Medical advise Seminar - 7 November Go back »

2014-11-19 | Nanjing

I went to a European Chamber of Commerce event in Nanjing last week on Emergency Services in Nanjing for the expat community. One speaker was a family doctor from the US who had a very simple message which I thought was worth sharing.

 There are a lot of stressors out there for ex-pat families in China. Cultural differences, pollution, food scares, daily logistics: the list can seem daunting. However, as in other areas of life, worrying about that which is beyond our control can only be counter-productive. Better by far to identify areas within our control and act to reduce the stress and concern there. Here were his main points:

1.     Air pollution - buy a decent mask and wear it outside on high-pollution days (use a smart-phone app to check this). Invest in air filters in your house. BlueAir is a common make in China, but also check out DIY solutions such as SmartAir Filters (http://smartairfilters.com/en.html).

 1.     Buy organic food. If food contamination worries you - and perhaps it should - then use services such as Fields and buy organic. Otherwise make sure you wash and clean vegetables and fruit, for example (and washing means soaking for 10 minutes or more, not just a cursory rinse under the tap). For the more adventurous, the speaker was recommending home hydroponics unit!

1.     Wear a helmet on a bike. Any bike. Make sure your kids do too. However old they are. However cool they think it’s not.

1.     Emergency services - do you have a back-up plan for health emergencies? Who will you call? And do all the adults in your household know, or just you? Make sure the numbers are somewhere accessible to all (also, do you know what your medical insurance covers you for?).

1.     First aid - do you know how to set a splint? To put someone in the recovery position? To operate an emergency defibrillator - AED (or where to find one)? Check out first aid courses, or organise your own in your community.

 Simple, self-help common sense advice, worth noting.

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