10 Facts

9/1/08

Well, now that I’m at home I thought of something else that happened I feel the need to share. Today in our medical lesson the country nurse, Jo, went over lots of interesting things. You all know how I just love nasty things so I can gross everyone out but this was something even I could have done without. Here are some facts which, against my will, are permanently burned into my memory and hopefully will be in yours as well:

1) Tarantulas can jump up to 6 feet.

a. NOTE: Although mosquito nets are somewhat complicated and annoying, I have to admit I am grateful for the protection they give me from these monsters- forget the mosquitoes. I keep having reoccurring daydreams/nightmares that I wake up to discover a nasty tarantula on my mosquito net but I guess that’s better than waking to one on my face- ok, that made me shiver.

2) There is a great variety of worms a person can acquire here. You can get them simply by putting your nails in your mouth if you have bad timing. Some worms can grow really long and some kinds come out as little white guys flailing around. Others, as Joe put it, may come out some of the way but then “could need some help with the rest of the travel” due to their length.

3) Worm eggs can be around a spot you don’t want to be scratching and you can’t even see them. You just itch.

a. NOTE: Thank you BCHD for the hand-sanitizer. I don’t want to think about this but if it could itch like those mosquito bites I had before I left…

4) We are so lucky here in the DR because we have the kind of Malaria that “generally doesn’t kill” (unless something ruptures)

5) Dengue is also known as “break bone fever” since it is so painful it seems as though every bone is broken. (For those of you who may not know, Dengue is also caused by a mosquito bite. These mosquitoes bit during the day and the malaria one’s at night so they’ve got it covered.)

6) 1/3 of volunteers here get Dengue. Bug spray is my new cell phone, always with me.

7) Soda is better to drink that water when you’ve got the runs. So is broth.

8) There is a kind of worm you can get that lives under your skin and eats your muscles. You can see them moving under your skin.

9) Don’t ever eat lettuce. It’s just as bad (or risky) as the water and like everything else it seems will give you diarrhea or worse.

10) I will never eat uncooked (deli meat) pork here- it’s a possible worm hang out hot spot.

So there you go 10 facts you could have lived without yet kept reading. Like a car wreck- awful but you just can’t turn away. If I get a worm, I may be coming home, not that it would help. It would be an uncomfortable plane ride that’s for sure!

Another interesting note, lots of people here are afraid of frogs. How weird is that?