Cold medicine in Summer

I have caught a cold in the middle of summer. Given the conditions that I usually experience, it may not be strange at all. Summer here is scorching hot and the humidity is as thick as thieves. At home, to monitor my electricity bill, I walk around half naked, open all the windows and use a fan. Some days though are just too hot, for example the days with temperatures 36 degrees Celsius and above. On those days, in order to not pass out from the intensity of the heat, I turn on the air conditioning unit.

On those days I genuinely fear the heat and avoid going outside for as long as I can. When I step outside I walk to in the heat to the train station then enter a cold train car. It feels really good to step into that car, but I imagine switching between such extreme temperatures can't be good for my body. As I step out of the train, it's back in the heat again. The same thing happens when I enter a store in a shopping mall. Each store seems to have their own air conditioner, so the hallways are hot. 

So with this constant exposure to extreme temperatures, I caught a cold this week. How inconvenient for me, given that I don't have time to be sick at the moment. Therefore, I headed to the internet to find the best over the counter cold medicine. Contac and VC 3000 were recommended repeatedly on a few sites, so I decided to go in search of that one. 

At the pharmacy I saw two types of Contac on the shelf. One was a one a day tablet and other was two a day. I figured the one a day was stronger so I chose that one. I proceeded to the cashier where the cashier called the pharmacist. Apparently, purchasing the drug called Contac requires special permission. The pharmacist then proceeded to inform me that the drug was of hospital strength. He went for a weaker version and asked if I was sure that I really wanted the stronger drug. I told him that the stronger the better since I don't want to be sick for longer than necessary. He asked me about three times if I was sure. 

This led me to wonder about his question. Why would he offer me weaker drugs? I then remembered hearing stories of dentists performing painful procedures sans anesthesia. I mentioned this to a Japanese one day and I was told that 'everyone' prefers to fill a tooth without anesthesia because the anesthesia is bad for us. Ask me if I wasn't shocked! I didn't even know that was possible. So maybe the pharmacist expects me to take weaker medicine over a longer period because that is perceived to have a smaller negative impact on the body. 

If that's the case, then I can understand his hesitancy to sell me the stronger medicine, but I'm from the get better soon posse. I don't want to be sick for more than a day or so. After all, this dissertation is not going to write itself while I'm waiting on the weak drugs to kick in.

My questions about medicine in Japan

Frustrated, the word that fits my feelings best.  I recently visited the doctor and I left feeling dissatisfied.

• Why did the orthopedist recommend that I wear high heals up and down a hill? (Even after telling him that I had knee pain.)
• Why don't Japanese pharmacies and doctors issue medicine in the labeled boxes with the proper instruction sheet that comes in the box? Instead they issue pills in little plastic bags or in strips bounded by elastic bands. 
• Is it too much to ask for the information that comes with the medicine that I'm being told to take? 
• Why do they insist on summarizing the instruction sheet that comes in the original package for the customers without giving the actual instruction sheet? 
• Sometimes they don't even want to tell you the name of the medicine that you are being given! 
• Why do some doctors issue their own medicine instead of write a prescription for me to hunt for the cheapest pharmacy? 
• Why are there no general practitioners here? 
• Why do I have to go to 10 different specialists for 10 different symptoms, when there may only be one source of my illness?
• Why do the doctors ask whether or not I would like medication? Why else would I go to the doctor?
• Why do the doctors appear so clueless?
• Why is there no discretion in health care institutions? The receptionist wants to know your illness, the nurses then talk about it loudly, so everyone in the waiting room can hear and the doctor then gives the medicine and instructions to the receptionist to announce to you in the waiting room!
• Why are the medicine dosages so low?
• Why do they treat Allegra like a dangerous drug? It's kept under lock and key at the pharmacy!

I'm sure I have more questions, but I can't remember anymore right now.

Source: WotBlog

I found a blog in which the writer wrote about getting sick in Japan.   http://emilyhoward.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/sick-and-alone/