Update from the front lines; Dec 11th.

[Tasselhoff]

Get Well Soon, It's good to here from you and take care fo your self.

[Katmar]

NMJ,
Good One!!! Gotta watch them nasty bugs, they'll eat ya alive.

[Taryn]

Rest up Leaford and feel better soon!

[SNM]

Hope you get well soon. Being sick away from home is for the birds.. And scary to depending on where you are..

[Adrenalynn]

Yeah, getting sick in a non-western/non-european country is horrible. Been there!

Always know the numbers for your Embassy/Consulate when traveling, they're your go-to-lifeline. International SOS for US Citizens [membership-based]. And always book with AMEX TRS [American Express Travel Related Services] - they've literally been a life saver multiple times for me. They'll solve just about ANY problem, 24/7...

I used to travel about 300 days a year - with business you have to think about things that tourists just blindly ignore. [shiver] It can get ugly out there!

Hope you're feeling better! And remember: "Chíngmahn yáuhmóh yàhn sīk góng Yīngmán a?" [Is there anyone here who speaks English?] and "Bīndouh yáuh chi sóh?" [Where's the toilet?]

[leaford]

Thanks for all the well-wishes, everyone!

ANd I just KNEW people would want to blame the fried bugs!

Seriously, insects are not inherently filthy and unclean. Just like any other food, when properly cooked they are safe. And if improperly prepared can carry food-borne illnesses. No different than chicken, beef or pork.

But in any case, I ate them Monday afternoon, and didn't start feeling any symptoms until tuesday afternoon. Food poisoning usually hits in a few hours, so it really wasn't likely the bugs.

Flu, OTOH, has a 1-4 day incubation period, so I could have picked it up anywhere, maybe even on the plane coming in.

EDITED: What what was I thinking, it wasn't monday that I had the bugs, that was Saturday's lunch. Monday night at dinner was when I ate a dish made from a guinea pig looking thing. Or might have anyway. They pointed that animal out to me in a cage outside the restaurant, and said that we were eating that, but it just tasted like beef to me.

[Mary Kay]

Leaf...just face it you got bugged! Maybe not by eating them (ugh) but by inhaling them!

[flying low]

Geez, the only time I've ever seen bugs in food was when my mom was boiling up some herbal meds (they had dried bugs in them) & she had to stand over me with a stick to make me drink it (I think it made me sicker).

Really gross about the hospital .. sorry you had to experience that. Try using bottled water for brushing your teeth or if you've the option, boil the water before using! Just remember to drink lots of tea with your food, it will cut the oil/grease down from the food (boyfriend learned this the hard way).

Good suggestion on the US embassy but they should have a tourist facility around. Feel better, Dan!

Sylvia

[Adrenalynn]

Not to be too disagreeable, but it's rare that foodborne illness would onset as rapidly as a few hours. Botulism is the only really common (other than staph) one that I can think of that would be just a few hour onset. Salmonella, which is very common there, is pretty much an 8hr onset minimum with 24-48hrs being typical. Perfringens would be 8-24hrs, Campylobacteriosis [commonly from untreated water or poorly cooked poultry, also very common there] is 2-10 DAYS for onset. Listeriosis [ditto disease vector] is also 2-10 day onset. Shigellosis is 1-7 days.

The list goes on and on - those are just the common ones with good prognosis.

This isn't intended as medical advice - I'm far from qualified for that. Just don't down-play the food borne illnesses until you've had a good diagnosis is my advice. Pretty much the most memorable souvenir a traveler can get. I can easily name off every food-borne pathogen I've had - and every place I acquired it, even years later.

[bluesuede]

I nominate Leaford for a Purple V Heart. Let's be careful out there! And don't eat bugs unless someone makes you!