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Our first brush with medical care in Belize

3/20/2012

7 Comments

 
Since moving to Ambergris Caye in late August, we've been quite healthy overall.  This isn't unusual for us as we tend to avoid most of the viruses that go around, at least in part because we're around young children only infrequently.  In recent years I actually went four years without a single cold, while my co-workers seemed to catch every bug going around. Barry and I both caught a cold with a cough around the Christmas/New Year's holidays, but we weren't sick enough to require doctor's visits.  

That changed this week.  Barry had been tending to a fingertip that was a bit red, swollen, and infected.  He thought it probably started when he poked his fingertip with the sharp blade while cleaning our blender a month ago, but it could have stemmed from a small cuticle tear around his nail that became infected.  Whatever the cause, it wasn't getting any better; in fact, it was getting worse.  He'd been soaking it and squeezing it, applying antibiotic ointment and Band-Aids, but none of this self-care was helping.  The area around his nail was red, swollen, and there were a few pustules visible.
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Yesterday
Google to the rescue!  He determined that what he had was most likely Paronychia, a skin infection around a fingernail or toenail.  And since the various websites he read indicated that antibiotics were probably going to be required, he decided (with some urging from me) to call Dr. Lerida Rodriguez.  We'd heard good things about her and pass her office frequently, since we often shop at Maria's for fruits and vegetables, right next door.   

Barry called her office at around 3 pm yesterday, thinking he might get an appointment for today, but she was actually able to see him at 5 pm the same day.  Not bad!  Most private doctors in the US don't even work past 5 pm other than perhaps one night a week or on an emergency basis.

He rode his bike down to his appointment and was in and out of the office in 30 minutes.  Dr. Rodriguez operates a pharmacy right off her office, so she was able to give him the antibiotics she prescribed, along with some epsom salts to soak his finger, without him having to make a trip to another "pharmacia" in town.  Very efficient.
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I believe her home behind her office is for sale, not the office or pharmacy
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Behind the gate
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Office entrance
The total cost for the office visit plus antibiotics was $140 BZD ($70 US).  The cost for the equivalent generic medication in the US would be approximately $70 for someone without prescription coverage, about the cost of the office visit AND medication for Barry.  Since we have only catastrophic health care coverage here in Central America, we pay as we go for any other medical expenses; fortunately, care is much less expensive here than in the US. 
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Today, his finger is looking a little worse, as more pustules are rising to the surface of his skin, probably due to the epsom-salt soaks drawing it out.  Hopefully the antibiotics will start to take care of the infection soon, and they should if it is a bacterial infection and not fungal.  The doctor wants to see him again on Thursday to ensure that it is improving.  
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Pustules
Today we bought him some probiotic capsules at GoNature and some probiotic yogurt to help maintain proper intestinal flora as he takes the antibiotic.   
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Today - redder and more pustules visible
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We are frequently asked about health care in Belize and on Ambergris Caye in particular, so I guess the silver lining of Barry's ailment is that we finally have first hand (or first finger?!) experience with medical care here.  So far, the experience has been a positive one.  You can't argue with quick, efficient, and reasonably priced service and medications! 
7 Comments
Rebecca link
3/20/2012 06:19:46 am

Love the fun things you can pick up in the tropics!

Reply
ajbaxter link
3/20/2012 06:43:53 am

Nice medical write-up. I am treking thru the forests of punta gorda on a photographic mission and was wondering about exotic infections. My guide was instructing us on all of the natural cures that grow in rainforest. I think we must has ate or tasted a cure for most ailments today

Reply
Rebecca Morris
2/4/2013 09:19:20 am

You mentioned catastrophic medical. Can you expand on this and include contact and price? Thanks Rebecca.

Reply
BeBelize Emily
2/4/2013 10:20:46 pm

Hi Rebecca, Our plan is through BUPA (http://www.bupa-intl.com/), a company used by many expats. We have a high-deductible ($7500 each, I believe) plan that covers us in Latin America only, in order to keep costs low. Adding US coverage would have increased the cost above what we were willing to pay. I don't want to give you a cost figure, because that will vary incredibly depending on how many people are covered by your plan, their ages, health status, the coverage and deductible level chosen. Please visit the BUPA site to obtain more information and to get a quote. They have been nothing but professional in our dealings, but we have never had to make a claim, so I can't speak to that. Also, be prepared that the cost will go up after the first year -- that is typical of all health insurance plans. Good luck, and I hope this helps!

Reply
Janet Ineson link
6/10/2013 04:23:32 am

We spent this past winter in Belize (San Ignacio and Caye Caulker) and are going back October 1st to Caye Caulker for an indefinite time. Thanks for the insurance info. We are Canadian and so it will be different to get used to a new system. In our limited contacts so far, health care is very reasonably priced. Even our vet bill was about one-tenth what we would have paid at home.
But, just wanted to mention that I just read on Belize Expats that there is a "black salve" called Icthmmol (horse salve) that is excellent for "drawing out" eg insect bites, inflammations etc. Available at Reimer's in Spanish Lookout.

Reply
obat jantung link
1/27/2016 06:57:51 pm

very nice article and useful, thank you already share information..

Reply
patty davenport link
11/9/2016 06:45:27 pm

Can anyone comment on cardiac healthcare,or if there are any major hospitals. Is Medicare accepted?

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    Emily & Barry

    We're an adventurous couple, married 27 years, who decided to move to Ambergris Caye, Belize from Chapel Hill, North Carolina for retirement.  We built a condo on the beach  north of San Pedro Town and moved in with our Boston Terrier Paisley in August 2011 and lived there until March 2013.  Ultimately, we decided to return to the US, but we have no regrets and MANY good memories of our time in Belize.  We hope our blog might prove helpful to anyone interested in this lovely country.

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