Malaria is a horrifying disease - especially if you don’t treat it and don’t have any natural resistance (Like most white people don’t).
To solve this problem of getting deadly sick, most people take what is known as “Malaria-Prophylaxis” or more commonly known as “Malaria-Pills”. There are several kinds/compounds/drugs/brands on the market and they all the various pro’s and con’s.
Lariam (Mefloquine) is effective, fairly cheap, needs to be taken only once a week, but the side effects range from nightmares to paranoia, depression and schizophrenia.
Malarone, which is the newest and most recommended drug, is taken once a day, very effective, very few side effects – but a single pill (daily dose) costs around 6$(30dkr). Multiply that by 5 months and you are at $900(4.500dkr). Money I would rather spend elsewhere.
The final choice is Doxycycline. It’s actually an antibiotic – but seems to work as a Malaria Preventative Pill as well. You take 1 pill a day, lower dosage (100mg) than if you were treating a disease. Side effects include: sunburn and photosensitivity (though I haven’t felt anything yet) – and of course the problems that might come up from taking antibiotics non-stop for 5 months. But!: The prices for 5 months is $24(130dkr). And here comes the interesting part:
If you Google Doxycycline uses, the following things come up:
• Treatment of bacterial infections
• Acne treatment
• An alternative for the prevention of malaria
• Treatment of anthrax infections
• Treatment of rosacea
• Treatment of periodontitis (gum disease).
Bacterial Infections
Doxycycline can be used to treat a number of different types of infections caused by bacteria. It is most commonly used to treat infections such as:
• Certain types of pneumonia
• Chlamydia
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Typhus fever
• Tick fever
• Syphilis (when unable to take penicillin)
• Some respiratory or urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Plague
• Cholera
• Tularemia
• Gonorrhea
• Lyme disease.
Essentially, doxy is protecting me from a whole range of diseases (or at least that is what I like to tell myself). Kaisa had Typhoid Fever a few weeks ago – but I like to tell myself that due to the Doxy-Effect, I did not get it – since the vicious Doxy-drug butchered any typhoid bacteria that might have entered my system. (or my vaccination against typhoid worked).
I’m not a doctor – so I don’t know if this is actually true. Can antibiotics be used as a prophylaxis against say – bacterial infections from wounds and food?
If it can – well, that’s the Doxy Effect for you. The best externality Malaria-Prophylaxis can get you!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
"Obruni Magic”
“Obruni” is the Twi (local language in southern Ghana) word for “white person” or “foreigner”. Wherever we go we are always addressed as “Obruni”. The sales women will yell, “Hey Obruni – what do you want”. People on the street will say “Hey Obruni”, and all the children I come by always yell “Obruni, Obruni, Obruni” while waving aggressively.
Usually when I’m out in town or just playing with all the kids, who hang out at the night market close to my building, I’ll do one of my two magic tricks that I’m really proud of. They are both very simply, but advanced enough to trick a 5-year old, which I find great amusement in (you have no idea how much street respect you get from doing magic in a quite superstitious society). One of the tricks is an old one my dad used to do when I was a kid. It involves me removing my thumb and then reattaching it again. It looks quiet real – but works best on children. (For some reason most grown-ups are too smart).
The other trick, which I do more frequently and in several variants, is the “make the coin disappear-trick”. I’ll take a coin (or a stone), put it in my hand, close my hand and make it disappear. The kids usually scream and look very surprised when I open my hand and the stone is not there anymore.
This has made some of the local kids give me the nickname “Obruni-Magic” – which I find quite funny and amusing. Not that I consider myself very magical – but if I can entertain some kids and make them laugh – my day is saved.
My two tricks have also found many uses beyond our little Accra World. Whenever we travel and meet some kids, I always pull one of them off. Almost always the reaction is surprise, joy and excitement. Very entertaining. It in someway proves that children all around the world are basically the same. They all love to play an have fun.
My magic skills were also used a lot on some of the longer journeys in 2009 in Sierra Leone. I remember once when Clem and I got stuck in a little tiny village, cause out motorbike ran out of fuel. The driver borrowed a regular bicycle and biked 2 hours back-and-forth to the nearest village to get some fuel. In the meantime we entertained the entire village with magic and - despite the language barrier - made very good friends with the elders and the people not out working the fields.
