Just What the Doctor Ordered: Iran's Health System Part I

Yesterday as we were leaving our hotel we noticed a seniors’ queue for milk. Men lined up to the left and women to the right, and each were served alternately and relatively calmly from the small general store. We've also seen queues for bread and other necessities, which are dispersed at local stores much the way our own WIC programs do in the States.

We also visited a pharmacy, partly to fill a prescription for one traveller’s stomach upset, and also out of curiosity. This led to an extended discussion of the health care system. Iran’s is actually not unlike the U.S., in that you get quality health care if you are wealthy, and many often go without. There are free government hospitals, but these are often plagued by long lines and inexperienced doctors. There are also limits on the amount of subsidized prescription medicine which is available. It adds to the strain of people who are too ill to travel and deal with all the bureaucracy, as it does in our own country.

Otherwise, in the pharmacy we found that it’s not unlike a small Walgreens, though independent of one another; you might buy toothpaste or infant formula; fill your prescriptions, or also pick up one of several homeopathic or traditional remedies. Rosemary oil is a hair tonic, and almond oil is good for psoriasis and other skin issues. I tried both, first because I like the smell and the second because parts of me are beginning to look like a sheet of sandpaper in the winter weather. While doing this, a young woman in chador approached me and asked, “Is it true? Is rosemary really good for the hair?” I replied I didn’t know since this was the first I’d heard of it myself, but I’d soon find out. She was buying two cherry-red lip balms, “for me and my husband,” she smiled shyly, and after a few more pleasantries, slipped out the door into the evening.

On the way back to our hotel was a herbalist--with a shop window delightful to see. There were rose petals for making rosewater, dried lemons for tea, all sorts of ground spices and seeds and roots and nuts for making infusions. When you can't get what you want from the pharmacy, you come here. And apparently they do come--the shop was quite popular. I only wish I knew better how to use these things myself.