Popularity of IVs shows how patients can’t afford to stay ill

Last Thursday, only half a minute after a 12-year-old boy began receiving an intravenous (IV) drip at a local hospital, he had a serious allergic reaction, including symptoms like vomiting, lightheadedness and a drop in blood pressure.

The nurse immediately plucked the needle from the boy's arm, and doctors began to resuscitate him. He survived.

According to a report in local media, the IV contained Mepem, an advanced imported antibiotic that did not require a skin test in advance. The boy didn't have the adverse reaction because he was sick. He had the reaction because he happened to be allergic to the drug.

China consumes a massive amount of IV medication on a per capita basis. In 2009, Chinese patients received 10.4 billion units of IV medication, which amounts to eight units per person, according to Zhu Zhixin, the vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission. By comparison, the average figure internationally is about three units.

This is notable because the World Health Organization recommends taking medication orally or by injection ahead of taking it intravenously. IVs are supposed to be a last resort. But in China, it works the other way around.

Chinese patients prefer to take medication via an IV. There is an old Chinese saying that time is life. So, Chinese people prefer the quickest and most efficient option for taking their medication.

Many Chinese workers employed by local enterprises do not have paid sick leave, so it is in their best interest to get treated for an illness as fast as possible. The situation is similar for schoolchildren. Due to the competitive nature of China's education system, parents don't want their children to miss a class, so they push doctors to hook their kids up to an IV.

Sometimes, people know that an illness like the common cold will go away on its own in a few days, but they can't afford to take the time away from work or class.

When I interviewed doctors in Zhongshan Hospital's emergency room earlier this year, the doctors told me that they also chose an IV when they got sick. Usually, they only have to rest for an hour or two after finishing the IV before going back to work.

Although IVs are an efficient way of treating illnesses, they carry their own risks.

They need to be set up at medical facilities because there can be serious consequences if anything goes wrong. As in the aforementioned story, medical allergies can be another danger. Although doctors ask patients if they are allergic to specific drugs, it's really difficult for patients to know what drugs they are allergic to until they have had an adverse reaction.

Modern medicine always has its side effects. What people have to do is to listen to the doctors and make a choice. If such a method is essential, then they should take it.

Taking myself as an example, I got stomach ache on December 2 and in three days it had escalated into continuous vomiting.

After several blood checks and an ultrasound, the doctor diagnosed me with acute gastroenteritis. Because I threw up everything I ate, she prescribed an IV for me.

I almost immediately felt better. Before receiving the IV, I found it difficult to walk the few meters from the diagnosis room to the IV area. But several minutes after the nurse put the needle into my arm and the medication started to flow into my blood, I felt much better.