Visiting the Emergency Room in Labuan Bajo

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Indonesia seems to be hitting the cruisers rather hard.  While many have come down with occasional cases of “Bali belly”, others have had more serious issues.  I woke up one morning in Pasarwajo with some troubling symptoms – not debilitating, but concerning.

The first thing we did was WebMD the symptoms, and I was feeling pretty comfortable that it was a bacterial infection.  We had two choices: the first was to delay our two-day sail from Pasarwajo to Labuan Bajo and take a car to the nearest hospital in Bau-bau; the second was to self-medicate underway and go to the hospital in Labuan Bajo.

I chose the second option and felt even better in my decision after speaking with another cruiser who is an MD.  I pulled out our well-stocked medical kit and reviewed my options for antibiotics, choosing to take amoxicillin.  It’s important to note that there a very few risks with taking an antibiotic.  If I was contemplating self-medicating with an opioid, for instance, it might have been a completely different discussion.

When we arrived in Labuan Bajo on August 29th we went straight to the hospital.  Labuan Bajo has a Siloam Hospital, a chain of hospitals in Indonesia.  We went into the Emergency Room and checked in. I waited about 10 minutes, occasionally being called up to the desk to fill out paperwork before I was brought into the exam room.

The doctor spoke accented English, but his English was very good.  He performed a physical exam and ordered lab work to be done. I walked through the hospital to the laboratory and noticed that most people came into the main reception of the hospital, including a few people who were clearly tourists.

When I arrived back at the emergency room, all the tourists were there instead of in the main facility.  I would guess that the emergency room’s staff spoke better English than the main staff.  While waiting for the results, I overheard two tourists talking: “…if it’s really bad you’ll have to fly to Singapore for treatment.”

When my results were finished the doctor saw me again, confirmed the diagnosis and said that I’d done well self-medicating with the amoxicillin.  He commented that in Indonesia they prescribe amoxicillin in 50 mg tablets instead of the 250 mg tablets that I had, so they typically prescribe other antibiotics instead.  I was instructed to finish my bottle, and the doctor gave me a prescription for another antibiotic (ciprofloxacin, also one I have in the med kit) if the symptoms returned.

Costs for Emergency Room Visit:

• Administration fees:  15,000 Rp ($1 USD)
• Consultation and doctor visit: 650,000 ($42.70)
• Prescriptions: 50,000 ($3.30)
• Lab work: 100,000 ($6.57)
• Total:  815,000 ($53.70)

Why did I get sick?  It’s hard to know for sure, but we have observed that cleanliness standards in Indonesia are not very high – from hand washing to food preparation, there is a lot to be desired.

I took all my pills and have been healthy ever since!