My Son is visiting the Phillipines!!!

[raymaga 25]

Hi:

My son (from Canada) is currently in the Phillipines with his Filipino girlfriend (she was born in the Phillipines, but moved to Canada just before high school).

He is diabetic, and of course, as a typical mother, I am very worried about him when he travels (he's 24, and I know I shouldn't). If he were to have any diabetic problems, would he readily get medical help if needed. He took his syringes and insulin with him, but let's say he lost them..... would he be able to get insulin and syringes without too much difficulty?

Also, does the Phillipines have trouble with their drinking water (kind of like Mexico where you get the runs if you drink the water)? I'm not by any means a world traveller, so I am not familiar with these things.

He is on one of the Islands right now, and is flying to Manila in 3 hours where his girlfriend's family lives. He is having a wonderful time so far, loves the food, and says it is VERY hot there right now. I am so looking forward to seeing his pictures and hearing all about the trip when he gets back.

I'm pretty sure he'll marry this girl one day and we look so forward to having her in our family .

Thanks for any "comfort" you can provide me.

Signed,

Worry-Wart Mom

[lirachadsbaby 0]

water is not that much hard to get. distilled water is available at low cost -- so cheap.

its so great to read about ur son with a Filipina. its something that Im proud for.

Good luck to him.

[tjs5701 0]

Hi:

My son (from Canada) is currently in the Phillipines with his Filipino girlfriend (she was born in the Phillipines, but moved to Canada just before high school).

He is diabetic, and of course, as a typical mother, I am very worried about him when he travels (he's 24, and I know I shouldn't). If he were to have any diabetic problems, would he readily get medical help if needed. He took his syringes and insulin with him, but let's say he lost them..... would he be able to get insulin and syringes without too much difficulty?

Also, does the Phillipines have trouble with their drinking water (kind of like Mexico where you get the runs if you drink the water)? I'm not by any means a world traveller, so I am not familiar with these things.

He is on one of the Islands right now, and is flying to Manila in 3 hours where his girlfriend's family lives. He is having a wonderful time so far, loves the food, and says it is VERY hot there right now. I am so looking forward to seeing his pictures and hearing all about the trip when he gets back.

I'm pretty sure he'll marry this girl one day and we look so forward to having her in our family .

Thanks for any "comfort" you can provide me.

Signed,

Worry-Wart Mom

Worry wart,

Your son should be fine. If he lost his insuin there are hospitals in the philippines that i am sure can help him. You did not say if he was in the city or in the province, the only problem with the province that i can see is that he may have to travel a bit to get to a hospital.

Do Not Drink the tap water there, only the bottled water from a store. Also be careful of the ice in drinks, this may be tap water also. If your son uses common sense, like a salad that has been washed in water should not be eaten unless you are sure it is not tap water, he will be fine. I have visited the Philippines 3 times now and have not had any problems.

[jj119 0]

He should be fine if he stays in one of the larger cities such as manila or cebu. I spent most of my time in a small province, and I did get sick there. I think it was food borne illness and I did go to the hospital there. Hospitals in small provinces are very outdated, but I did get better with in 24 hours of them giving me a prescription for antibiotics. It was probably from the ice in my drinks as they tend to put ice in everything, even the red wine there. I kept thinking it is only a little, but I am still not certain what is was from. Could of just been from stress from traveling so far. Your son should be fine as long as he stays with in a few hours of a good hospital. He also should be aware of how to control his sugar level with his food intake, but I am sure he is very aware of this by now. Just be happy for him, because a Philippine wife is something to be very proud of. From my visit I have learned that almost all Filipinos have more family values, more friendly to the stranger on the street, more reliable, and more responsible than most other cultures in the world. And another thing is that the women tend to look at least 10 years younger than their age and the age beautifully.

Also, keep in mind if he does travel to a smaller provence, there maybe be blackouts more often, and communication will become very difficult so don't panic for the first day you don't hear from him.

[Jasman0717 9]

He would easily be able to go to a clinic and discuss the issue with a doctor. The doctor could then write a new perscription for him. My friend needed a perscription for a mental disorder he had and the doc fixed him right up. I think he had to pay a whopping 250 pesos (that was about $4.50 then) for the office visit.

We always drank bottled water when I was there. My wife always said not to drink the water from the tap. Heck, I even brushed my teeth and cleaned my toothbrush with bottled water

You son should be fine. For the most part the Philippines is a wonderful country and the people are just out of this world. He will be just fine traveling with his GF.

[gazza 0]

I don't know if anyone replied to you regarding your son's medical issues

but Makati Medical Center in Manila is an excellent hospital with good English speaking

doctors.

In Legaspi Street, Makati near Greenbelt Mall, there are excellent clinics who do on the spot

medical insurance to pay for diagnosis, but not medication which is very cheap and you

can get insulin and other products such as these.

Many expats live there and have a pretty good life so I wouldn't worry if he is

in the Makati area.

Outside Makati there are some good doctors in Metro Manila, but you have

to be there a while and get to know the neighborhood first.

As an ex Navy man, I am pretty familiar with P.I.

[Paulily 0]

Don't worry he will be fine. My husband stayed with me in P.I last year for four months without any problem. We just bought bottled water and his medecines were all available in Mercury Drug stores (its a small store version of Wallgreens). Filipino's were very hospitable I'm sure he will be treated like a King there

[vsmtghdy 2]

There are a lot of good hospitals in the Philippines and it is not hard to go there, you don't even need to get an appointment for a check-up, you can walk-in for an OPD. He just need to bring a copy of her medical certificate-> the type of insulin and dosages that he is taking (how many units are he taking? what time? what type of Insulin- NPH? Lente? Ultralente? Humalog?) - he may need thise so the Doctor can give him prescriptions for a new one. There maybe some other brands that is available and not the exact brand that he is using, but most of our drugs/medicines in the Philippines are the same as it is here in the US (same generic names, but some/few will have different brand names).

Although potable water is deemed safe, don't let him try it. Always drink bottled/mineral or distilled water. If possible, do not use or drink with "ice"-> as some (or mostly maybe) the "ice" is from the potable water supply. Don't eat salads, raw foods while in the Philippines. If he haven't been in that place, then he may not be immune to some common flora/bacteria in the foods especially with the vegetables, so try not to eat salads.

But I'm sure he will have a great time there! Don't worry too much!