Inside-Out Fever
People at home ask me: During our 5 & 6 months in southeast Asia, did we ever get sick?
Yes.
When we left, there was no recommendation of special shots or pills to take in advance for Indonesia. We washed our hands often. Many public spaces (such as restaurants & temples) have hand-washing sinks right there in the main rooms. I kept hand sanitizer gel in my purse & a big bottle of it on the kitchen counter: the first thing we did whenever we returned home was squirt that over our hands. We drank bottled water & took some care not to eat foods involving unboiled water.
Thankfully, we did not contract malaria, dengue, yellow or typhoid fever, typhus, bird flu, or any other serious tropical disease that once made these ports such catastrophically mortal hazards, & trouble the country still. We stayed away from the flooded areas as best we could, where people were starting to see water-related disease.
A big public awareness campaign against malaria focused on getting people to bury plastic containers in the ground (vs. leaving them on the ground)...so that these didn't collect water & become breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes.
For generally healthy people, however, we did get sick often: about once a month, but nothing serious.
The plane trip to Jakarta landed both of us with bad colds. Vectors of water, food, children, pollution, hexes & germs all contributed to a well-rounded experience of minor knock-outs. What I came to call Inside-out Fever wrung me out twice. What is that? I suspect it's a kind of food poisoning. Imagine your body making a heated, 36-hour attempt to expel your insides, all at once.
Some fun, eh? For the most part we were just fine. Everything cleared up the day I landed in Singapore. Because the Singaporeans have gone at food standards, disease & pollution with the law of hammer & tongs. They mean business.
Yes.
When we left, there was no recommendation of special shots or pills to take in advance for Indonesia. We washed our hands often. Many public spaces (such as restaurants & temples) have hand-washing sinks right there in the main rooms. I kept hand sanitizer gel in my purse & a big bottle of it on the kitchen counter: the first thing we did whenever we returned home was squirt that over our hands. We drank bottled water & took some care not to eat foods involving unboiled water.
Thankfully, we did not contract malaria, dengue, yellow or typhoid fever, typhus, bird flu, or any other serious tropical disease that once made these ports such catastrophically mortal hazards, & trouble the country still. We stayed away from the flooded areas as best we could, where people were starting to see water-related disease.
A big public awareness campaign against malaria focused on getting people to bury plastic containers in the ground (vs. leaving them on the ground)...so that these didn't collect water & become breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes.
For generally healthy people, however, we did get sick often: about once a month, but nothing serious.
The plane trip to Jakarta landed both of us with bad colds. Vectors of water, food, children, pollution, hexes & germs all contributed to a well-rounded experience of minor knock-outs. What I came to call Inside-out Fever wrung me out twice. What is that? I suspect it's a kind of food poisoning. Imagine your body making a heated, 36-hour attempt to expel your insides, all at once.
Some fun, eh? For the most part we were just fine. Everything cleared up the day I landed in Singapore. Because the Singaporeans have gone at food standards, disease & pollution with the law of hammer & tongs. They mean business.
posted by Anne E. Campisi at 1:13 PM
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