Core strength is important, and there are many great ways to build it.  Crunches, Pilates, hacking cough marathons…  but after 2 nights in a row of little, if any, sleep due to a deep cough that just wouldn’t quit, I decided to get some outside help

Normally, I like to let my body heal itself.  A fever is one of the bodies defense mechanisms for killing virii and bad bacteria, but if you take anti-fever meds it just takes longer to heal.  So I don’t take them.  But in this case, past experience told me that antibiotics were what I needed

In a country where you can buy Viagra and Cialis over the counter, I assumed antibiotics would be the same.  But no.  Apparently it is OK to self medicate if you want some assistance for an all weekend sexcapade, but antibiotics require a prescription.

Conveniently, many pharmacies in Mexico have an on site Doctor.  With no appointment and zero wait time, I was sitting down with a doctor explaining I had chest congestion, a horrible cough, and lack of energy.  She asked some great questions, like “What color is your phlegm?”  As all of this was happening in Spanish, I impressed myself that I knew how to say phlegm

She checked my throat, listened to my heart and my breathing, checked blood pressure, weight, my ears and eyes, etc…  nearly a full on physical exam.  It was good to hear that she thought I should get on antibiotics.  Since there weren’t any patients waiting we talked for awhile about our travels and her daughters hobby of drawing Anime, of which there were several great pictures on the wall.  To be sure that I understood the diagnosis and recommended treatment, she called her son on her cell phone and explained her conclusions, so he could repeat back to me in English.

What did I pay for this great service and excellent bed side manner? $2.50 (30 pesos.)  In the US, I may have had to shift the decimal point over by two places

Doctor consultation, $2.50

Back at the pharmacy counter, I submitted my newly obtained prescription and was quickly handed 20 pills of Amoxicillin. Surely the pharmacy must use the doctor as a loss leader to suck people in, so they can charge ridiculous amounts for drugs, right? Maybe that is the case, but the $13 I paid seemed fair

2 pills and 10 hours later, I’m feeling like a million bucks, and I didn’t even need insurance.

And I’m definitely looking forward to showing off my new abs