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My second visit to the doctor has lead me to believe that most doctors wear socks. Maybe the few I saw were the exceptions. So I went to the ear-nose-throat doctor. He asked me about my symptoms, looked at my ears and throat. Then I laid down on a table. He put these funky goggles over my eyes. I couldn't see anything, they were like huge magnifying glasses. He used these to check that I had proper eye movement, which I do. He then sent me to the x-ray room. There were 4 rooms, numbered 1,2,3,5. There is no 4 because four can be pronounced "yon" or "shi." "Shi" also is the word for death, thus an unlucky number. I went into x-ray room 1. I went up to a table and placed my head on an x-ray film tray. Four pictures of my head and ears were taken, all without having worn a lead shield. The doctor looked at the x-rays and found nothing wrong. Then I had a hearing test, and that also showed no problems. So he said that it must be the fluid in my ear. Most people can quickly adjust to changes in elevation and quick movements. But that isn't my case. So he said that nothing was the matter and that nothing could be done. But he gave me some motion sickness medicine (a whole 5mg per tablet), and said he hoped they would help. So I've taken those and a higher dosage, neither of which has helped. In conclusion, my condition has not changed, but there is nothing to worry about. It is just a real pain. It must have been raining x-rays, because my medical day was not yet over. I got to school and was told that I had to have a chest x-ray at 1:30. So at 1:30 all the teachers left their classes and went outside to the x-ray truck. We each got a number and waited. I am not all that familiar with the dangers of x-rays and all, but I don't think that it would happen in America. There are 3 parts to the trick:
I didn't want to get the x-ray, but I was made to feel that I didn't have a choice. The teachers have to get one every year for insurance purposes. I've heard that it is for a TB check or something. In America we get the prick test (correct me if I am wrong), but there is something in the Japanese body that will always produce positive results to the prick test, thus they must get x-rays. I need to figure a way out of this for next year. But the good part about all this is the cost. I think that the school x-ray was free. And my doctor's visit including meds, x-rays, hearing test, and the actual consultation cost a mere 2,000 yen. Even the full cost was cheap at 10,000 yen (present exchange rate 136=$1). Valerie Straayer |