Ten days of coughing. The temperature is normal, my nose is not leaking. But it’s almost impossible to do my homework. I gave up, went to make an appointment. My neighborhood doctor was absent – on vacation. I was redirected to a therapist at a nearby polling station.
My first visit.
– Who referred you to me?
– The receptionist.
– I’ll deal with them… What’s wrong with you?
– Cough.
– That’s it?!
– It doesn’t go away for ten days.
– You can cough for three weeks, why are you surprised?
She listened to me reluctantly:
– No wheezing, I don’t know why your cough bothers you so much.
– Should I take a picture?
– Why? Your X-rays haven’t expired.
– Blood test?
– Do you really want to take a blood test? I’ll give you a referral, tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. At the clinic’s pharmacy, buy these drugs and take a course.
– Maybe after the blood test?
– What difference does it make?
I take the list of ten items and start to rummage through the Internet to understand what “chemotherapy” I was prescribed. The third item is a strong antibiotic, with side effects. The next day I take a blood test. The day after I go to the same doctor with the test results.
– Well, I told you everything is fine!
– Why do you need antibiotics?
– What kind?
I show the list from two days ago.
– What are you confused about? It’s a typical treatment protocol!
– For what?
– Why are you being clever, if you want, I can refer you to an ENT doctor, perhaps it is in his line.
– I want to, send it.
The referral is written with clenched lips and almost thrown in my direction. The otolaryngologist, thank God, was much more adequate. He took a look at my throat, and immediately oriented himself:
– You have pharyngitis. It’s nothing serious, but you need to take care. Nighttime compresses and ligament reduction would be enough.
– Thank you, doctor!
– You’re welcome, get well!
Such different two approaches to patients. Why is that?
