The “Pharaoh’s Curse”

Thursday, I did not go with the group to the Islamic Historical Sites because I was ill. Let’s just say it involved major stomach cramping and the word “explosive.” I was buying Gatorade at the market across the street, and taking the maximum dosage of Imodium. It was not looking good for me (or my roommate, who coined the term “Pharaoh’s Curse”), and Friday we were going on a 6+ hour bus ride to the Southern Sinai. I had no idea how I was going to survive that trip.

We were leaving at 6 on Friday morning, and my stomach was feeling slightly better, but still “explosive.” Our tour guide, Selma, asked how I was. (I think of her as our Egyptian Mom.) I tried to eloquently describe my condition.

“You want to stop at pharmacy to get something stronger?”

“Um, I’m taking Imodium. What else is there?”

“We can get Cipro, we’ll stop.”

Now you have to remember that Friday is the Islamic holy day, so it would be the equivalent of going to a pharmacy at 6:30 on Sunday morning. I grab a 100 Egyptian Pound (EP) bill (equivalent to $20 US) and go in with Selma. She speaks Arabic to the pharmacy tech, and he asks me some questions in English. He then says, “I have an injection I can give you that will stop the symptoms right away.”

Now my reply may seem bizarre, but it was based upon a phrase I saw in my Arabic phrasebook.

“I want a clean needle.”

The pharmacy tech gave me a strange look, “Yes, of course.”

Selma went to get my room-mate who was suffering the same ailment. Within two minutes, I was slightly lowering my pants right in the middle of the pharmacy (which is something I never thought I would do in an Islamic country, or really any country) and got a shot by a male pharmacy tech. Yes, I got a clean needle and even an alcohol wipe beforehand. The tech gave me two more medicines. With my 100 EP, I was nervous it would not be enough for an injection and two medicines; I thought I would have to get more money from my purse on the bus.

The bill? 10 EP – about $2. I literally paid more for the Gatorade (16 EP) than I did for the injection and two types of medicine.

Now let’s not think about the HUGE difference in price from the US, let’s think about the time factor alone. If this was to happen in the States, I would have to go to a doctor, or clinic. I would need to pay a co-pay and wait in a waiting room. I would have to have my temperature and blood pressure taken by a nurse. The doctor would come in, review my history, ordered the shot, and written a prescription. The nurse would have come back, and given the shot. Then I would have to go to the pharmacy, most likely fill out another form to have the prescription filled. That whole ordeal could take easily two hours, if not more. The whole process in Egypt (including a trip to the bathroom for me) took less than 20 minutes.

Now I know some of you in the medical profession could argue, "Did they take your history? Or ask if you had any allergies? Or ask about any medication you were taking?" The answer would be no, none of that was discussed. And I'm certainly not saying we should abandon our healthcare for Egypt's; but there has to be some type of middle ground.

How well did the medicine work? Wonderfully – I could not believe how quickly it worked. The cramps disappeared, the urgency was gone. I still was fussy on what I ate, not wanting to push it; but I was able to keep up with the group with no problem.