So, the word is that you´ve all been waiting for an update from Peru! (Thank you, Nicole for your post yesterday!) I´m sure you´ve all been wondering, "what were Simone and Nicole doing that was so important that kept them from writing in their blog for over a week?!" WELL, we have a very good reason... Actually, THREE good reasons: Typhoid Fever, Salmonella and Giardia!
Wow! After 1 entire day spent in bed (minus the multiple bathroom visits) and 4 days of continued mild sickness and exhaustion, I finally decided to go to the Doctor. Note *If you have diarrhea for more than 2 days, and are living in a foreign country, it is strongly suggested to go to get checked...because you probably have parasites!
***If you are in (Cuzco) Perú and Get Sick and if you have these same symptoms as above, go to get checked!
Here is the Process:
1. Collect poop sample (heces)
2. Bring sample to a nearby Clinic - I went to the Clinica Paredes, just located near the Centro. It was suggested to me by a few Peruvians because it is typically cheaper than going to see a Doctor. If you´re in Cuzco, ask any taxi driver for "La Clinica Paredes" and they´ll take you there. There is also the Clinica Pardo, which I´ve heard is a little more expensive... but oh well, it´s all still a whole lot cheaper than any Clinic in the U.S!
3. Go to the Clinic´s Laboratory (Laboratorio) and Get a blood test and give the technician (Nurse = Enfermera) 70 Soles ($25 US) and oh, don´t forget your lovely smelly sample - which I carried via taxi in a plastic disposable cup wrapped in a plastic bag - doubly wrapped. Twice!
4. Option A. Go to the Dr. to get a Prescription. Here´s the tricky part - The nurse advised that my sample contained a $%i&load of parasites aaah! and that I needed to get antibiotics intravenously and that I needed to see a Dr.
However, I had told La Enfermera beforehand that I did not want to go to the Doctor, as I was a volunteer and did not have that much money. But she strongly suggested that I go get more money from my house, since I only came with 100 Soles...
So I did... and I picked up Nicole along the way and told her to come with and get tested with me, because, even though she didn´t have the same symptoms as me, we had been eating the same food and she probably had the same yucky things that I did!
We both got tested, and both test showed that we had the same yucky things, except for my exams contained 3x as many parasites as hers! Gosh, was I lucky to feel as good as I did with test results as nasty as those! Because I knew I had so many bacteria and parasites, I was nervous and therefore, the nurse talked us into going to the Doctor.
4. Option B. If you´re traveling through Perú and you´re totally strapped for funds and you get sick and would like to get medicine cheaply, I would suggest avoiding the Dr.
*** Note: The U.S death, I mean, health care system is a lot different than apparently many other countries, including Perú. Unlike in the U.S, in Perú you do not have to go to the Dr. before getting lab tests. You can go straight to the Lab, get your test, your results and then go to the Pharmacy from there. (Pharmacists are trained to know about diseases just as much as Doctors so they totally able to prescribe your medications!) ***
This time around Nicole and I decided to go to the Doctor...But if I have to do it over again, I will now know that I can avoid the Doctor´s fees by going straight to the pharmacist (farmacóloga).
5. Go to the Pharmacist and get your meds! (We paid about 60 soles for 2 types of antibiotics for all 3 diseases. I bought 2 pills of tylenol for my fever, and we also bought electrolyte packets to put into water to help with dehydration which cost ed .50centimos each).
....While on the Meds...(and from now on while in Perú):
The pharmacist advised that we only eat cooked food: vegetables, chicken, rice, beans; and that we must prepare our own meals, because it is common for people to not wash their hands here (there is rarely soap in public bathrooms). If we do go to a restaurant, we are supposedly supposed to ask the waiter to wash their hands! (yeah right!) If we are to eat fruit, we must only eat fruit that we can peel (ie. bananas, oranges). Oh, and then if we eat any other types of fruits we must thoroughly wash the fruit with bottled water. We were advised not to eat onions because they absorb bacteria and parasites... but they didn´t mention potatoes, which also grow underground... hmm?...
We could have gotten Giardia from brushing our teeth, as all the water here contains Giardia. It usually dies when you boil the water. I have a hard time believing that ...? The typhoid fever... from unwashed poopy hands, and the salmonella... we´re not exactly sure, but another friend of ours that stayed at the same hostel shared a Pisco Sour - the drink from Perú that contains egg whites!! With all of our restrictions, we are happy to say, Mamas, that we now feel safe and comfortable while we are staying with our friend Victoria, a friend of Emily´s. Along with a nice place to stay, we have a beautiful, clean kitchen to prepare our own food and the comfort of a nurturing friend!
