If anyone has been to the doctor as a kid it has been ME.
I've had the measles and the mumps - measles quite a few times in fact.
Tonsils and adenoids that plagued me for years and prevented me from having ice cream ( and believe it or not we owned the biggest ice cream parlour cum bar cum in Allahabad ) way back in the 50's and 60's.!
I've had pneumonia followed by double pneumonia and I almost died .
I have had a severe allergic reaction to Sulphur !
Eyes, nose, ears - you name it and I guess like any normal kid I was taken to the doctor for it.
Then when my kids were growing up it was the same - trips to the doctor for this and that .
The routine over the years from the time I was a kid was the same .
You go to the doctor - you wait a while - he calls you in - looks you over - puts on a torch and peers into your throat and up your nostrils - pulls down the bottom portion of your eyelid and looks at it- puts the stethoscope into his ears and listens . Breathe- breathe he tells you.
Then he looks you over - tells you to sit down- takes out a pad - scribbles in a few medicines and signs with a flourish.
If you enquire as to whether you should come again ,your told - "if your not better then come after a week- but I don't think you will need to come" - Confident as hell.
You walk out feeling better immediately. You buy the medicine - you take it and pronto - a few days later your well. In fact you start feeling better after the first few doses.
These days its so very different.
Lets just presume that you are visiting a doctor for the first time
This is somewhat the scenario.
You phone the doctor to make an appointment.
If your lucky he will see you the next day or the day after if he can squeeze you into his busy schedule- by the way your not talking to him- its his secretary/ receptionist / a nurse at the clinic.
She is business like and asks for your reference number / mobile number and full name - thankfully she does not ask for your bank account/ credit card no- at least not yet.
You finally get to the clinic . It's 6 .00 pm
You are given a form and you fill it in - some forms require so many details , they make you feel like your applying for a new passport .
Form filled and handed in - then you get a number . Its all very proper.
The nurse then takes you for your height / weight / temperature check/ pulse rate . Just to make sure she says .
Let me cut to the chase- its your turn to see the doctor now.
You enter the doctors chamber and he smiles and you shake hands.
" How are you ", he says dryly .
I often feel like saying " About to die " or something to that effect .
I tell him what the problem is - maybe just a very stuffy nose and a slight body ache - for goodness sake I know its the flu- so just get on and give me a tab to cure it .
No - its not that simple .
He looks at his laptop and keys in some information .
He asks for symptoms and you tell him that its the flu .
He looks at you sarcastically as if to say - if that's the case go cure yourself.
He knows your in his clutches as he moves in for the juggler vein.
He then goes through the torch , throat, nose , eyes routine and your relieved . This was a breeze .
He then goes back to the computer and keys in some more information . I peer- trying to pry - no luck.
He then picks up the phone and summons the nurse who he hands a paper to.
" Just have a blood and urine test " - "to rule out a few things" says he in a matter of fact tone .
That's easier said than done - the blood test is fine - but a urine test ???
OK let me drink water - one glass- two glasses - I feel bloated extremely bloated but there is no signs of the wretched urine .........................Do I have stones - I wonder ????!!!!!! A blockage maybe !
Finally that's done too.
The results will take 30 mts - so relax says the nurse .
You sit and re- read the morning papers.
People dead/ women raped/ floods/ famine/ job scarcity/ building collapse/ earthquake - depressing to say the least.
You wonder at the diseases in the room around you .
You have come in with flu- you could go home with Pneumonia, tuberculosis or whooping cough - a weak mind sure plays trick on you .
The nurse comes back and calls your name out loud .
For goodness sake - there are only 2 people left in the clinic and one is a lady- surely she cant be Mr Michael
"The doctor feels that an X Ray would be an added precaution" says the nurse .
I have that too- I do not complain- if you have to die it might as well be due to radiation !
An hour gone by - people are packing to go home and I am the last one there ." The
Doctor will see you now" says the sleepy looking nurse- its a few minutes past 8.00 pm .She would have left by now - she looks like she is cursing me under her breath. I could do without curses at this stage .
The doctor looks at the reports and the X ray. No expression at first. I am about to panic - could it be something serious- something unexpected - isn't that how they sometimes find that you have a killer disease when you go for something totally different ?
Doctor looks up from the reports
" Just a mild infection " he says " Nothing to worry about but at least we are sure its nothing else ".
He smiles ...........
He then starts keying in the medicines and the bill amount .
2 capsules( antibiotics probably ) thrice a day after meals for 4 days , 2 tablets, once a day before meals for 5 days - one mixture twice a day after meals for a week.
Pain killers in case of pain- once a day after meals- at night- as they make you drowsy.
A multivitamin to counteract the antibiotic
He is done . He then makes small talk and looks at his watch .I get up and thank him .
I go to pay - I almost give a yelp when I see the bill . But I dare not make a sound lest he call me back on hearing the yelp and order some more tests !.
I take the prescription to the pharmacy and then decide.....................
" Do I actually need all these medicines"
I look carefully and buy just the tablets for pain and fever .
I go home - feeling worse and very despondent .
I take the tabs along with some home made remedy which I should have taken in the first place
I get better .
