Tag: medicine

Asya Kazantseva “Where Do Children Come From?”

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Asya Kazantseva is one of the most well-known popularizers of science. Her first published book Who Would Have Thought! literally blew up the market — it was so unconventional, since Asya spoke about complicated things in fairly simple language, with plenty of good humor. I myself was wildly enthusiastic, and so I gladly went on to read her next two books. After that, Asya disappeared from the public sphere as a writer for a while, though she continued to give many live lectures. And in 2023 her fourth book was released, titled Where Do Children Come From?

Here Asya stepped away from her favorite topics, deciding to talk about the myths and realities of pregnancy and childbirth. All the more so since she had tested it not only in theory but also in practice, having given birth to a daughter. She approached the topic as thoroughly as always, having studied a large amount of material long before her pregnancy.

And although, as usual, I made many notes while reading, for a very long time I couldn’t bring myself to start writing a review of this book. Because Asya’s second and third books were already somewhat weaker than the first, but this fourth one seemed to me the dullest. And the first one that I have absolutely no desire to recommend.

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Book: Ruchi Gupta with Kristin Loberg “Food Without Fear”

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There are a lot of people in the world with allergies, and research suggests that the number is only growing. Some even call allergies one of the defining illnesses of our generation. Back in my childhood, we would bring treats for the whole class on birthdays, but nowadays, before sending anything to school for a child’s birthday, you need to check a list of dozens of allergens. It’s often easier to just bring nothing at all to be safe.

I’ve had food intolerances since childhood. For example, cabbage always gave me an unpleasant sensation, which was commonly referred to as heartburn (though now I know that real heartburn feels quite different). Mayonnaise also made me feel unwell, so I never ate this supposedly great human invention. Then and now, I always substitute sour cream for mayonnaise in salads. Yes, I’m that person who eats Russian salad with sour cream. And yes, adding an apple to it can be quite nice.

However, by the time I turned 25, my reactions became significantly worse. A few times, my whole body broke out in an itchy red rash. And on a couple of occasions, I even experienced Quincke’s edema—when everything swells up inside, making it difficult to breathe. Let me tell you, it’s not a great experience. Especially when you’re gasping for air, and the emergency operator on the phone is still trying to determine if you really have swelling and if you’re actually wheezing into the phone because you can barely breathe.

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General Health System: Bring on cheaper doctors!

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I’ve written about healthcare in Cyprus several times already. But now, everyone here is talking about a long-discussed government initiative that’s finally arriving at our doorstep. Its name is GHS (General Health System), or GESY (pronounced “yesi”).

And since I’m naturally inclined to dig into things, I decided to figure out what exactly this is and how it might affect me personally. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I’ll explain what I know and understand..

The Idea

Overall, the concept behind it is good. The thing is, healthcare in Cyprus can be divided into two groups: public and private. Public healthcare is cheap, but there are few doctors, which leads to long waiting lists—sometimes months ahead. Private healthcare costs around 40-50 euros per visit, and there are almost no queues (except for very successful doctors who are in high demand, but even then, it’s usually just a matter of a few days at worst).

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Giving Birth in Cyprus (Through the Husband’s Eyes)

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I haven’t written in a long time, and there were objective reasons for that. At the same time, my wife has been insisting for a while now that I simply must write about childbirth, as a male perspective on this topic is somehow more valuable than a female one. Well, the stars have aligned, and I’ve become a father once again, so all the impressions and experiences are very fresh.

As you may know, I’m practically a heroic father, as I now have five children. The first three were born in Minsk, Belarus, and the last two — in Lefkosia, Cyprus. Each time, I did my best to be as present at the births as possible (to the extent allowed by medical practices). So, I have plenty to compare. I’ll try to describe the whole nine-month process. I should clarify that our experience is based on private clinics. Some aspects will surely differ in public hospitals.

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Healthcare in Cyprus

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Let’s continue the topic of life in Cyprus by talking about healthcare, which, surprisingly, does exist here too.

My experience with doctors is probably not very comprehensive, mainly because I have family health insurance, so I don’t know much about how to get treatment in Cyprus if you don’t have insurance.

In my case, all doctors are paid (although there probably aren’t any “free” ones—sometimes someone else just covers the cost, like insurance or the government). My insurance works like this: you pay for the doctor yourself, then submit a claim to the insurance company, they review it, and reimburse you (or they don’t, but that’s rare). Our specific type of insurance has an annual deductible, which is roughly equal to one visit to the doctor. Dental treatment is minimally covered (although my insurance covered 95% of my root canal treatment for one tooth). Vaccines for children aren’t covered at all, and they’re not cheap. However, if you’re treated in a hospital, the doctor and the insurance agent agree on the treatment in advance, and you don’t pay anything. But still—insurance policies vary, so it depends.

In general, healthcare is expensive, even compared to private healthcare in Belarus. But let’s go step by step.

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