Before we go into any real depth on this subject, you should be informed that all medical services performed by any neighborhood Dr. Wak-wak are not covered by any medical insurance up to and including PhilHealth or Obamacare (If still in the US). Their services are strictly cash. So don’t bother filing any claim.
Dr. Wak-wak is schooled in the arts of healing using old but tried and true cures passed down from generation to generation. This is not quackery. If my blood pressure spikes, my wife will go to the yard and get some lemon grass and boil it like tea and within 10 or so minutes it (Blood Pressure) drops back to normal. And it tastes kinda’ good too! I still take my prescribed medicine every morning but I have a funny (But true) story about that…
Two years ago I was prescribed a medicine for my hypertension, which was a bit of a shock as to why I would be troubled by that? It’s not like I have any stress in my life. Also I was prescribed a pill to lower my cholesterol. Both medicines were on the same script.
90 days later the script was refilled but an error was made (By whom I don’t know but I’ll accept the blame) and for the next 1.5 years I took the cholesterol pill everyday and not the one for hypertension. While at lunch with friends we guys were sitting on the outside veranda partaking of adult beverages, and the ladies were discussing the old guy’s medical ailments and the pills we each took, when our friend’s wife said she took the same pill I took, but hers was for cholesterol. So I never really took any Hypertension medicine. (Maybe I never needed it?)
But if you’re wondering my cholesterol levels were fantastic. But I can only guess that Dr. Wak-wak and her Lemon Grass Tea is the only reason I never had a stroke. I’ll let you decide, because I just don’t know.
All is right with my meds again, but don’t assume for a millisecond that I’ll give up my morning Tea.
This week another medical problem has raised it ugly head, true I have Tri-Care from my Navy days, and the Bay Point Hospital has an excellent staff that I trust very much. But Dear God it’s a full two days of going here for this test, and upstairs for that test and the lab for a bunch of more tests. Well you know what I mean. The only test that is really required is a blood test to verify my white blood cells are fighting an infection, which I already knew. But what ailment are you yammering on about, you long winded Paul?
I woke up one morning and there growing on my “BACK” (No, not my Gluteus Maximus)! I have the most painful boil I’ve ever had, (Hell it might be the first I’ve ever had I really don’t know, but damn it hurts) it is the size of Mount Pinatubo and equally as hot and burning. The discomfort is preventing me from my required social time with my friends. Oh the humanity!
But to the rescue arrives Dr. Wak-wak, first the affected area must be poked and prodded looked at and studied. Paul, it’s a boil, but they had another name that I let slide by as like with Typhoons, one name for it, was enough.
The remedy is a poultice, made of secret ingredients and magical potions. Hey, I saw the Aloe Vera they carried into the house, blow smoke on someone else’s ailment. I know Aloe Vera is good stuff, I’ve been to Hawaii.
A fresh application every three hours, reexamined each time and Dr. Wak-wak called for a consultation. (No charge) I later found out that the person they called had the same ailment last year and they were checking to find out what her cure was. Well for the first time that made sense to me. But I do wish the poking and prodding would stop soon.
I’m confined to my house, with no canned consumables in my future, as long as I’m on the mend. (Once more) Oh the humanity…
For my long and fun years in the Philippines you could fall through the door of any apothecary, druggist, chemist; or pharmacist and mumble the name of the cure (drug) you wanted and just purchase it. But economics has reared its large and greedy head, and the kibosh has been put on that. Schooled Doctors teamed up with the government and even for an anti-biotic a prescription is required. It seems that Doctors were losing “Money” the old way. But I found my Dentist has the power to issue script, and a phone call and send someone down to pick it up works well under the “New Normal.” There is always a way or a shortcut in this land of enchantment.
If you’ve noticed over the years I normally include pictures with my LiP articles, but I could not fathom anyone wanting to see that thing festering on my back? (Not my Gluteus Maximus!!!) I mean even I have no need to see that.
I have not yet gotten old enough to sit with the boys at the American Legion and compare ailments BM’s and operation scars over a cold beer with each other. And by all that’s holy may a Jeepney strike me down if I ever do. That reminds me of Florida with the retirees’ at the Shuffle Board Court.
Now a list of my particular “Dr. Wak-Wak’s: Of course my wife and all her sisters, my Daughter, with consultations from my Granddaughter and a couple of nieces and a few Purok ladies. I’m not sure if the male gender can join in? Anyway they would just prescribe a Red Horse and then soak it.
So if hit with any non-life threatening medical situations, don’t panic, Call Dr. Wak-Wak, you’ll be fine!
Kaolin pultis was the treatment for boils when I was a kid. Heat it up in a pan of boiling water and slap it on *~@%”& did that hurt. It seems here, whenever you see a doctor your BP is very high sir, need to give you medicine, last time they gave me BP meds I nearly collapsed because there was nothing wrong. So I just stick with the good old daily Asprin.