The body has cured itself .
Amen.
I've had the measles and the mumps - measles quite a few times in fact.
Tonsils and adenoids that plagued me for years and prevented me from having ice cream ( and believe it or not we owned the biggest ice cream parlour cum bar cum in Allahabad ) way back in the 50's and 60's.!
I've had pneumonia followed by double pneumonia and I almost died .
I have had a severe allergic reaction to Sulphur !
Eyes, nose, ears - you name it and I guess like any normal kid I was taken to the doctor for it.
Then when my kids were growing up it was the same - trips to the doctor for this and that .
The routine over the years from the time I was a kid was the same .
You go to the doctor - you wait a while - he calls you in - looks you over - puts on a torch and peers into your throat and up your nostrils - pulls down the bottom portion of your eyelid and looks at it- puts the stethoscope into his ears and listens . Breathe- breathe he tells you.
Then he looks you over - tells you to sit down- takes out a pad - scribbles in a few medicines and signs with a flourish.
If you enquire as to whether you should come again ,your told - "if your not better then come after a week- but I don't think you will need to come" - Confident as hell.
You walk out feeling better immediately. You buy the medicine - you take it and pronto - a few days later your well. In fact you start feeling better after the first few doses.
These days its so very different.
Lets just presume that you are visiting a doctor for the first time
This is somewhat the scenario.
You phone the doctor to make an appointment.
If your lucky he will see you the next day or the day after if he can squeeze you into his busy schedule- by the way your not talking to him- its his secretary/ receptionist / a nurse at the clinic.
She is business like and asks for your reference number / mobile number and full name - thankfully she does not ask for your bank account/ credit card no- at least not yet.
You finally get to the clinic . It's 6 .00 pm
You are given a form and you fill it in - some forms require so many details , they make you feel like your applying for a new passport .
Form filled and handed in - then you get a number . Its all very proper.
The nurse then takes you for your height / weight / temperature check/ pulse rate . Just to make sure she says .
Let me cut to the chase- its your turn to see the doctor now.
You enter the doctors chamber and he smiles and you shake hands.
" How are you ", he says dryly .
I often feel like saying " About to die " or something to that effect .
I tell him what the problem is - maybe just a very stuffy nose and a slight body ache - for goodness sake I know its the flu- so just get on and give me a tab to cure it .
No - its not that simple .
He looks at his laptop and keys in some information .
He asks for symptoms and you tell him that its the flu .
He looks at you sarcastically as if to say - if that's the case go cure yourself.
He knows your in his clutches as he moves in for the juggler vein.
He then goes through the torch , throat, nose , eyes routine and your relieved . This was a breeze .
He then goes back to the computer and keys in some more information . I peer- trying to pry - no luck.
He then picks up the phone and summons the nurse who he hands a paper to.
" Just have a blood and urine test " - "to rule out a few things" says he in a matter of fact tone .
That's easier said than done - the blood test is fine - but a urine test ???
OK let me drink water - one glass- two glasses - I feel bloated extremely bloated but there is no signs of the wretched urine .........................Do I have stones - I wonder ????!!!!!! A blockage maybe !
Finally that's done too.
The results will take 30 mts - so relax says the nurse .
You sit and re- read the morning papers.
People dead/ women raped/ floods/ famine/ job scarcity/ building collapse/ earthquake - depressing to say the least.
You wonder at the diseases in the room around you .
You have come in with flu- you could go home with Pneumonia, tuberculosis or whooping cough - a weak mind sure plays trick on you .
The nurse comes back and calls your name out loud .
For goodness sake - there are only 2 people left in the clinic and one is a lady- surely she cant be Mr Michael
"The doctor feels that an X Ray would be an added precaution" says the nurse .
I have that too- I do not complain- if you have to die it might as well be due to radiation !
An hour gone by - people are packing to go home and I am the last one there ." The
Doctor will see you now" says the sleepy looking nurse- its a few minutes past 8.00 pm .She would have left by now - she looks like she is cursing me under her breath. I could do without curses at this stage .
The doctor looks at the reports and the X ray. No expression at first. I am about to panic - could it be something serious- something unexpected - isn't that how they sometimes find that you have a killer disease when you go for something totally different ?
Doctor looks up from the reports
" Just a mild infection " he says " Nothing to worry about but at least we are sure its nothing else ".
He smiles ...........
He then starts keying in the medicines and the bill amount .
2 capsules( antibiotics probably ) thrice a day after meals for 4 days , 2 tablets, once a day before meals for 5 days - one mixture twice a day after meals for a week.
Pain killers in case of pain- once a day after meals- at night- as they make you drowsy.
A multivitamin to counteract the antibiotic
He is done . He then makes small talk and looks at his watch .I get up and thank him .
I go to pay - I almost give a yelp when I see the bill . But I dare not make a sound lest he call me back on hearing the yelp and order some more tests !.
I take the prescription to the pharmacy and then decide.....................
" Do I actually need all these medicines"
I look carefully and buy just the tablets for pain and fever .
I go home - feeling worse and very despondent .
I take the tabs along with some home made remedy which I should have taken in the first place
I get better .
The body has cured itself .
Amen.
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