So yeah – if you ever come to Ghana and hear someone yell “Obruni Magic” – I’m probably not far away. (Or someone copied my tricks!)
Usually when I’m out in town or just playing with all the kids, who hang out at the night market close to my building, I’ll do one of my two magic tricks that I’m really proud of. They are both very simply, but advanced enough to trick a 5-year old, which I find great amusement in (you have no idea how much street respect you get from doing magic in a quite superstitious society). One of the tricks is an old one my dad used to do when I was a kid. It involves me removing my thumb and then reattaching it again. It looks quiet real – but works best on children. (For some reason most grown-ups are too smart).
The other trick, which I do more frequently and in several variants, is the “make the coin disappear-trick”. I’ll take a coin (or a stone), put it in my hand, close my hand and make it disappear. The kids usually scream and look very surprised when I open my hand and the stone is not there anymore.
This has made some of the local kids give me the nickname “Obruni-Magic” – which I find quite funny and amusing. Not that I consider myself very magical – but if I can entertain some kids and make them laugh – my day is saved.
My two tricks have also found many uses beyond our little Accra World. Whenever we travel and meet some kids, I always pull one of them off. Almost always the reaction is surprise, joy and excitement. Very entertaining. It in someway proves that children all around the world are basically the same. They all love to play an have fun.
My magic skills were also used a lot on some of the longer journeys in 2009 in Sierra Leone. I remember once when Clem and I got stuck in a little tiny village, cause out motorbike ran out of fuel. The driver borrowed a regular bicycle and biked 2 hours back-and-forth to the nearest village to get some fuel. In the meantime we entertained the entire village with magic and - despite the language barrier - made very good friends with the elders and the people not out working the fields.
So yeah – if you ever come to Ghana and hear someone yell “Obruni Magic” – I’m probably not far away. (Or someone copied my tricks!)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Water in a bag, Typhoid Fever, How to send an e-mail and other peculiarities.
Water in a bag is an extremely practical invention. Instead of buying a bottle, you buy water in a small plastic bag (locally known as sachet-water). The water from the tap is not clean enough for drinking, so you have to rely on purified water for drinking unless you want to experiment with all kinds of waterborne diseases and stomach problems. A 1L water bottle cost 1 Cedi (80US Cent, 4 Kr) and a bag of 30 Sachets with 400ml in each cost 1.35 Cedi. A lot of money to save. Plus, they are super convenient. So cool. Maybe I should try to introduce those back home. Wonder if they would be a success?
Last weekend was a stay-at-home-weekend. I spent most of my time trying to catch up with some homework. The plan was to go to Benin this weekend and take advantage of our 30 day visa for Togo. (you have to cross Togo to enter Benin, unless you want to travel 2000 Km around Togo).
Unfortunately Kaisa wasn’t feeling too good this Tuesday. She had a lot of stomach pain so decided to go to the hospital to have a check up. It turned out she had gotten typhoid fever. It sounds a lot worse than it is. Yes, she was sick and spent 2 days in bed. But the disease is easily treatable with antibiotics and if it is treated it is not much worse than a small flue. Typhoid is transferred when you eat something that has been in touch with human feces from a person who had typhoid fever. Essentially it’s important that you avoid eating shit – or make sure that the people who cook you food wash their hands before cooking – and that you make sure to wash your own hands before eating (its here the golden invention of Hand Sanitizer comes into the picture).
Last night Kaisa was already feeling better, and came by my room and hung out for a while. Hopefully she’ll be fully fine by Monday – so she’s ready to leave for Benin next Thursday.
School have been relaxing so far. It is not always the most challenging classes, yet almost always very interesting. In two of my classes (out of 5), I’m the only white/foreign student. Sometimes feels a bit weird sitting in a classroom with 200 Ghanaians and being the only white person. Especially because you really can’t hide. Fortunately the teacher in that class is really nice, even though he keeps asking me questions in front of the entire class (which is really awkward!)
