This week another reader from this site came to visit Davao to meet a lady he had met online and has gotten to know over the internet. Since he is a regular visitor, he had contacted me with questions and in interest to meet Elena and me. He also asked if I was free, if we could get together some of the days here since his girlfriend has a job and was not able to get time off during his visit.

Friday late afternoon Elena and I drove to the airport to meet him and his girlfriend and to drive him to his hotel. He also offered to take us to dinner, which we graciously accepted. While we were talking, he mentioned that his girlfriend had to work on Sunday. I mentioned our regular routine on Sundays is going to the Agdao Public Market early, then home to relax a little, then to Gaisano Mall for lunch and to finish our marketing for the week. He was interested in joining us for the day and we offered his girlfriend to meet us at our house for dinner.

During dinner, he mentioned he worked for the U.S. Veterans Administration. He asked me if I was ever in the military.  I told him I enlisted in the Army at the age of 17 but was Honorably Discharged after 97 days for medical reasons. He then asked me if I have applied for, or ever used the VA medical assistance. I told him I was under the impression at I was not able to utilize any of those benefits because of my short time of active duty. He then informed me as long as anyone who has spent a minimum of two days in the military on active duty is available. He also told me, when I return to the U.S. and have had no income for the past two years, not only can I get the medical benefits, it is all free. When I start working, if my income increases above their limits, I will still be able to avail of the benefits but will have to contribute small co-payments.

He also informed me I was able to apply for a VA house loan if ever I can meet the income level needed.

I was amazed and told him, in all the years since I was in the service, I never knew nor was I ever told I could apply for such benefits. He smiled and said, “you have to ask, they do not tell.”

He told me to go to the Veterans Administrations Site and there is a form that I just need to fill out online and by the time I arrive in Las Vegas I will be enrolled and just need to meet with an adviser to set up my needs.

Therefore, if you were ever in the U.S. Armed Services, was on active duty for at least two day and left the service with an Honorable or General Discharge, you can receive many VA benefits.

In many office restrooms, there usually is a large bucket and a handled pail. This is because many Filipinos like to wash their private parts with water and not paper when there are finished. Some do use paper first but like to wash with water after.

In some nicer restroom, there is what we would think of a sprayer for a kitchen sink. This is there for those who prefer water to wash. I joke of it as a Filipino bidet.

This is not much of a story, but something to remember when you visit the Philippines and out around town and “nature calls.”

Recently I have developed a skin rash on my leg and this got me to thinking. Except for a lactose intolerance allergy as a child, I never suffered from allergies growing up. Twelve years ago, when I moved from California to Florida I developed some skin conditions. As most of us know, an allergy is a reaction to some intolerance to something environmental, usually plant pollen or food. Therefore, if it is touched, in the air, breathed or eaten it can cause an allergy.

When I was in Florida, a doctor told me if you are prone to an allergy, it is a good chance it will happen in Florida. Since most are airborne caused and usually plant matter such as pollen, with the warm weather something is always blooming in Florida.

Well here in the Philippines such is the same. It is always warm and humid here. With those combination’s plants, mold and mildew is always growing. Also if you are not a native-born Filipino there are plants here that you have never been exposed to in your home country. These can also cause an allergy or skin intolerance due to being a new item exposed to the body.

When I developed the rashes in Florida, I went to two allergists and six dermatologists. All I was told was it is an unspecified dermatitis. Unspecified, in other words, they do not know what it is, what is causing it and no cure for it. Therefore, you scratch the itch and hope it will go away, at least for a short while for some relief.

When I first moved here, some of the skin conditions I had disappeared. I was thrilled. Some I had had for ten years and was amazed they cleared up. I guessed they were caused by something native to Florida and not present here in Davao. Well over time, most came back. They itch, I scratch, and then they subside for a while. Then they return and you are scratching again. I guess I should be thankful; they are tolerable and not as major eczema or psoriasis. I know of a few people affected with this and I sympathize with them.

Another situation visitors need to think of is respiratory conditions. With all the vehicles here, the exhaust fumes and dust in the air is a high level. If you have asthma, emphysema you might have difficulty here. To me it is like New York City years ago. Traffic is slow from the congestion and you see many vehicles belching black smoke out their exhaust pipes. You will see many motorcycle drivers with cloths or neoprene mouth and nose coverings. This is fine for the particulars in the air, but what about the exhaust gases.