John J;
Try the lemon grass, and yes I take a small 10 (Something or other) aspirin everyday also. OH! And I’m healed too; I was out with the guys and our wives Friday. Rejoice and more rejoicing all is well in my neck of the woods once more!
I’ll try the lemon grass tea. I went to the doctor for a painful hand ends up with high blood pressure and high cholesterol so I’m taking 3 meds now 1 for my BP and 2 for the cholesterol as for my hands he just gave me painkillers and I never had problems in the UK only in the phils. Take care
Ps: It took 3 days of consultation.
Gezel:
They are going to find something wrong, it’s their nature. I think it’s the reason hospitals are full of sick people. With my boil, had I gone I might have been found to have something completely different and still have the boil. (LOL)
May the SMB and boat drinks continue to flow.
John J.
Hoover Dam would not be large enough to quell that flow! (lol)
My Best friend got an infection on his face and into his ear..Was Ugly scabs and such…Went to a whatever u call them Doctor here …after no help from local doctors and he gave him a cream to put on the area …one week and fantastic results…..??? There u go….
Lenny:
Dr. Wak-Wak rules!!! I find that real doctors operate under an abundance of caution and will shotgun cure, by throwing one thing after another until your cured. But that’s just me, All and all I’ve had good luck if it was serious.
Hi Paul
I was having a chuckle to myself when you were describing the boil. An old joke about Quasimodo sprang to mind when someone asks him how he got the hunchback. Quasimodo replies “It started with a cyst”. But the joke is only funny if you know Hot Chocolates song It Started With A kiss.
Sorry, you had to be there!
On the subject of of the Wak Wak cures, a lot of so called Western medicine is based on the medicines, such as a poultice, used by the old village quack. When I got an infected finger from a cut caused by a cats claw, the nurse in the local doctors surgery updated my tetanus and put a poultice on my finger to draw out the infection.
I’m still convinced that SMB is a cure all or perhaps Empirador if the symptoms are worse.
Cheers
AJ UK
AJ UK;
No one has ever explained to me why Modo was never a full Modo only Quasi? It must be a French thing! Simple cures are often the best, and if it can’t be done with an adult beverage, then what is the bloody point?
Good luck with the boil removal Paul. Is that the same or similar to a cyst and also like an oversized pimple that can be popped and drained ? It is interesting that these things seem to happen where you can not see them. I had a cyst on my shoulder that when surgically removed was just a bit smaller than a gold ball. A few years later it came back so had it removed again.
And you mention an all cash situation, Here in the USA doctors don’t give complete physicals the way they used to. If they spend more than 15 minutes with you they are loosing money. They want to keep sending you around to different doctors so they each get a piece of the insurance payout pie.
A few years ago here in the USA a program called ” simplecare ” got started with some doctors going to an all cash business and passed the savings on to the patient. With this system they no longer need an office full of computer operators doing the medical billing to the insurance companies. Unfortunately there are no doctors in my area yet in this program. More info is available at ” Simplecare Dot Com ” .
When I was in Mindanao Sanitarium Hospital ( now known as Adventist Medical Center ) in Iligan City with pneumonia, although I was ill I did take a liking to the place. It reminded me of the way medical care was done here many years ago although they do use modern methods and have modern state of the art equipment.
This year I scheduled a physical exam there to be done while I was on vacation. All the tests were done including blood, urine, ekg, chest x-ray, sonogram etc. All done on the premesis, results available usually within minutes or a few hours. Pay the cashier and I was done. Fortunately all results showing normal. The cost ? I don’t have the exact figure in front of me but it was well under $100 USD.
Looks like this is where I will be going from now on for an annual physical exam. I actually enjoyed the experience.
Bob (NY);
My Dr. Wak-Wak has me cured and completely healed. Go figure? I could make a joke out Simple-care being another name for Obamacare, but Simple-care sounds like it could work for most treatments. My Bay Pointe (I have no idea why there is an “E” on the end) hospital, I go one day and take all the tests, back the next day to see a doctor, today for a boil? My wife (Dr. Wak-Wak) charged me nothing. (lol)
Hi Paul, boils are painful had one last year on my backside hurt like hell, glad you’re
Better, blood pressure I’ve had that past 4 years take one tablet a day and one for cholesterol I think most people have high blood pressure best to get checked out
See my doctor every 3 months how I look forward too that,
It’s more fun in the Philippines Paul and a cold beer helps,
Derek in pasig.
Derek;
The way I’ve always eaten what I like I understand the cholesterol, but not working, easy life style no pressure, the hypertension makes me wonder!
Hi Paul, yeah it give me a shock when I was told I had high blood pressure ,
Still like to eat some western food, ? But I eat a lot of vegetables and fruits now
So were the high cholesterol came from I don’t know,
Still that won’t stop us having fun, Derek in pasig.
