If there's one area where Jiajia and I have particularly strong and differing views, it's health and how to deal with sickness. This continues to crop up when dealing with JD. I guess I subscribe to the western view that medicine is to be avoided unless really necessary and then only used in sensible dosages until the problem is fixed. Jiajia has a more "Chinese" attitude which argues that waiting for illnesses to come along leaves it too late - people should take preventative medicine, and as strong a dose as possible for it to be effective (antibiotics are sold over the counter here and prescribed for even the most common of colds). Add to that the age-old conflict between "tried-and-tested" western drugs and "supposed to be good for you" Chinese traditional medicine (...twigs and ground up animals, if you ask me!) and we have an area of disagreement which is liable to run for some time.
Case in point: I caught a cold last week. I was told to wear a mask around JD and his room was duly sprayed with vinegar!? He's been taking Chinese "anti-cold" medicine for weeks now, a bitter liquid which can make him vomit, and yet when he had a few sneezes the other day it was my "western cold" that got the blame, not the obvious ineffectiveness of the "anti-cold" medicine or, indeed, the vinegar spray. He wears 5 layers of clothes beneath his duvet at night, but windows are then opened to let in the fresh air (and the bitter wind outside). My skepticism about Chinese medicine isn't helped by the packaging with its ridiculous English and wildly overambitious health claims [see above and below], plus my own experience with Chinese doctors and their "cures" - visits for 14 separate ailments to date with just 2 certain successes. But "popping into a local clinic to see my GP" just isn't an option here, so I try to turn a blind eye to most strange things that don't actively damage JD's health. I'm hoping that when I do need to put my foot down it will have more impact. That's the plan, anyway!
Case in point: I caught a cold last week. I was told to wear a mask around JD and his room was duly sprayed with vinegar!? He's been taking Chinese "anti-cold" medicine for weeks now, a bitter liquid which can make him vomit, and yet when he had a few sneezes the other day it was my "western cold" that got the blame, not the obvious ineffectiveness of the "anti-cold" medicine or, indeed, the vinegar spray. He wears 5 layers of clothes beneath his duvet at night, but windows are then opened to let in the fresh air (and the bitter wind outside). My skepticism about Chinese medicine isn't helped by the packaging with its ridiculous English and wildly overambitious health claims [see above and below], plus my own experience with Chinese doctors and their "cures" - visits for 14 separate ailments to date with just 2 certain successes. But "popping into a local clinic to see my GP" just isn't an option here, so I try to turn a blind eye to most strange things that don't actively damage JD's health. I'm hoping that when I do need to put my foot down it will have more impact. That's the plan, anyway!
