Two things are inevitable for volunteers in Guatemala: lice and parasites. Lice is a personal fear of mine. Though completely treatable, it would be horrific if I got lice. I'm a giant furball (especially since I've been growing my beard out). My body is a lice paradise and after countless sessions of pulling lice from children's scalps, it's a small miracle that I've managed to avoid getting stowaways.
Well I suppose I've been spending too much time focused on the external critters and not enough on the internal ones, because St Patrick has decided to bless me with some parasitic amigos. Some background: I've pretty much had loose bowel movements nonstop since I got here three months ago. I've thought now and again that maybe I had come down with parasites, but I chose not to do anything about it. Medication for parasites can only be taken three times a year. Because of that, the clinic tries to encourage people to wait until their symptoms are really bad (because chances are, you're just going to get parasites again right afterwards and then you might not be able to take meds.) Since I really had no other symptoms, I didn't worry about it. This morning I woke up with awful cramping and diarrhea. That's kind of normal for me after a night of drinking a lot of beer so I wasn't too concerned until I saw the insane amount of blood coming out of my body. I freaked out (more due to the thought of having to go to the hospital here, not about the health issue). After a shower and some thinking, I realized that I probably just had parasites. A quick internet search listed common symptoms of parasitic infection as:
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
Gas or bloating
Dysentery (loose stools containing blood and mucus)
Stomach pain or tenderness
Feeling tired
Weight loss
Passing a worm in your stool
Considering I have almost everything on that list (though no visitors as of yet), I think it's safe to say that's what's going on. Also, the list of risk factors:
Living in or visiting an area known to have parasites
International travel
Poor sanitation (for both food and water)
Poor hygiene
Age -- children and the elderly are more likely to get infected
Exposure to child and institutional care centers
Having a weakened immune system
HIV or AIDS
Again, have a few cards stacked against me there. So anyway, despite having semi-frequent bathroom runs this morning, I was feeling pretty decent. I figured I would wait to see if it would pass, and if not I would go to the clinic tomorrow. I went into Antigua to buy some groceries for the week and all of a sudden the inside of my body absolutely exploded. Everything was gurgling and churning and I realized getting back on the bus was not going to be fun. We piled into what is probably the most crowded bus that I've been on to date. I was able to grab a seat in the back (as luck would have it, I was next to a couple making out. Though I had to deal with the super intense tonsil hockey, the bright side is that they were practically sitting on each other laps the whole time so I had extra room and could actually fit my entire ass on the seat :) The bus was jam packed since it's Sunday (every Sunday during Lent there's a big parade in Antigua so folks were trying to get home). I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something other than my rumbling stomach and my building nausea. After half a mile on the road we came to a stop. This in and of itself is odd since the bus rarely stops between Antigua and Parramos, just slows down enough for people to hop out and jump in. It turns out the neighboring town was having a parade too, so we had to wait until they finished before we could pass by. Normally the trip takes 20 minutes, we were on the bus for a little over an hour and a half (by which time I was sweating profusely and trying to calm myself with deep breathing exercises). As soon as our bus pulled into town I started speed walking to NPH, the whole time weighing pros and cons of running into farmer's fields. Thank God I was able to get home before it came to that, I'd hate to try to explain that situation.
Anyway, this is a really long post just to say that I'm sick and I won't be going to work tomorrow. If my symptoms don't improve by the afternoon I'll head to the clinic and get some meds. But hey, on a positive note at least I get to sleep in tomorrow!
Parasite fun fact: Did you know that parasites can help you with your allergies? All allergies (pet, food, seasonal) are caused by a hyperactive immune system. Parasites help your body's immune system drop down to a normal level, therefore making you less likely to respond to allergens! Some people from the United States have even started ordering parasites online as a type of alternative allergy therapy!
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