Derek;
Maybe, just maybe they are fudging our test results to sell us pills? (LOL)
Hi Paul,
While I am no expert being only a visitor, I think all doctors in the Philippines expect payment in full upon service rendered. I have had to take my boys to the doctor on some of my visits to Bohol. I have been generally pleased and the full cost of the visit is about 20% of the copay in the USA. The pediatricians I have visited have seemed to be very competent.
I have no experience with Dr. Wak Wak, but one time our son had a mouth ulcer and we just went to the pharmacist and mentioned it. They gave us something that said prescription only. I read the label for side effects and decided it was not too risky. The ulcer clear up in less than a day. We took the stuff back to the USA and showed our pediatrician. The doctor here said that it would not be effective, but it worked better than anything I have seen here.
Jay;
The person at the Pharmacy was acting in the capacity of a Dr. Wak-Wak by giving that advice to you.
If you have an ailment and your wife or friend recommends a course of treatment then they also are a Dr. Wak-Wak. So without knowing it you have encountered Dr. Wak-Wak.
Any medical advice from a nonmedical trained person is………..That’s right: “Dr. Wak-Wak” (LOL)
Could anyone explain why doctors are paid such high fees while most people in Philippines makes P300 per day or less.
I was appalled to pay P700 for a 10 min visit to a dermatologist here in PPC.
The visit included a mini tube of anti-infection creme, free of charge.
I am not complaining, just wondering how an average person can afford it.
Palawan Bob;
I go to the store and purchase the tube of anti-infection crème for 110.00 Pesos and by pass the doctor’s visit. That is how the average person affords it.
Hi Palawan Bob and Paul,
I do not have as much experience with the Philippines as you guys, but Summer 2014 in Bohol our son was having difficulty breathing. We took him to a doctor in Bohol who did an excellent job diagnosing the problem and prescribing the right treatment. The bill was 250 pesos.
In the USA, if we see a doctor for anything the Blue Cross and Blue Shield co-pay is $35. Not sure the exact exchange rate but $s35x46= 1,610 pesos. You are lucky if a US doctor will give you 10 minutes of their time. P700 sounds kind of steep for there, but I have not been to a specialist, nor have I been to Palawan.
Paul, according to your definition I have been a Dr. Wak-Wak. Our son had a horrible rash on one of our visits to Mama’s House. We got some cream from the pharmacy that cleared it up. I went to a neighbors house to sing some karaoke because I heard singing. A young mother was holding her 11 month old baby. Who had the same rash only it had spread worse. I went back and got the cream we had leftover from treating our son and a day latter the baby was pretty much rash free.
Jay;
You now have the right to call yourself a member of the Philippine Dr. Wak-Wak Society: “A member in good standing. (LOL)
…and my high school guidance counselor said I would not amount to anything.
Jay;
My High School Counselor told my father to sign me onto ship and send me to China….It’s funny how life turns out.
Well, one of my good aussie friends got cut while playing rugby out at nomads. gotta know that they water the field from the nearby polluted stream. Anyway, he got an infection and went to the local witch doctor who gave him some poultice like stuff and the rash went away so thought he was cured. A month later, huge back pain had him on the floor, finally went to the hospital that night but was dead by the morning, turns out it was blood infection most likely from the cut. Multiple organ failure. Do take care of ailments, especially if you can afford treatment, second opinion is always good. RIP FatCat.
Don;
I feel bad for your friend and his family, but my father returned from a vacation in Ireland years ago because he badly injured his arm.(That damn Blarney Stone) He checked in to a renowned hospital in Boston upon his return and died six weeks later of a Staph infection he got at the Boston hospital. In life it can go either way, it’s nothing but a crap shoot. But I’ll agree with your comment on a second opinion.
My nephew works for Novartis Philippines. He travels all over the Philippines touting their meds to doctors. While not quite as simple or as open as this….he said that how it works in general is many doctors, but not all get a “credit” if they prescribe a medicine and the patient actually fills it. They also hook up with the pharmacies to get a report by Doctor of what and how much has been dispensed using their government number and name.
He sees nothing wrong with this since the public story is that the doctors in many cases use their credits to provide free samples or medicines to folks that cannot afford it. Many of them just cash out however. Again that’s how business works and it also happens here in the USA but in subtly different ways.
The above is Not an indictment of the doctors in the islands. I have used many over the years. I just stay away from the ones that seem shady or won’t explain what it is they are doing and why or that reach for the medicine right away for certain ailments.
Now my wakwak experience has been good also. But then again trading food or paying T.Y. Is always nice even if they don’t get the whole fix done.
Final note Paul. That Lemon grass tea things works two ways. Inside you it really works…but also on the wife. She sees you drink it, she feels better then YOU feel better less stress and all that. Happy wife equals a happy life!
Tito Joe;
The Philippines is just keeping up with the world. Big Pham has been doing that for decades, and that practice will never stop there is too much money involve. As for the lemon Grass you are right, my blood pressure machine has proved over and over that it works. I use it in the morning drink the tea and 30 minutes later I can see the drop. So both my wife and I get something out of it. (lol)