Picture from CHUD List

Mandi has been in agony for about a week with what she thought was an abscess in her mouth and has been self-medicating by scrubbing the affected area with a toothbrush before swilling with mouthwash and taking painkillers. This is the sort of thing I would have done because I don't go to doctors or dentists but Mandi is a touch more delicate than I am and usually surrenders herself to medical help. This led to finding out how ridiculous a system is going on when it comes to dentistry. The concept of an NHS dentist doesn't seem to exist anymore as they all seem to have written their own price list and if you think it's too expensive then there is another choice, suffer. Why do we pay National Insurance if you get charged at every turn for medical help? On the rare occasions when I have been to the doctor (I tend to work on a 'rather not know' basis) I have had to pay for prescription medicine, despite the fact that I pay into the system when people who don't contribute are allowed freebies. Mandi had to pay for a consultation before the dentist even bothered to do any investigation into her problem, which means that she would have had to pay again for the treatment. This is why I tend to favour the tablets and sleep method as I usually seem to be okay in the morning and it hasn't cost a lot. Eventually Mandi found a walk-in dentist that sorted the problem out for £20, it wasn't an abscess but a tooth that needed removing and she didn't even bring it home. It was a big one from what she said so the Tooth Fairy would have paid a good price and we could have saved it for the next time we need to pay for something that should be free.

The Sunday Alternative Podcast #61 is available from here.

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October Housekeeping

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