Oh – and I got homework this week. My homework consists of sending an e-mail. Jep, in one of my other classes the professor asked everyone to send him an e-mail, to show him that we knew how to send e-mails. Such a different world. Think I sent my first e-mail in 1999, when I was in the US on a CISV camp. More than 11 years ago – and now we are asked (in a 4th year university course) to send one has homework. Just so different.
I’ve also got a group project for another class. One of the group members had never heard of Wikipedia. When you think about it, it’s not that strange –but for me as a student it was still quite surprising. (Just for the record, the project is actually a “real project” we have to write a 4 page critique of the modernization theory).
Having mentioned that, I have to underline that even though there are several computer cafes on campus, and many students do have computers.. However I yet have to see one bring a laptop to class (which is not the norm in Canada). I have thought a bit of brining mine, but I think it would be strange since no one else does it. Even though I miss being able to look up words or facts on the spot – as the lecture goes on.
So yeah all is well. I even started swimming. Me swimming? I know – it’s hard to believe. Me swimming? But they’ve got this 50meters (Olympic size) pool 5 minutes walk from my residence. And for the majority of the time, the pool is completely empty – so I’ve got the entire pool to myself. Quite ideal for swimming. It’s especially nice when you are all soaked in sweat and the temperature reaches 30 degrees with insanely high humidity.
Last weekend was a stay-at-home-weekend. I spent most of my time trying to catch up with some homework. The plan was to go to Benin this weekend and take advantage of our 30 day visa for Togo. (you have to cross Togo to enter Benin, unless you want to travel 2000 Km around Togo).
Unfortunately Kaisa wasn’t feeling too good this Tuesday. She had a lot of stomach pain so decided to go to the hospital to have a check up. It turned out she had gotten typhoid fever. It sounds a lot worse than it is. Yes, she was sick and spent 2 days in bed. But the disease is easily treatable with antibiotics and if it is treated it is not much worse than a small flue. Typhoid is transferred when you eat something that has been in touch with human feces from a person who had typhoid fever. Essentially it’s important that you avoid eating shit – or make sure that the people who cook you food wash their hands before cooking – and that you make sure to wash your own hands before eating (its here the golden invention of Hand Sanitizer comes into the picture).
Last night Kaisa was already feeling better, and came by my room and hung out for a while. Hopefully she’ll be fully fine by Monday – so she’s ready to leave for Benin next Thursday.
School have been relaxing so far. It is not always the most challenging classes, yet almost always very interesting. In two of my classes (out of 5), I’m the only white/foreign student. Sometimes feels a bit weird sitting in a classroom with 200 Ghanaians and being the only white person. Especially because you really can’t hide. Fortunately the teacher in that class is really nice, even though he keeps asking me questions in front of the entire class (which is really awkward!)
Oh – and I got homework this week. My homework consists of sending an e-mail. Jep, in one of my other classes the professor asked everyone to send him an e-mail, to show him that we knew how to send e-mails. Such a different world. Think I sent my first e-mail in 1999, when I was in the US on a CISV camp. More than 11 years ago – and now we are asked (in a 4th year university course) to send one has homework. Just so different.
I’ve also got a group project for another class. One of the group members had never heard of Wikipedia. When you think about it, it’s not that strange –but for me as a student it was still quite surprising. (Just for the record, the project is actually a “real project” we have to write a 4 page critique of the modernization theory).
Having mentioned that, I have to underline that even though there are several computer cafes on campus, and many students do have computers.. However I yet have to see one bring a laptop to class (which is not the norm in Canada). I have thought a bit of brining mine, but I think it would be strange since no one else does it. Even though I miss being able to look up words or facts on the spot – as the lecture goes on.
So yeah all is well. I even started swimming. Me swimming? I know – it’s hard to believe. Me swimming? But they’ve got this 50meters (Olympic size) pool 5 minutes walk from my residence. And for the majority of the time, the pool is completely empty – so I’ve got the entire pool to myself. Quite ideal for swimming. It’s especially nice when you are all soaked in sweat and the temperature reaches 30 degrees with insanely high humidity.
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