My Korean Cold

(The ENT office where I went for my first doctor appointment)

Apparently it’s the stuff legends are made of…cue in scary music…it’s the Korean cold.  No, not the weather.  Cold as in sick, coughing, sniffling, and sneezing.

Typically I don’t get colds, but apparently my great immune system was no match to the strain floating around Korea.  My boss tells me, it never goes away and you just get used to it.  Complaining to a friend that I have been sick for three weeks, she responded “Just wait until you’ve been sick for five months.”  Five months – really? 

But, I started to get scared.  First, I had the most painful sore throat of my life.  Then it was laryngitis and swollen vocal chords, and now it’s the coughing that’s driving me crazy and keeping me up at night.  It can’t last for five months….it just can’t!

So, I ventured out to the doctor.  I had once tripped across a medical office where the only English on the door was “E.N.T.”  I had tucked that information away, and now it was coming in handy.  Yes, I needed some help for my ears, nose, and throat.  Amazingly, I walked in and was with the doctor two minutes later.  The staff didn’t speak English, but the doctor did.  Soon I had a prescription, and I walked next store to the conveniently located pharmacy to get my medication.  The entire process set me back about $15.  I thought I was on the way to recovery.

Well, recovery lasted about 3 days and then it was back…the Korean cold.  Could the legend be true?  So, I was back at the doctor.  This time the doctor and medication cost $6.  If this is going to last five months, thank goodness it’s this cheap!  Side note – I haven’t examined the Korean health care system, but overall medical care is extremely affordable.

So, here I am one day into my second dose of medication praying this works.  If not, I may have to opt for the “butt shot.”  That’s what Korean’s do when they get sick…go to the ER and get a shot in their rear end.  As I cough, sniffle, and sneeze,  that’s suddenly starting to sound appealing.



Pharmacies don't doll out prescription medine in bottles, but in little packets like this.  It makes it easy to know exactly what to take at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.