Sprained foot

You better contact Mr. Richard Loo who is a helping guy in this site and lives in HCMC.
His profile;
https://www.expat.com/forum/profile.php … mp;lang=en

I found on another website a question similar to yours and the reply was:

"There are so many surgical supply shops on Tran Hung Dao street, Q.1"

Good luck to you. When I had a sudden severe knee injury in Tanzania last year I used my broom stick (without broom) as a temporary cane until I could buy crutches. It was better than nothing.

Since you are not able to get around much maybe you could also call the FV hospital and see where they recommend you buy it. Ask for the orthopaedic department or the pharmacy. 08 54 11 33 33. They are pretty expensive to visit but I find they give good information in English over the phone for free.

thank you for the info!

Bit late for you, but others may see it.

Make sure you treat any scratches or cuts with a lot of antiseptic, get an X-ray to make sure there isn't a break, then watch any wounds very carefully for any sign of infection.
Check your tetanus jab is up to date (Every five years).

This applies in any country, but much more so in hot countries as the climate is really nice for a nasty bacterium or billion to breed.

Yes very true!

Wrap it in ice and take anti inflammatory such as ibuprofen or naproxen. Give it time and the swelling will subside. Don't put pressure on your foot. Find a homeless guy and borrow or steal his crutches and you will be alright. Stay off the bike since you're a danger to yourself and many others around.

Thanks for the advice. One wound I got had gotten infected. I'm washing it regularly with saline and keeping a coating of antibiotic cream. I can't find through Google a clear recommendation of whether or not to keep it covered with bandages when it's infected.

In the tropics you keep wounds covered to prevent new bacteria from entering into the broken skin. I would also be washing that wounded part of my body with bottled water and covering it against tap water during showers since the skin is broken.

If your wound does not look a bit better within 24 hours or you notice the body part where the wound is feeling very hot to the touch, having red streaky marks in the skin, and you develop a fever see a doctor immediately.

Also make sure the cream you are putting on is really an antibiotic cream. Sometimes pharmacists here do not know the difference between an antifungal and an antibiotic cream...

Try to keep your wound as dry as possible. In humid weather (like that in HCMC) open wounds tend to get moist and soggy if you keep them wrapped 24 hrs, especially if you are applying ointments of any kind on it.

Cover it during shower and put on a light bandage whenever you are out on the street. At home you can leave it open and dry or ... just wrap it loosely.
Well, this works for me very well, 'coz whenever I tried to keep my wounds tightly wrapped all day, it always got worse. Again, it depends on one's level of immunity. You are new in the tropics, your system needs time to get used to these new climatic and environmental conditions.

I suggest you wash your wounds with diluted antiseptic liquids like Dettol, Savlon etc. Then use bit of cotton to dry it up before applying any ointment on it.

You can wash the wound with betadine solution and get it checked out by a doctor.

Sounds like good advice, thank you