One morning, Tina and Wesley both wake up with sore throats and stuffy noses．They have the same symptoms, but they react very differently．While Tina reaches for water and vitamins, her husband, Wesley, reached for the phone．“I’d better make a doctor’s appointment,” he says．
Why do these two Chinese people react to sickness so differently? Tina grew up in the U．S．Wesley grew up in Taiwan．And they have discovered that differences between Chinese and American cultures extend(延伸)to every area of life．Even sickness and health．
When Westerners experience pain, they usually express their discomfort．Most Asians don’t．This creates a challenge for American nurses who care for Asian patients in the U．S．How do they know if that calm, quiet patient is really hurting? They have to keep asking their Asian patients how they feel．
In addition, Americans usually don’t want sickness to slow them down．Unlike Chinese people, Americans often don’t take time off work to rest and get well．They’d rather sneeze and cough all day at the office．
Americans who get sick in Asia may protest(抗議)when Chinese friends suggest they go to the hospital．“I’m not that sick!” they may say．In the U．S．, only very sick or injured patients go to hospital．People go to a doctor’s office for less serious problems．
Like Tina, Americans more often turn to vitamins or over-the-counter drugs to help them get well．
Chinese people, however, often head straight for the doctor when they get sick, like Wesley did．They want a prescription(藥方)to treat their sickness before it gets serious．
Chinese patients often just trust their doctors to give them the information they need．Most Americans, however, ask their doctors lots of questions and do research．American patients want to know everything they can about their condition．
So, are one culture’s attitudes toward health better than the other’s? Perhaps not．Tina and Wesley will both recover from their colds．And today, doctors all over the world are sharing treatment methods with each other．In health, as in everything else, we can learn a lot from each other．