All vehicles are required to have emission quality testing for vehicle renewal, but if this is operated accurately, why is there still so many vehicles not complying.

I know the Mayor is strong against pollution and public smoking. Unless a permit is granted for a smoking area, any area with a roof covering is to be considered a non-smoking area. One coffee shop I know had umbrellas over tables for a smoking area. They were informed this is a covering and no smoking allowed. I am a smoker, and from living in Florida and California where the anti smoking laws were enforced, I am used to such restrictions.

As time and technology continues to grow, I look forward to better conditions to be had by all living here.

Just going to a doctor or hospital here is different from what is normal practice in America. Here a doctor has his hours posted and it is a first come, first serve basis. Then if the doctor is late, has an operation or even needs to do hospital rounds, you just wait. If you need lab tests, you go to the lab, wait for the results and bring them back to the doctor.

If you are admitted to the hospital, you need to have watchers available. A watcher is a friend or family member that will take shifts staying with you in the hospital room. If your doctor prescribes a medicine, the watcher will take money and go to the pharmacy in the hospital to have it filled. If the hospital is out of the drug, your watcher will have to go to a pharmacy that has that drug in stock.

When it is time to be released, if the doctor is not on duty and is unavailable to come in, you will need to stay an additional day until the doctor can sign your release. Another doctor is not allowed to sign your release, unless arraignments were made to sign your release.

An expat I knew had a heart attack and went to Davao Doctors Hospital. Davao Doctors hospital is supposed to have the best cardiac care unit in Davao. A day hours after his surgery, I am not sure how long actually, he died. I do not know the complete story.

Some think about moving to the Philippines and live in the Provinces. They like the fact it is more rural and quiet and a lot cheaper to live there. The problem moving to a remote area is services such as landline phone, internet, shopping and medical. Even the urban areas in the Provinces can have less in availability and services.

I have a friend who spends the weekdays in Davao and the weekends with his wife and child in the Provinces. The area he lives is next to Kidapawan, which is more like a small city. A week ago, he felt pain in his lower abdomen. He went Saturday morning to the doctor and the doctor prescribed some medicine. The next morning his pain became sever and went to the hospital. He was suffering from Diverticulitis and it looks like it became infected and burst. His blood pressure was extremely low and the needed to operate. As I was told, because of the low blood pressure, they were afraid of using anesthesia so they operated on his intestines while he was conscious.  The hospital needed some medicine that was only available in Davao and before it arrived, my friend passed away.

Since most of the expats that move to the Philippines are in their retirement ages, we need to realize that as we get older, more medical problems can develop. Will your problem be able to be cared for correctly here? What happens if it cannot? These are things to consider, especially if you are not living in a more developed city.

Yesterday I heard another friend had just recovered from Dengue Fever. This is the third person I know who had contracted this virus. Dengue also known as Broken Bone Fever is not a major concern in Davao, but it does exist.

As in all tropical environments mosquitoes are more of a problem since the weather is more conducive for their breeding and life. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. That is why most local health advisories tell you to check for places where rain water may be trapped such as old tires and flower pots.

Here in the Philippines there is a lot of rain, plus the bad drainage systems and house water waste in open canals along the roads. Most are not conscience of the problem they are creating. In poorer areas many homes have buckets outside to collect water and save for their uses.

Dengue is not contagious and is only spread by a bite from a mosquito. The mosquito that carries this virus is out only during daytime where normal pesky mosquitoes mainly attack after dark. While researching and from my friend, there are four types of dengue and even though once you contract the virus, you are immune for life you can still contact the other three types.

The first symptoms are severe headaches and pain in the joints. At first many think they have caught the Flu. Then a high fever and skin rash occurs.

One version is Dengue hemorrhagic fever but from my reading, this usually affects children under the age of 10. This strain causes internal bleeding and blood can be noticed in the stool and bleeding gums. Other signs are easy bruising.

Since Dengue is a virus, there is no real cure and all treatments are to suppress the symptoms. One of the results of the virus is a loss or lowering of platelets in the blood. Here in the Philippines dengue patients use tea made from tawa-tawa herbs and sweet potato tops juice to increase the platelets counts and revive the patients. These treatments have not been approved by the Philippine Department of Medicine so doctors cannot prescribe. These herbal treatments will help in increasing the platelet count.

If you’re near the beach, in the provinces or an area with a lot of vegetation and moisture, you should consider wearing slacks and long sleeve shirts. Also use mosquito repellent.