*Thank you, Emily for Your Wonderful Magical Connections!
*Thank you, Victoria! You offered your house to us at perfect timing!
2. Bring sample to a nearby Clinic - I went to the Clinica Paredes, just located near the Centro. It was suggested to me by a few Peruvians because it is typically cheaper than going to see a Doctor. If you´re in Cuzco, ask any taxi driver for "La Clinica Paredes" and they´ll take you there. There is also the Clinica Pardo, which I´ve heard is a little more expensive... but oh well, it´s all still a whole lot cheaper than any Clinic in the U.S!
3. Go to the Clinic´s Laboratory (Laboratorio) and Get a blood test and give the technician (Nurse = Enfermera) 70 Soles ($25 US) and oh, don´t forget your lovely smelly sample - which I carried via taxi in a plastic disposable cup wrapped in a plastic bag - doubly wrapped. Twice!
4. Option A. Go to the Dr. to get a Prescription. Here´s the tricky part - The nurse advised that my sample contained a $%i&load of parasites aaah! and that I needed to get antibiotics intravenously and that I needed to see a Dr.
However, I had told La Enfermera beforehand that I did not want to go to the Doctor, as I was a volunteer and did not have that much money. But she strongly suggested that I go get more money from my house, since I only came with 100 Soles...
So I did... and I picked up Nicole along the way and told her to come with and get tested with me, because, even though she didn´t have the same symptoms as me, we had been eating the same food and she probably had the same yucky things that I did!
We both got tested, and both test showed that we had the same yucky things, except for my exams contained 3x as many parasites as hers! Gosh, was I lucky to feel as good as I did with test results as nasty as those! Because I knew I had so many bacteria and parasites, I was nervous and therefore, the nurse talked us into going to the Doctor.
4. Option B. If you´re traveling through Perú and you´re totally strapped for funds and you get sick and would like to get medicine cheaply, I would suggest avoiding the Dr.
*** Note: The U.S death, I mean, health care system is a lot different than apparently many other countries, including Perú. Unlike in the U.S, in Perú you do not have to go to the Dr. before getting lab tests. You can go straight to the Lab, get your test, your results and then go to the Pharmacy from there. (Pharmacists are trained to know about diseases just as much as Doctors so they totally able to prescribe your medications!) ***
This time around Nicole and I decided to go to the Doctor...But if I have to do it over again, I will now know that I can avoid the Doctor´s fees by going straight to the pharmacist (farmacóloga).
5. Go to the Pharmacist and get your meds! (We paid about 60 soles for 2 types of antibiotics for all 3 diseases. I bought 2 pills of tylenol for my fever, and we also bought electrolyte packets to put into water to help with dehydration which cost ed .50centimos each).
....While on the Meds...(and from now on while in Perú):
The pharmacist advised that we only eat cooked food: vegetables, chicken, rice, beans; and that we must prepare our own meals, because it is common for people to not wash their hands here (there is rarely soap in public bathrooms). If we do go to a restaurant, we are supposedly supposed to ask the waiter to wash their hands! (yeah right!) If we are to eat fruit, we must only eat fruit that we can peel (ie. bananas, oranges). Oh, and then if we eat any other types of fruits we must thoroughly wash the fruit with bottled water. We were advised not to eat onions because they absorb bacteria and parasites... but they didn´t mention potatoes, which also grow underground... hmm?...
We could have gotten Giardia from brushing our teeth, as all the water here contains Giardia. It usually dies when you boil the water. I have a hard time believing that ...? The typhoid fever... from unwashed poopy hands, and the salmonella... we´re not exactly sure, but another friend of ours that stayed at the same hostel shared a Pisco Sour - the drink from Perú that contains egg whites!! With all of our restrictions, we are happy to say, Mamas, that we now feel safe and comfortable while we are staying with our friend Victoria, a friend of Emily´s. Along with a nice place to stay, we have a beautiful, clean kitchen to prepare our own food and the comfort of a nurturing friend!
*Thank you, Emily for Your Wonderful Magical Connections!
*Thank you, Victoria! You offered your house to us at perfect timing!
Posts
Wow. Glad to went to doctor. Hope you're treatment is right on!! Don't hesitate to go back if not really better.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Love, G and G
OMGoddess. That's quite the story. Sorry you went through that, but glad you're on the mend.
ReplyDeleteE. "Johnny"
Simone!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are better. You MUUUSSSTTT contact me ASAP though. I joined the Pan-African Student Association at Pomona and they agreed to fund the school supplies you're giving to the children. We can either send you the tangible product or submit a check, but I need info info info!!
Love you and talk to you sooooon!
Maya