Struggling with health problems since coming to China

[sincyrity]

Hi Holly, I know it may be expensive but perhaps you should be checked out by a doc at one of the expat clinics, just to make sure nothing is being missed. If it's just dry skin and pollution problems, at least the dry skin part is easy to fix: lots and lots of good moisturizer, and humidifiers in rooms. I wouldn't use too much of the aloe or the hydrocortisone for more than a few days, not without knowing more what the main problem really is...

[Holly]

With so little time left in Beijing (2 weeks), I'm wondering if I even have time. If they have to run tests and whatnot.... And the problem is I'm in class all day.

My dermatologist wasn't able to suggest any possible causes other than irritation from the pollution, unfortunately.

[sincyrity]

I still think there's hope: you can order that small air purifier, the Hunter 31125, directly online from the Sundan website and the same day or next, you'll have it delivered and running! The link is here: buyHunter 31125.

It's only 1248RMB; and even if you leave in 2 weeks, you should notice a very quick benefit to your health -- plus you can easily resell it for almost full price. Just resell to another student or post something at school or online.

I think this is the best option for students anywhere in China. It's cheap and it works and it's small and you can resell it...

[amandagmu]

Hey Holly and everyone,

I'm in the market for an air purifier too! Definitely not keen on spending too much $$ and have seen people selling used Yadu's for a lot less than IQair and Blueair, or the new one World Health Store is promoting: Alen air. I need to buy one for my bedroom, and I am considering for the living room. I have to be here for a year and have found myself super-sensitive to the pollution. My sinuses are clogged after a day of walking around (last week was really bad), and last week after 2 bad days of pollution I started to couch and lose my voice. It's better now that the air quality has slightly improved today (and Monday I think?) but I attribute this in part to going to WHS and buying the N95 masks per the doctor's recommendations.

For people on the forum: if you have to buy one very solid air purifier for the long-term, which one would it be? I was quoted 3100 RMB at WHS for a small Blueair and 4700 RMB for an Alen air that would cover a larger area (such as the living room). This is very high, but I would be willing to buy one and see how it goes. The Hunter mentioned here might be a good option too, but I haven't seen too many reviews. I guess the Yadu is worth forgetting about???

[sincyrity]

Don't get the Yadu; we really don't have any objective consumer data on any of the Chinese models. And the IQAir guys have done some informal tests of Chinese brands and haven't been satisfied.

I just mentioned on my Beijing blog today that my favorite cheaper air purifier is the Hunter 31125. It's only 1238 from Sundan store and online. You can read all about it on my post here:

http://www.myhealthbeijing.com/illness/pollution/fight-crazy-bad-air-cheaply/

[jbradfor]

Are water softeners common / possible to get in China?

[sincyrity]

Dozens of companies sell water softeners in China, it's a huge business here!

[amandagmu]

Thanks for the response, doctor! I may be meeting you in person soon enough. I'm sick as a dog right now; just got the air purifier the other day, started wearing masks last week, ETC, but I have come down with some nasty sinus issues and I don't have a nasal spray with me like I had in the U.S. or Germany. I hope this is just adjustment because I need to be here for a year, but I must have super sensitive sinuses.

[Saxondale]

Seems like i've got similar problems too; i keep developing sore throats in china, ones that don't really get bad but never go away. i've tried a lot of different medicine here, changed my eating habits, multivitamins everyday, sleeping at least 6 hours a night but nothing seems to work.

[abcdefg]

#69 -- Clearly a case of 上火。

(Only kidding; I have no idea what's wrong.)

[imron]

It may or may not help, but try to make of point of only breathing through your nose (both in and out) rather than your mouth (obviously there are excpetions to this when talking). Breathing in through the nose will filter out a bunch of the stuff that was previously going directly to the throat and lungs, and also helps prevent the mouth and throat from drying out. Breathing out through the nose will help ensure the nose stays relatively cleared out.

This made a big difference for myself.

[skylee]

Try these ->

http://www.geocities...TRT11032903.JPG

http://www.geocities...TRT11032906.JPG

They have been very useful in curing my flu/cold and relevant symptoms. My throat was terribly sore last sunday but was cured after drinking two packets of the green one. The sore throat might have recovered naturally without the medicine but I think it helped.

[elina]

At first, try to follow Imron and Skylee’s suggestions, it’s easy to do, and 板蓝根冲剂, 感冒清热冲剂 can be bought in almost every drugstore.

But judging from the sentence ‘i keep developing sore throats in china, ones that don't really get bad but never go away’, personally I guess it’s not flu or cold, maybe it’s 咽炎/pharyngitis or something?

Anyway, once a time, my son coughed without phlegm for several months, even after go to see the doctor and take medicines, and then I gave him this：

http://www.infinitus...9/0222/735.html

It can 调节免疫力/adjust immunity, not only boost the immune system, sometimes the immune system needs to be lower, because some diseases are caused by higher-level-than-the-ordinary immunity, for example, 红斑狼疮/lupus erythematosus, 类风湿关节炎/rheumatoid arthritis, 硬皮病/scleroderma, etc.

Meanwhile, I gave my son this:

http://www.infinitus...9/0308/691.html

清热润肺，利咽喉，对呼吸系统具有整体调理的作用/ clear heat, detoxifying purging lung, helpful to throat, etc.

After some days, my son was fully recovered. I wrote it in my blog.

sleeping at least 6 hours a night

健康的四大基石：平和的心态，充足的睡眠，均衡的营养，适量的运动/The 4 cornerstones of health: peace of mind, good and enough sleep, balanced nutrition, appropriate amount of exercise. Do you think 6 hours sleeping time a night is enough for you? Do you feel tired on the next day? Are you under strong stress? If yes, try to relax and it will do good to your health.