What could we have eaten?
I wonder!!!! Was it one of the at-least-twice-a-day curries or the treeful of rambutans or perhaps the Mee Rojak, which we have on good authority (and I quote) "Some meerojaks (cousin to small, stripey, weasly African animal what stands on its hind legs looking cute in telecommunication ads) burn a hole in yer bum, so beware of indulging prior to train trip."
I suppose it could have been any of the above. The eldest member of the party was first to fall, followed quickly and significantly by the smallest. By morning the two remaining adults were suffering too.
What were the odds? 80% of foreign travellers to South East Asia end up with Delhi Belly. That means only two of us can hope to escape it;-) Thankfully we are so far only mildly afflicted, and hopefully the Little One will feel a whole heap better as she sleeps the day away under a fan. Must say, though, that our stash of Loperamide is looking smaller here than it appeared sitting on our dining room table a month ago. Back then it seemed excessive; now we’re hoping there’ll be enough – you can take eight of those little green tablets a day!
Speaking of our medical supplies, I’ve got to put in a good word for a natural remedy. Lavender oil. Of course it’s supposed to be good for whatever ails you, but in particular (in spite of precautions taken we have been night-time fodder for some local mozzies) the lavender oil works a miracle in taking away the itch. We even did a semi-scientific experiment and left one untreated to check that these were not itchless mozzies…….within minutes the treated spots were bearable, but the control spot only worsened. Don’t leave home without your lavender oil!
We have added one item to our medicine bag……a red tin of Agnesia Antiseptic Dusting Powder. It really does help prickly heat rashes, even though we are currently unable to store it below the recommended 30 degrees Celsius in a dry place seeing as the temperature does not drop that low and the humidity is high! It still works.
Prevention is always better than cure. But I think some of us have got a wee bit dehydrated. We are drinking three, four, five times as much as usual, but it’s still not quite enough. Some of the gang have had a woozy feeling on and off; it feels like the building you’re sitting in is moving, but everyone else assures us it’s not!
The only other problem we have had (apart from J12’s hammered finger which came right with the help of a compression bandage) are my feet. Well, not that they’re a problem; I mean they don’t hurt, they get me from point A to point B (and too fast according to Grandpa who was beseeching me to slow down and conserve energy), but they are swollen. Big puffy elephant paws (not that elephants have paws, but it’s what they’d look like if they did), each with five sausages poking out of the end. Putting them up at night and for the whole morning today has not helped at all. Maybe I’ll soak them in iced tea and rub on some lavender oil.
Tags: food, health, postcard: Malaysia, quote, toilet
rayres
oh no, I hope you all get over the bug quickly. I know for me i’m cautious about drinks with ice unless it is ice made at home. Hard though in that heat huh?
And oh, is the mee rojak the indian or chinese kind? Not that it would have made much difference in terms of being the culprit food, I guess.
Hope you’re all feeling 100% soon….reminds me of a certain weekend at the Lake!!! Have you had your feet REALLY up, like lying on the floor or bed with them halfway up the wall? Nothing like heat and being on them all day to make them elephantish. Love Rx
Hope the Delhi Belly gets better soon…and everyone else doesn’t succumb.
For the dehydration…salt and sugar in your drinks,says I after the doctor rold me that plain water would not rehydrate me when I almost fainted.
K
x
Thank you my doctors! Salt and sugar….well we haven’t been doing the salt, but we have been letting the kids drink Sprite and tea!
No Rosie, not really really up. But I haven’t been out today (home with the little two) and I’ve just been lying on the couch with a little lady draped over me. They stlil lool like a preggy lady’s feet, so I might just find a wall to hang them on;-)
Yuck… glad things are settling down somewhat.. If you can find probiotic drinks like Yakult or Vitagen, they have lots of good bacteria that might be helpful to settle the stomach and improve tolerance to certain foods!
Hope your feet come right soon… Could it be fluid retention (edema) that is caused by too much salt intake, esp as you’ve been eating out a lot. Sorry… another wannabe doctor trying to be helpful! 😛
You guys need to hit the Coke. Drink a 1.5 litre – no bugs will survive it. Battery acid also achieves the same thing, but the side effects are a bit more extreme.
Seriously, Reg swears by it for crook guts.
Try charcoal tablets
just popping back to edit my comment but there’s no edit function. I was thinking of Rojak of which there are two kinds. Mee Rojak is something else entirely different. (In case my first comment came across as racist!)