Going to a doctor or hospital in Pattaya or Bangkok

[Crushed]

I got a small cut last night that may warrant stitches.  I'm in Bangkok now but don't really know my way around so I thought I'd get it checked tomorrow in Pattaya as I plan on heading back that way.  I have a few nagging questions. How likely am I to get an honest appraisal if stitches are not needed?  What is the cost likely to be? I don't have health or travel insurance here. I was thinking of heading to the hospital on second road near Pattaya Klang.  Any other suggestions about where to go to the cut checked out?

Edited February 17, 2020 by Crushed

[LoneCelt]

Is the bleeding fully stopped.

What caused the cut?

Stitching needs to occur withing 3hrs to prevent scarring. Scarring is the big concern.

 

If I get a decent cut I generally Superglue myself up. Works fine.

 

If something dirty is involved in the cut, tetanus injection and possibly rabies much more important.

[bgtp]

47 minutes ago, Crushed said:

I got a small cut last night that may warrant stitches.  I'm in Bangkok now but don't really know my way around so I thought I'd get it checked tomorrow in Pattaya as I plan on heading back that way.  I have a few nagging questions. How likely am I to get an honest appraisal if stitches are not needed?  What is the cost likely to be? I don't have health or travel insurance here. I was thinking of heading to the hospital on second road near Pattaya Klang.  Any other suggestions about where to go to the cut checked out?

The sooner you get it looked at the better should seem obvious. Go get it looked at now if it concerns you. Near Sukhumvit, I like Samitivej Hospital on Sukhumvit Soi 49. If you're in another part of town, do a search for nearby hospitals.

[Crushed]

2 minutes ago, bgtp said:

The sooner you get it looked at the better should seem obvious. Go get it looked at now if it concerns you. Near Sukhumvit, I like Samitivej Hospital on Sukhumvit Soi 49. If you're in another part of town, do a search for nearby hospitals.

Thanks.  Off there now as I am around that area.

[Crushed]

10 hours ago, Setanter said:

Is the bleeding fully stopped.

What caused the cut?

Stitching needs to occur withing 3hrs to prevent scarring. Scarring is the big concern.

 

 

The cut was from a finger or maybe a shoed foot. I was up the front at a concert with a lot of stagediving.  The bleeding stopped after about an hour of the incident.  

I went to the hospital bgtp mentioned.  They said it had healed so there wasn't really much need for stitches  although one stitch was still a possibility. They cleaned the wound, put a new dressing on and gave me saline solution and antibiotics.  All up cost was 4000 baht.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Crushed

[LoneCelt]

2 hours ago, Crushed said:

The cut was from a finger or maybe a shoed foot. I was up the front at a concert with a lot of stagediving.  The bleeding stopped after about an hour of the incident.  

I went to the hospital bgtp mentioned.  They said it had healed so there wasn't really much need for stitches  although one stitch was still a possibility. They cleaned the wound, put a new dressing on and gave me saline solution and antibiotics.  All up cost was 4000 baht.

 

Well I am happy for you that it was a simple job and I hope and expect it will recover, no problem.

Ooch that they charged you €120 for a job that could have been done in a pharmacy for half that.

 

You might want to purchase some travel insurance, I always do and one with no deductible in case this sort of thing happens. Would have paid for itself last night and good for a year too.

[Ohyesuare]

4000 seems extreme.

[regyai]

Well he was letting everyone else jump on him...cant blame them for joining in

[forcebwithu]

7 hours ago, Crushed said:

The cut was from a finger or maybe a shoed foot. I was up the front at a concert with a lot of stagediving.  The bleeding stopped after about an hour of the incident.  

I went to the hospital bgtp mentioned.  They said it had healed so there wasn't really much need for stitches  although one stitch was still a possibility. They cleaned the wound, put a new dressing on and gave me saline solution and antibiotics.  All up cost was 4000 baht.

Good you got it taken care of right away. If the wound had needed stitches and you had waited until the next day you would have been SOL. I learned that the hard way a couple years back. If the wound is older than 12 hrs the risk of infection if stitched is too great so they won't stitch you up.