With all the rain and floods in norther Luzon due to the recent Typhoons, there will be more cases reported.

For more information, visit Medicine.net at http://www.medicinenet.com/dengue_fever/article.htm

]]> http://americanindavao.com/blog/2009/10/dengue-fever-in-the-philippines/feed/ 14 http://americanindavao.com/blog/2009/08/calamansi-%e2%80%93-a-fruit-for-health-and-enjoyment/ http://americanindavao.com/blog/2009/08/calamansi-%e2%80%93-a-fruit-for-health-and-enjoyment/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:01:15 +0000 Bruce http://americanindavao.com/blog/?p=980 Here in the Philippines one of the most used fruits is the little green calamansi. About one inch in diameter it packs a lot of flavor and is utilized in many ways. It contains calcium, phosphorus and potassium and is high in vitamin C.

Calamansi is available year round and is usually seen in its unripened state as a dark green fruit, but if left to ripen it turns a tangerine orange color.

It is used to make beverages, flavoring fish (particularly kinilaw), and used as an added flavoring in cakes, pies, preserves, sauces, and marmalades. It can also be used in soups and teas.

Because of its citrus acid, it is used with tuna to make a ceviche type of entre called kinilaw. The tuna, onions and sliced cucumbers are cured with vinegar, ginger and of course calamansi for that sweet sour citrus taste.

For a cool refreshing drink, calamansi juice makes a great beverage. Mixed with sugar and water it is very good when you’re hot, throat is dry and you do not want a soda and more flavor than just water.

Calamansi is also used to flavor cakes, pies and cookies. It’s is similar to using lemon or lime to add that little extra flavor.

For such a little fruit, it has many other uses. The juice can be used to remove ink stains from cloth and it can be used as a deodorant too.

For medicinal purposes it can be applied to the scalp to reduce dandruff. Crushing it, it can be used as a shampoo or the juice applied after shower to reduce itching. For bug mites just rub the fruit on the affected area to reduce swelling and itching.

For nausea and fainting, squeeze the rind and hold to the nose as an inhalant. For coughs and sore throats, warm calamansi tea is a good home remedy. Calamansi juice boiled with water is a good remedy for constipation too.

It is easy to grow at your home or is available at all markets and fruit stands. At the Palengke you will see many children carrying bags of calamansi for sale walking through the market.

I recently received and email. It was from someone who has a 70 year old friend who has had a stroke in the past and has some paralyzes. He lost most use of one hand and can only walk short distances. Online he met a 40 year old Filipina and now wants to sell everything and move here. He has not told the lady of his disabilities. I do not know what he has told her since I am relying on his friends email to me.

They ask me if this Filipina will accept a man in his conditions and will love and take care of him. There is no way I could honestly answer this question since I do not know the man or the lady.

Yes, Filipinos are a caring people and have no problems taking care of family even if it is part of the extended family. Is it love? If you look at olden time Europe and still in India there are/were arranged marriages. A father will arrange a marriage for a son or daughter. While thinking about this, I remember the song from “Fiddler on the Roof.”

In that movie Tevye the Milkman was talking to his wife and in a song asked his wife “Do you love me?” Each time he asked, she replied in song with that for 25 years she took care of him and listed how. He continued to ask and finally she answered “Do I love you? I guess I do.”

I feel in the beginning a woman looks at a foreigner man as a way to have a better and secure life. She will take care of his home, cook his meals, do his laundry, help him with life here and of course sleep with him and have sexual relations. Together she will learn his ways as a foreigner and she will teach him her way and the culture here. If all is well, in time real love will happen.

Now, I am not saying all women are good and want this, and I am not saying all women are out for a man’s money. There is no way of knowing. You need to take your time getting to know each other before making the decision.

As I have written in the past, Elena and I met online. We chatted and saw each other on cam. As we got to know each other better the frequency of meeting online increased. Eventually I wanted to meet her in person. I flew to Manila and flew here there too. We spent a week together. I then filed for a Fiancée Visa. Because of problems and delays it took time. I returned to the Philippines about a year later and visited her and her family for Christmas and New Years.

I returned again the following summer for 2 weeks and at that time Elena had her appointments in Manila for medical and visa interview. With the turn of the economy, I moved here before her visa was approved so we did not need it. During this time, Elena and I talked and saw each other every morning and evening every day online. We talked about our day, family and normal general things, so we got to know each other very well.

