# Tonsilitis - help



## Raffish_Chapish (Jul 2, 2014)

Hi - I think I have tonsillitis - so I need to see a doctor and get antibiotics 
The thing is I don't have a clue where to go or how the system works here :-(

I have some kind of health insurance card my company gave me - I live in Tokyo...

Can someone help me and explain what I should do? Where I should go? I don't speak Japanese..

Thanks - happy new year


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## larabell (Sep 10, 2007)

If the card you have is for a Japanese health insurance plan (which would be my guess), you'd just show up at a hospital or clinic, show the card, and you should only be on the hook for 30% of the total cost (which usually isn't much, since medical fees are regulated by law). If you're given a prescription, there will usually be a pharmacy really close to the hospital/clinic and you'd show them the card as well since the insurance should also cover prescription medications. It's likely you'll be given a form to fill out as a first-time patient including simple things like name, address, and the usual medical questions. What happens after that depends on the place. In smaller clinics where there's only one or two doctors, it works pretty much line anywhere else... you just wait until you're called then the doctor checks you out and prescribes medication. In larger hospitals you may need to find the right department first. If all else fails, try the internal medicine (内科) department. You also might want to bring your dictionary just in case.

If you're looking for someplace where they speak some English, I can recommend two: Midtown Medical Center in Roppongi or St. Luke's Hospital in Tsukiji. The latter might be a bit of a haul if you're not feeling well. There's also a Red Cross hospital close to Hiroo but I've never been there and can't speak to their English ability. Closer to home would be Tokyo Medical University Hospital in Shinjuku or Nakano General near Nakano station (assuming you haven't moved, that is ). Neither of those are likely to have English-fluent staff, but that may not matter if the doctor can figure out what you have just by looking at the symptoms.

According to this website:

Emergency Telephone Contact Details for Japan : Focus Japan

the Tokyo Metropolitan Goverment office (TMG) has a dial-up medical interpretation service that might be available over the NY holidays (it doesn't say for sure). Usually the way that works is that one of you (you or the doctor) calls the number and you pass the phone back-and-forth as the person on the other end interprets. But if it's just a matter of the doctor looking down your throat and handing you a prescription, you may not need much interpretation.

I'm not sure if many smaller clinics would be open today. In fact, outpatient services at most major hospitals are likely to be closed today as well but there should be someone on hand for emergency cases.

If there's a possibility that over-the-counter meds might fix the problem or allow you to at least hang on until a more local clinic opens, most pharmacists can recommend some pretty powerful stuff. But I don't know any pharmacies with English-speaking staff so if you decide to go that route for now, a local place is probably just as good as any. I noticed about half the pharmacies in my area were open yesterday so if you know of a large one near your home, it's likely open today.

Happy New Year to you too. Bummer the new year had to start this way. Hope you get well soon...


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## Raffish_Chapish (Jul 2, 2014)

Thank you so much - such a help.
So I can go to any clinic? It doesn't have to be a special ENT one or anything?


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## larabell (Sep 10, 2007)

I'm sure ENT clinics exist but I don't know the kanji off-hand and a regular general practitioner should be able to dispense the necessary antibiotics. They'll also know if the problem is out of their field and be able to refer you to a nearby specialist. In fact, depending on where they send you, a note from the GP could save you 5000 yen (a special surcharge the government imposed recently to encourage people to go to the smaller clinics first instead of straight to a major hospital). That said, a lot of hospitals also have a "smaller clinic" for general outpatient stuff (I know St. Luke does). So if you know of a local GP, there's no harm in starting there. If you don't, you should be able to show up at a hospital and they'll be able to route you to the right department.


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