My Parasites and Me: Giardia a Little Something for All the Senses

Let me begin by saying that I am feeling much better now though I am still not straying too far from the restroom. I should also add the disclaimer that if you are squeamish or offended by the discussion of bodily functions, you should walk away now as this blog may be a bit more graphic than usual. In the interest of accurately depicting life overseas, however, it is a story that must be told.

As you may have noticed in the title, Giardia has a little something for all the senses: Let us begin with the sounds of Giardia. I woke up around 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning feeling just a little odd. Nothing too serious, but a couple of minutes later when I rolled over trying to go back to sleep I heard a rumbling in my stomach that alerted me to get up and go to the restroom and wait for the fireworks to begin. It is difficult to describe the sound. I have never heard anything like it before. I hope to never hear it again. It was very cartoonish, not the kind of sound that should be coming from inside a person. If a grizzly bear and a lion were involved in a fight to the death, that is what I imagine is the closest parallel to the noise my stomach was making.

As I made my way to the restroom, the feeling of nausea overtook me and I knew it was only a matter of time until I would have a “reversal of fortune.” I was correct, and my supper soon exited from the same path from whence it entered which brings us to the sense of taste.
If I live a thousand years I will never be able to get the awful taste of giardia induced “upchuck” out of my mind. It caused double the fun. I “blew chunks” once because of the sickness and then again because of the wretched taste. When you look up the symptoms for giardia, the information often refers to “foul” smells and tastes. That is the understatement of this or any other century. To give a little perspective, I would rather take a bite of three day dead road kill armadillo in July than taste that again. This brings us to the smells.

If it tastes that bad just imagine the smell. It is also my duty in the interest of reporting the facts to inform that all foods ingested over the course of the previous day are now exiting my body from multiple paths. In other words I am sitting on the toilet with my head in what was once my mop bucket. The three day dead road kill armadillo would be considered air freshener compared to the unfathomable stench that now hung in the air.

Now for a couple of the highlight of things I saw. Partially digested supper which was pink from the strawberry sugar wafers that I had for dessert was one item that stands out. When I thought I was finished, I left the restroom only to see the rest of the bag of strawberry sugar wafers and that just initiated round two. After that I just tried to keep my eyes closed as much as possible.

As for the sense of touch, I touched my forehead to see if I had a fever. It was mild if at all.
In closing let me give this public service announcement. Make sure that your food has been cooked thoroughly and those that prepare it are immaculately clean.

? of the day. For the joy of possibly adding to my vomit vocabulary. What is your favorite term for the act of vomiting? (There are tons of them and feel free to create your own)