Welcome to the UK and thank you for your first impressions . I’m sorry you’re finding the culture shock more than you experienced when you moved to the US.



• There isn’t a severe lack of sanitation / hygiene throughout the UK. With respect, you’re inducing generalizations from your own observations over the 8 months or so you have lived in one part of England.



• Using spit to " clean " a smudge may be aesthetically unacceptable, but saliva is an antiseptic which helps keep your mouth clean. ( Coughing up phlegm and spitting is a different matter – sputum is infected ).



• While the Philippines " Food Safety Act of 2013 " claims to " set the benchmark for food safety in various stages from the harvest to the manufacture, processing, handling, packaging, distribution, marketing, food preparation to its consumption " , food poisoning is commoner there - and may be more serious - than the UK. Here we have strict rules about preparation / handling of food, and penalties for breaking them.



• ANY severe infection a woman develops during pregnancy may result in miscarriage, but this is relatively rare.


• Food poisoning, such as listeria and salmonella; along with some infections of the blood, such as hepatitis, cytomegalovirus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), rubella and toxoplasmosis, CAN cause miscarriage or problems within the developing baby.


• The " food poisoning " you describe seems, unfortunately , to have been unusually severe, but thankfully with full recovery and no harm to your baby .


• It’s true that food IS wasted in the UK - either because the " sell by " or " use by " dates ( not synonymous ) have expired, even if the food LOOKS OK. We also waste food by buying too much and having to discard it when it’s obviously inedible. However, the purpose of these dates is to prevent food poisoning which you so rightly wish to avoid.



• I’m sorry you have the impression that " shifting gears is a UK practice " , disapproved more in the Philippines than UK ; also that you think sexism is more of a problem in UK than Philippines.



• Your points about " English " grammar are well taken. There is a counter - argument that so long as the written or spoken sentences are understood, strict grammatical rules are NOT as important as they used to be. The idiom of today is the grammar of tomorrow ! However, you say " your family is chockful ( sic ) of doctors, medical workers and scientists " , and you yourself have a scientific training. Perhaps a thread such as this could have a summary of key points and conclusions for maximum impact factor !



• " Common colds " - and more serious chest infections like influenza and TB - are similar in signs and symptoms in BOTH the UK and Philippines – if different in frequency.

There are over 200 cold viruses and several flu viruses. Infection with one results in immunity ONLY to that virus. The " flu " virus in particular changes antigenicity. This is why every year World Health Organization tries to predict which viruses to include for vaccination – the SAME ones in UK as Philippines. There is NO vaccine for the common cold, and infection from contacts at least gives natural immunity. While not to be actively encouraged - especially while pregnant - acquired natural immunity by exposure to infections at a YOUNG age ( if no vaccines are available ) is LESS risky than the same infections in later life .



• One cause of asthma is indeed allergy to house dust mites present in carpets. At least air pollution, a major cause, especially in cities, is not so bad in UK as the Philippines. Medication is also FREE in the UK .



• As for our ideas about health being " stuck in the Dark Ages ", there can’t be a serious comparison with life in this country over 1000 years ago ! Advances in public health, medical knowledge, and treatments have been huge in the past century, never mind the past millennium !


• The UK public is better informed than ever about health matters, even if they choose unhealthy lifestyles. Our life expectancy keeps increasing.

Our NHS may be imperfect, but is the envy of many, including Filipinos. As you know, understanding of illnesses and affording access to a health professional is beyond the reach of many Filipinos . Here, healthcare is essentially free at the point of need. That doesn’t just include treatment of illness, but also prevention through vaccination ; early detection through screening ; and good maternity / childhood care.



I wish you, your husband, and family to be, all the best in the UK . If you choose to stay, please follow up this thread with your impressions after, say, a year. Perhaps you could also list the good things you may discover in England, and elsewhere in the UK .