Be Well Medical Centre Hua Hin has alerted residents to an increase in ZIKA virus cases, emphasizing risks for pregnant women and detailing symptoms, transmission methods, and precautions.
The clinic advises on treatment and offers guidance for breastfeeding mothers, differentiating ZIKA from similar viruses.
In the information below you will also find Be Well’s festive season operating hours for their clinics at Banyan and Black Mountain.
ZIKA Virus Alert for the Hua Hin Region
In our clinics, we witness an increasing number of ZIKA cases and patients concerned having contracted this virus. We also received questions from pregnant & breastfeeding women.
Be Well’s opinion on ZIKA is summarised below.
For most people, ZIKA should not ring alarm bells, as the symptoms are usually mild and disappear within a week. The chance of developing major complaints and requiring hospitalization is much smaller than, for instance, for patients who contracted dengue or certain influenza viruses.
However, ZIKA is potentially dangerous for pregnant women as it can cause serious birth defects such as microcephaly.
The ZIKA virus is transmitted by mosquitos, meaning the best prevention is avoiding bites. The virus can also be transmitted between humans through body fluid contamination (e.g. blood, saliva, semen, vaginal fluid, urine). Only about 30% of people infected develop symptoms, however all infected people can spread the virus through body fluid contamination.
Typical ZIKA symptoms are fever, rash, headache, joint pain, red eyes, and muscle pain. Symptoms usually begin 2-7 days after being infected and last several days to a week.
Like most other viruses, there is no cure to ZIKA. The best way to recover is to rest, drink plenty of fluids, and treat symptoms with paracetamol. People who may have a Zika virus infection should not take aspirin and or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) until dengue has been ruled out. If people have dengue and take aspirin or another NSAID, the risk of excessive bleeding (hemorrhage) is increased.
Pregnant woman in Hua Hin should take special care by preventing mosquito bites and avoiding exposure to human body fluids of ZIKA infected persons. This is challenging as 70% of the ZIKA infected people do not experience any symptoms! We therefore recommend pregnant women to take safety precautions during intimate contact with their partner.
Following the international guidelines, we recommend breastfeeding mothers to continue breastfeeding even if they are ZIKA infected. According to the WHO the advantages of breastfeeding outweigh the ZIKA risks for babies.
For our medical doctors, detecting ZIKA is a bit of a puzzle as the clinical symptoms are similar to other viruses like dengue, COVID, and certain types of influenza. However, although the treatment of the various viruses is hardly different, upon patient’s request tests can be conducted to get a (near) firm diagnosis. Our doctors also sometimes recommend these tests (notably to check dengue) for higher risk patients.
If you like more information about the diagnosis (incl. test possibilities) or treatment of ZIKA or other similar viruses, please contact your family doctor.
Opening hours during the Festive Season
As the Christmas period draws to a close, we look upon the start of a new year. During this New Year period (December 31st till January 2nd) we close the Black Mountain location and operate the Banyan location with some restrictions:
Sunday, December 31st:
• Black Mountain location closed
• Banyan location: usual weekend services from 10am – 4pm with Dr Beer on duty.
Monday, January 1st:
• Black Mountain location closed
• Banyan location: weekend working hours (10am- 4pm) with doctor services for urgent matters (Dr Paemika).
Tuesday, January 2nd
• Black Mountain location closed
• Banyan location: normal operating hours (8am- 6pm) with doctor services for urgent matters (Dr Paemika) and re-start of the dental services.
From January 3rd we will be back to normal operation in both clinics.
To remind you about the recent opening of our Black Mountain location, we’ve taken the liberty to provide you with all of the information for a third time in this e-mailing:
For all matters related to our Black Mountain location, please contact us at 02-1116622. For inquiries regarding our Banyan location, you can reach us at 02-1116644. Please take the time to program this information into your phone for easy communications. For email communication info@bewell.co.th can be used for both locations.
Clinic Hours:
The normal operating hours for our clinic at Banyan and at Black Mountain are as follows (except for the date’s mentioned above):
– Monday to Friday: 8 AM to 6 PM
– Saturday and Sunday: 10 AM to 4 PM
Our family doctors, Dr. Paemika, Dr. Mowae, and Dr. Pimsupa, will work in both clinic locations in a schedule explained below. Our new family doctor Dr. Nichapat (see introduction) will be serving exclusively at our Banyan location for the initial period.
*Please be informed that Dr. Mowae will be on holiday until January 7th. During his absence, Dr. Beer will be serving as his locum, assisted by the other family doctors.
