International SOS Clinic Mongolia

It has been a rough 3 days & 2 nights.

On Tuesday, the boys did not get better, in fact, they got worse as the day progressed. I continued to give them their medicines. Cameron, for his fever, and Cayden for his fever & cough.

On Wednesday, the boys were really sick. I made an appointment at the International SOS clinic for Thursday, as the pediatrician was only on duty on Thursday afteroon. Cayden was lethergic, still had fever, had no appeitite and was coughing. He took a long nap in the afternoon. Cameron started to have runny nose and he was so grumpy. His fever also spiked up to 39.4 degrees c at about 3pm in the afternoon. I decided not to wait and went to the clinic to see the GP. Afterall, Cameron needed some medicine for his nose and cough, so that he can sleep better at night.

Who knows, this was a bad decision. After we reached the clinic, the nurse stopped us at the entrance and took our temperature. Because the boys had high temperature of about 39 degrees, they stopped us from entering the clinic. We had to wait outside (in the cold!) and put masks on us. Then they instructed us to drive our car to the back of the clinic and enter a room. We had to have nose swabs taken to be tested for H1N1. This really scared Cayden and he was really clingy to me. I was feeling confident that they would not be tested positive for H1N1, as we had not been out of the house at all, since Cayden sprained his foot.

During the wait, the nurse came in with Neurofen. She wanted to give them both. I was comfortable with them giving Cayden coz he had it before. But for Cameron, I was more apprehensive. I wanted to be sure that the dosage was correct. She wanted to give him 2.5ml (according to the dosage on the box) but I refused! It stated 2.5ml for babies 6months to 12 months. But Cameron is only 7 months. Also, don't they have to check the weight of the baby and determine the dosage??? She consulted the doc again said it was ok. I had no choice. (For the records, I checked with my PD. The 2.5ml dosage is too high for Cameron. He should only be taking 1.5ml at most. And also she told me to avoid Neurofen if possible coz its too strong for him).

After 30 min of waiting,  they told us that they boys tested positive for H1N1 so they have to send us to the Centre of Infectious Diseases to do more testing. (as International SOS clinic do not treat infectious diseases). The test the clinic did is only 75% accurate. I was livid! It seemed like we had no choice and had to go. So off we went to the centre in an ambulance. I called Lester and updated him, so he also made his way down to the centre from his office. We discussed that if it was confirmed, we do not want the kids to be treated in Mongolia. We will air-evac the kids out to Korea or Singapore.

When we reached the centre of Infectious Diseases, we had to wait for a long time inside the ambulance. After that we were ushered into a small room, with 3 doctors and maybe 8 patients. The doc who checked Cameron and Cayden checked their lungs and said their lungs are clear. Their condition is not serious and they can be treated at home. They cannot confirm for sure, if they do have H1N1. I wanted the doc to check their ears & throat to see if it was infected. Something must be causing their fever! But the doc said they dont do that. She only prescribed some medicine.

When we returned to the SOS clinic, I thought the doc there would check them, but who knows, they did not even allow us to enter the clinic! We had to wait in the car and the doc will come out with the prescribed medicine. They only prescribed Cayden an antibiotic and Cameron a high fever supportsitory and for both of them Vitamin C. USELESS BUNCH OF DOCTORS! I wanted the doc to give me some medicine for Cameron's cough. He gave me Robutassim and but told me its not recommended for kids under 2. If I wanted to give, I can do so in a lower dosage. Its my choice. What kind of doc is that????? I rejected and told him I preferred to consult my own PD in Singapore.

So in the end, it was a futile visit. All for nothing. Boys did not get more medicine to get better. We were only hassled more.

I have to say it again. The International SOS clinic in Mongolia is completely, utterly useless. I will definitely NOT sign up for membership again.