Good afternoon, everyone!
I wanted to tell you how we visited a private ENT doctor in Montenegro.
What Happened and Why We Needed a Doctor
A few days ago, in the morning, I noticed dried blood in my child’s ear, right inside the ear opening. At first, I thought he had scratched it with his fingernail while itching, but when I tried to gently clean the blood with a cotton swab, he pulled away and said it hurt. That’s when I got really scared.
Many thoughts started running through my head: maybe I cleaned his nose too hard with the aspirator (he still doesn’t know how to blow his nose properly), or maybe I cleaned his ears wrong. But I clearly remembered that I had cleaned them a couple of days ago. If I had poked something by accident, we would’ve seen it the next day already. But the blood appeared after a couple of days. I was afraid I had injured his eardrum.
The child didn’t seem bothered or in pain, and he wasn’t touching his ear at all. So, I took him to kindergarten, pointed out the problem to the teacher, and asked her to call me if anything happened.
We picked him up after lunch. As it turned out, he behaved well, played and sang with the kids, ate well, and again, didn’t touch his ear.
First Visit to the Public Clinic
We went to the clinic. There’s a very good doctor at our clinic, but unfortunately, she was sick that day. Another doctor was replacing her. A friend from the registration desk immediately advised me to come after lunch, when a more sensible doctor would be there. But I didn’t listen, because I was worried and the weather was getting worse by the minute. It started pouring rain just as we arrived at the clinic. So I decided to get everything done before lunch and stay home after.
But I should’ve listened and come later. This doctor turned out to be… a little strange, to put it mildly.
She worked very slowly. There were only two people in front of us, and someone was already in the room, but the wait felt endless.
I was getting more and more nervous. I even went up to the front desk to ask why it was taking so long. One of the staff replied sarcastically: “Well, you want your children to be properly examined and healthy, right? That’s what the doctor is doing.” That didn’t help my mood either.
But what really ruined my day was the visit itself. The doctor didn’t have the tool used to examine the ears, nose, and throat. I’m not a medical professional, so I don’t remember what it’s called. She said the regular doctor was sick and had taken all the tools. I nearly lost it. At least she examined and listened to the child. Though she shoved the tongue depressor so far into his mouth, he almost gagged. What an old goat!
She prescribed medicine for a red throat and a nasal spray. As for the ears, she said, “If I can’t see anything, I don’t have the right to prescribe treatment. Go to a private clinic.”
We left with the phone number of a private ENT specialist. Why such a specialist is not available at the children’s clinic remains a mystery to me.
Our Experience with a Private ENT Doctor
As it turned out, the private clinic was very close by. But it was lunchtime and almost naptime, so I decided to wait until the evening or the next day.
It rained all day, but by evening, it calmed down a bit. The child woke up late. I figured the clinic was already closed. But then a friend of mine who has been living here for a long time called, and I asked her about it. She said the doctor worked until 8 PM (a miracle for this area!) and that we shouldn’t delay. The visit would cost 20 euros.
We quickly got ready and went. Luckily, the clinic is just two blocks from our house.
Just around the corner from a large supermarket in our neighborhood, there’s a two-story house with a grapevine. On the first floor is the “ordinacija” (as they call it here), with a convenient driveway and parking for a few cars. The second floor is a private apartment. That’s how many people work here — whether it’s an auto repair shop, beauty salon, or private practice, it’s all on the first floor of your house. Quite convenient, isn’t it?
Everything was very clean and tidy — plastic windows and doors, a proper sign on the door. Inside: chairs and a small sofa in the waiting room. A man with a girl of about three was ahead of us. A patient was in the doctor’s office. We waited our turn and went in. My friend had called ahead to inform the doctor we were coming.
The doctor welcomed us with a smile and genuine warmth. He spoke a little Russian — he had learned it at school. His name was Nikola (Nikolai in Russian), a very pleasant man in his sixties. He had a great approach with kids — after so many years of practice! My son calmly let him examine him.
What a relief it was to hear that the bleeding was just a deep scratch in the upper skin layers. My son had probably scratched himself in his sleep. I regularly trim his nails — how he managed that, I have no idea!
In the end, the doctor cleaned his ears with a special stick and placed a small cotton ball with ointment into the injured ear, asking us to remove it in the morning. (Max took it out himself just a couple of hours later.)
He printed out a paper saying that everything was fine and… drumroll… charged us 30 euros! I didn’t show that I knew the real price — I guess he added 10 euros for his Russian skills.
Still, we were very satisfied with both the appointment and the doctor himself. Health is more important! I felt calm again. Now we know where to go in difficult situations. And that’s the most important thing!
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