Even with all this contact, just as in any relationship, you never really know each other until you live together. There have been many learning experiences with Elena, our 3 nieces who live with us, their older brother and the rest of the family. There is the cultural difference, misunderstanding of common sayings and expressions and just habits.

When you first move here, with a tourist visa, you cannot open your own bank account. So what do you do? You open it in your ladies name. Do you want to put your money into an account of a lady you just met? A foreigner cannot own land. So maybe you want to buy a house. It has to be in her name. Do you want to put your life savings into a home that you can lose?

For anyone to meet someone online and develop a relationship, sell all their belongings and move to the Philippines, or anywhere in their country or around the world to me is totally crazy. What happens if you do this and it is a scam? You get off the plane and nobody is there to greet you. Or she walks off with your bank account or takes over your home. This can happen. In the Philippines, we are here with the permission of the Philippines. This permission can be easily taken away. Also if a Filipina wants to rip off a foreigner, who is there to help him? All a lady has to do is scream she was abused and she wins under the law protecting Women and Children. There are no laws to protect the foreigner. Many say there has never been a court case between a Filipino and a Foreigner and the Foreigner wins. I do not know that for a fact.

Back to the man I started this article about. He has some good friends in America that cares about him. I hope they help him understand the danger of his plans.

Then as we are supposed to do is go to the dentist every 6 months for checkups and teeth cleaning. At the dentist he might recommend treatments with a hygienist for scaling and gum treatments.

Here in the Philippines I have noticed there is no thought for preventative medicine.
For medical a yearly checkup with blood tests, x-rays, and general diagnostic examinations many problems can be contained, cured and or controlled with early diagnoses.

High blood pressure is a big problem. No wonder with all the fried foods, high salt intake and a diet of rice and fish, meat or poultry with low or no vegetables.  Filipinos have a need for salt, Soy sauce, MSG and even salt on fruits.

With teeth, they let the teeth go until they are so bad, the only thing the dentists will do is extract it. If they can afford it, they will get a partial bridge. This is a shame because so many Filipinos have beautiful smiles and many carry a toothbrush and tooth paste and brush their teeth after every meal.

Unfortunately many do not follow this regiment and let their teeth go. It might be cleaning and or diet but you see many children and adults with decayed teeth or missing teeth. It is a shame when you see a cute child or a nice looking adult until they smile or open their mouth and you see decaying or missing teeth.

I realize the ones with the missing or decayed teeth are because of poverty, but the others with the false teeth have the means to have saved their teeth. All it takes is bi-yearly visits, x-rays and preventative care and treatment.

In my research I tried to find if there is any free medical or dental available in Davao. Unfortunately I could not find any except one. The one found is Family Circus Children’s Ministries. This organization is a gives vitamins for pregnant women and free dental care for children over the age of 5. Visit there site for more information.

Many working Filipinos receive PhilHealth medical insurance or they can purchase coverage themselves. This insurance mainly covers hospital inpatient and outpatient services. But for regular checkups I do not think there is coverage.

With all my Filipino readers I am hoping there will be more information and corrections to my information.

In the past few years a business has sprung up where they spray a chemical that will cause the skin to darken and look like your tan. You can buy it and do it yourself at home or go and pay someone use an airbrush and spray it on for you. This business came about with all the fear of Sun rays and cancer and/or dry skin.

Now, here in the Philippines it is completely reversed. Here Filipinos find beauty in white skin. I have heard them mention or point to foreign woman and say they are beautiful. When you ask why, because some are not attractive to me at all, they reply it is because of the white skin. Here, white skin is a sign of beauty.

My nephew has told me he is attracted to females with light skin. There are some Koreans here and some have very pale milky skin and to me some look sickly.

Because of this, there are is a big business here selling skin whitening products and spas offering skin whitening services. There are soaps and lotions to lighten the skin.
As your out on the street, you see many ladies and some men walking with umbrellas or holding newspapers or even packages up to keep the sun off of them. Unfortunately many of these products can cause allergies, skin rashes and/or dry and flaky skin.

To many Americans and Europeans the darker skinned Asian look of Filipinas is what attracted us and then we have the Filipinas trying their best to look lighter like a Caucasian.

As the old saying, “the grass is not always greener on the other side” can maybe paraphrased “The skin is not always whiter on the beauty side.”