week later, I had the blisters, and that all cost me plenty I can tell you, so please, while living away from home, in Spain, (even if you now consider Spain to be your home) take care of your health and what you do each day, and if you do get any cracks or splits in your feet or hands, please do go and get it seen to, do not delay, or ignore it like my brother did (very stupidly) I told him off on the phone, believe me!!
Also.....another thing that I was thinking of mentioning is Stress, and not just in the work place, but anywhere, like where you live for example.
I mean, take that situation that Candela had there recently, in the building where she lives, that was without doubt an extremely stressful situation, and must surely have affected her every day working life, with that on her mind, and caused her considerable un-rest in her spare time, when one is supposed to be able to relax.
Stress really is a killer, and I've been there, I've lived under those exact same curcumstances, living in fear of being attacked when returning late at night, and my stress meter was off the scale.
I think it would be a good idea for us to read up and remind ourselves about just how easy it is to suffer from stress, even without realising that you are in fact suffering from it, and just how much stress you are suffering from each day, and look for ways to identify a source of stress, and how to either avoid it, or halt it, if has already started to stress you out.
Here are some links to some really good stuff that I have found, and I strongly urge you to read it, as I think it is really important to remember that we all suffer from one kind of stress or another, day in day out, and we should learn how to keep those stresses to the absolute minimum.
So, here are the links, for the English speakers, and one for the Spanish.
excellent advice,health costs rise at 20%/yr,45 million in US are not covered,I think many expats in Spain are young and think they are going to live forever.
Colon Testing Saves Lives You may have seen our humorous ad campaign stressing the importance of colon cancer testing. Experts predict 30,000 lives could be saved a year if everyone age 50 and older got tested for colon cancer
Posts: 94 | Location: Bermuda | Registered: 26 November 2001
Cheers Jazzbo, that's a very good website I must say, and extremely important too, although at the same time I find it a bit scary, it is a bit of a worrying time for me at the moment, because I know in advance about what kind of examinations I am going to subjected to soon, and when I read about that stuff, it kind of makes me cringe a little, but never the less, it is something that people need to be aware of more than ever now, and also to be prepared for should it become necessary for them to have such tests.
I am going to be seeing a specialist, Neurologist/Neurosurgeon, who is going to help me with my Spinal problems, and the associated problems with the nerves, my bowel, bladder, and the trembling in my legs etc, so wish me luck.
Saludos.
Posts: 696 | Location: Santander | Registered: 11 August 2003
colon cancer (#2 killer behind lung cancer) is called the silent killer because there are few symptoms and a tumor can grow for years without your having a clue,until it's too late.
Posts: 94 | Location: Bermuda | Registered: 26 November 2001
Yes Jazzbo, as you already pointed out earlier, we know, many people in this world know (about/of) all those many things that they could die of, but because of the lack of information provided to most people during their schooling, (things like that were kept under wraps, kept quite about) and general fear of such concepts, many people just don't want to know about all that, and don't really acknowledge any of it, especially because of the nature of the invasive testing, which many people feel is un-dignified, de-humanising and humiliating, and makes them feel like cattle, and judging by the way many people are dealt with in some of these hospitals by the staff these days, I don't blame them, because some of them just treat you like you just another dumb animal in a vetinary surgery, that's been my experience too, and of the many people that I have spoken too about it, they all said the same thing, that they felt that they had been hurded like cattle, and that too many of these so called technicians have about zero respect for anyones sense of dignity or well being, and lets face it, who really & truly wants a Camera shoved up their ass by a total stranger who dosen't really give a damn anyway, but still I suppose that's besides the point, if it needs to be done, then it has to be done, but that does not make it any more pleasant or enjoyable, and after drinking powerful Laxatives for hours before the test & sitting on a toilet for hours violently blasting your guts out, followed by a couple or more enemas, and then dealt with abruptly or hurriedly by someone who's been under pressure all morning, because she's got like 30 others to do, and your taking up more of their time with the extra preparation, it dosen't give a whole lot of people much incentive to go and get it done, now does it!!
Saludos, and good luck with your next round of powerful laxatives & enemas, I'm NOT looking forwards to mine.
Posts: 696 | Location: Santander | Registered: 11 August 2003