Have to wonder how they arrived at 4000B to fix you up, not that you were in a position to negotiate at that point.

Edited February 18, 2020 by forcebwithu

[Crushed]

58 minutes ago, forcebwithu said:

Good you got it taken care of right away. If the wound had needed stitches and you had waited until the next day you would have been SOL. I learned that the hard way a couple years back. If the wound is older than 12 hrs the risk of infection if stitched is too great so they won't stitch you up.

Have to wonder how they arrived at 4000B to fix you up, not that you were in a position to negotiate at that point.

Here's the bill.

[forcebwithu]

14 minutes ago, Crushed said:

Here's the bill.

I dug out an old ER invoice from 2011. This was at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital. Looks like your bill was inline with what I paid back in 2011. Mine was higher because I was chauffeured to the hospital with twirling lights and siren.

ER visits are definitely more expensive. That's why I try to use clinics whenever I can.

[Arnie85]

How can you not have travel insurance?

[forcebwithu]

49 minutes ago, nzwolfgang said:

How can you not have travel insurance?

Who said he, or I didn't? 

[bgtp]

12 hours ago, Crushed said:

The cut was from a finger or maybe a shoed foot. I was up the front at a concert with a lot of stagediving.  The bleeding stopped after about an hour of the incident.  

I went to the hospital bgtp mentioned.  They said it had healed so there wasn't really much need for stitches  although one stitch was still a possibility. They cleaned the wound, put a new dressing on and gave me saline solution and antibiotics.  All up cost was 4000 baht.

Glad you got it sorted. As the guy who recommended the place, sorry about the expense. I'm sure there are cheaper places around, maybe some ex-pats can give recommendations. It's also probably a good idea to do a check on hospitals in a place you visit a lot, so you know where you want to go in case you need it. I went to Samitivej on the recommendation of an ex-pat friend over 10 years ago and have been happy the handful of times I have used them. I have had experiences at other places in Thailand. Some were fine and some were not.

I just checked an invoice from a visit to Kanchanaburi Memorial Hospital back in 2008 when I got a big gash on the top of my head. It took seven stitches and I also received a tetanus shot and some antibiotics. Cost was 2000 baht. The place was OK for fixing up a cut, but not a place I'd want to use for something serious.

[Crushed]

10 hours ago, bgtp said:

Glad you got it sorted. As the guy who recommended the place, sorry about the expense. I'm sure there are cheaper places around, maybe some ex-pats can give recommendations. It's also probably a good idea to do a check on hospitals in a place you visit a lot, so you know where you want to go in case you need it. I went to Samitivej on the recommendation of an ex-pat friend over 10 years ago and have been happy the handful of times I have used them. I have had experiences at other places in Thailand. Some were fine and some were not.

I just checked an invoice from a visit to Kanchanaburi Memorial Hospital back in 2008 when I got a big gash on the top of my head. It took seven stitches and I also received a tetanus shot and some antibiotics. Cost was 2000 baht. The place was OK for fixing up a cut, but not a place I'd want to use for something serious.

It's ok.  Thanks for the help.  I talked to my guesthouse receptionist and she said much the same about clinics.  The money probably could have just disappeared into Pattaya  bargirls' pockets in a single day earlier on in my trip.

[bgtp]

17 hours ago, Crushed said:

It's ok.  Thanks for the help.  I talked to my guesthouse receptionist and she said much the same about clinics.  The money probably could have just disappeared into Pattaya  bargirls' pockets in a single day earlier on in my trip.

I had one experience at a Thai clinic, an eye clinic in Sukhothai when I had a bad case of conjunctivitis. While waiting my turn, I observed the goings on. The doctor would sit on one side of a table and the patient on the other. Sometimes, a patient would look into some equipment on the table. After each patient, the doctor would wipe down the table and any equipment that might have been used with a towel. This towel was not changed between patients. Additionally, the doctor would wash her hands between patients, drying them with this same towel! Now, the differences in symptoms between viral and bacterial conjunctivitis should be obvious. Still, although I had viral conjunctivitis, the treatment prescribed was for bacterial. That experience put me off Thai clinics.