Deworming

There are many aspects that one learns about when you live in a third world country. One of the advantages of having friends who have lived in Cambodia for a long time is that they can give you valuable advice on all sort of things---especially things that you were not even aware about or that were not on your radar screen. So the other day I discovered that I need to 'deworm' every 4 to 6 months. Now if you are like me and have limited medical experience and don't remember basic biology that you learned in grade 9, the first place you go to check out what deworming means is google. Surprisingly if you were to type in the word 'deworming' you will discover that you can get websites related to 'deworming dogs and cats' but there is hardly any info on deworming human beings.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing but alas, one has to have a sense of humor with such inquiries. If you take yourself too seriously in this environment and worry about all the medical issues, you will be paranoid about everything.

So my friend Catherine told me that her mission organization has all their workers deworm every six months. There is a whole new vocabulary that you learn about when you live here so I had to ask her what she meant by deworming and what was involved. Worm infestation can occur if you eat raw vegetables, dairy products, untreated drinking water, or under cooked meat. Being a carnivore, this only adds to my case to avoid veggies:-)---just kidding Mum! One website I read said: Parasites and worms once established in your body, will eat the same foods you eat or they will eat you! Great.

Deworming Medication

Thankfully one of my other friends Anne who works at Place of Rescue as the resident nurse was able to give me some details about the specific deworming medication I need to get. So today, Catherine and I went to the local pharmacy to buy Mebendazole---the cost of 3 tablets is $1.50---for whatever reason my friend only paid $1.00 for the same tablets---I think its because she looks more local than me! And in case you are wondering, you don't need a prescription to get drugs in Cambodia---but that is another story for another day.  At any rate, I have to take 1 tablet for 3 days. It is more of a preventative medication. I couldn't resist asking my friend Anne to describe the symptoms if one has worms---digestive problems, gas & bloating, explosive diarrhea (I can only imagine what that would be like--probably TMI for this blog), mucusy stools---these are just a few effects. Thankfully as far as I can tell, I have none of the symptoms so praise God I am still healthy and so far so good---no worm infestation!

So as you think of us who live and work here, do pray for the Lord to keep us healthy. He who created and formed our bodies, knows where the worms are located (if any) and so in this aspect of life as in many other dimensions, it is trusting that as He has called us here, He will protect our bodies and keep them clean from any such parasites!