Medical Assistance in El Coco

Three days ago, I took a fall by the pool. In the process, I got two scrapes, one near by left elbow, the other on the back of my left hand. The elbow scrape seems to be healing fine. But today I noticed that the one on my hand was becoming infected, even though I had been washing it regularly with soap and water and covering it with Bacitracin and, usually, a Band-Aid. We decided that I really should have it looked at.

So, as soon as we stepped off the bus on our return from our morning trip to Liberia, we went to the Medical Assistance Clinic just steps away from the bus stop. I had expected long waiting lines and anticipated we might be there for quite some time. But we were pleasantly surprised. There was only one person waiting ahead of me, and I was seen within 15 minutes.

The doctor - a handsome, young, bilingual Tico - took a look at my hand, confirmed that it was infected, and prescribed an antibiotic (5-day course of Cefadroxil) and a special soap (Sterop Solution) that I was to pick up at the Pharmacy (Farmacia) down the street. I had instructions to clean the wound with the special soap and continue to use the Bacitacin, to wear a bandage when outside, but not inside, and take the antibiotic for five days. He gave us his emergency phone number and told us to call anytime, day or night, if there was a problem. The visit cost me $50, which we paid via MasterCard. (I have no medical insurance outside the USA.)

We went immediately to the small Farmacia down the street where the prescription was filled immediately. There was some confusion, on the part of the woman behind the counter, about whether the pills should be taken once or twice a day - confusion compounded by the fact that she spoke to us in Spanish. She conferred with the Pharmacist and he told me to take the antibiotic twice a day, morning and evening with meals, for five days.

We left the Farmacia and walked a few doors down to the Heladeria (ice cream-gelato shop) where we each ordered a gelato. I took my first pill with food, as instructed. (What I won't do for ice cream!)

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