The Lunar New Year holiday has become one of the peak travel seasons for Taiwanese, and a health official yesterday said that travelers heading overseas should be aware of the five most common ailments suffered by Taiwanese abroad.
The ailments are acute upper respiratory tract infections or colds, acute bronchitis, kidney failure, dental problems and acute tonsillitis, in that order, according to statistics compiled by the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA).
Those statistics are based on the requests for medical treatment reimbursement made last year, Medical Administration Section director Lin Bao-feng (林寶鳳) said, adding that the ailments also led the way in reimbursement requests in 2013.
Photo: Yao Chieh-hsiu, Taipei Times
“Last year, 47,000 reimbursement requests were filed for treatments received overseas for acute upper respiratory tract infections, totaling NT$62.65 million [US$1.98 million at current exchange rates], accounting for the largest proportion — 35 percent — of the total reimbursements for treatment abroad, which was NT$334 million,” Lin said.
Acute bronchitis was cited by 8,200 reimbursement requests, accounting for 6.1 percent of the total amount claimed, Lin said.
Kidney failure accounted for 7,000 requests, costing the NHI system a total of NT$15.11 million last year, about 5.3 percent of the total reimbursement, Lin said.
“Dental problem are also a headache for Taiwanese tourists,” Lin said. “There were 6,700 reimbursement requests for a total of NT$7.58 million from the NHI system.”
Acute tonsillitis accounted for 4.4 percent of the total amount of reimbursements with 5,800 requests, Lin said.
“People planning a trip abroad are advised to stay warm, pack their necessary medications and take some gauze face masks with them to reduce their chances of contracting a cold and to ease the symptoms if they do get one,” Lin said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique