Ma, I got Salmonella!

Cipro for Salmonella, originally uploaded by shuebox.

Once my Mom reads this, she is literally going to 'freak out' but it is no mystery that I contracted the bacteria from freshly cut fruit from a woman with very dirty hands.  I should have known better than to eat fruit cut from a vendor with greasy nails, but she never actually touched the fruit, but the knife could have been dirty.  Either way, I am sick.

It all started Wednesday evening when I woke up in the middle of the night and made a quick dash to the toilet.  Without gory details, I had a pretty watery contribution and it was nothing but a little bird dropping size.  I went back to bed and Thursday morning woke up at 6am with an incredibly high fever.  I thought it would just be a passing diarrhea spell, but the fever persisted all day and night so I hardly ate.

The photo above is how clear my vision was because of the high fever, dizzy bouts and sheer tiredness.  For lunch I made myself some Jook, the tasteless rice porrige, but couldn't stomach even a small bite.  So I didn't actually eat any of it until dinner time.  Instead I ate a handful of cereal and slept the entire day away.

I woke up at 3pm and needed water, so as I walked to the kitchen, I could barely stand.  So, I sat down at the kitchen table to steady myself and then had a 45 minute fever-chill.  I was sweating through my shirt and pants, and felt on the verge of vomiting, but couldn't.  There wasn't anything in my stomach.  So once that was over, i collapsed in bed, my legs dangling off the side, but being so weak, I couldn't bring myself to get into bed properly.

Then, I woke up at dinner time and felt slightly hungry, so I ate two small bowls of Jook and went back to bed.  I spent 10+ hours in the day sleeping, but then couldn't get to sleep at 11pm.  So I read a book, while tossing and turning throughout the night.

Today, I woke up and felt the same.  I decided to go to the western doctor clinic, Grace Project, and get good straight forward advice.  It is amazing how quickly a doctor can diagnose a problem by just hearing the symptoms, rather than most Chinese doctors who just make to take a half-days worth of test to find out simply nothing.  Because in china, most doctors are under-trained and unqualified to really assess the problem and the test only serve to confuse them more, since they only know when something is extremely off.  I find it is easier to just talk about the problem and use the symptoms to help diagnose.

Now, I am on 500mg of Cipro twice a day for the next 10 days.  I am suppose to only eat mild food; like bananas, yogurt with live culture and rice.  As of now, I feel like a big piece of unmovable poo.  My fever is down, but body and head aches are crushing any clear thinking.  My appetite is severely down so I just want to sleep all day to get through the lack of energy.

According to the doctor, Salmonella could have easily been trasmitted through dirty food, reptiles and uncooked eggs.  The night before I got sick, I went to the bird and flower market with my friend Quita, and helped a little turtle flip back over onto is belly; ate the dirty fruit from a vendor with dirty hands but I think it was from the knife; and had two eggs for dinner (but I always over cook my eggs to avoid Salmonella).  So all in all, I pretty much hit all the bases for contamination.

Salmonella is a bacteria found in poultry, eggs, unprocessed milk and in meat and water. It may also be carried by pets like turtles and birds (www.netdoctor.co.uk).  Symptoms include:

•   Diahrrea and Consitaption
  
•   Headaches
  
• Stomach cramps
  
• Nausea and vomiting
  
• Fever
  
• Possibly, blood in the feces

Thankfully I don't have a severe case and have blood in my feces, but check on the rest of the list.

And to prevent Salmonella in the future, pay attention to cleanliness and be sure all food is throughly cooked.  All things I look out for, but I still got caught with this bacteria.

Comments

[Quita]

All I know, is that a. it wasn't from the fruit and b. it's not my fault.

;o)

Glad you're better! I think I have an ear infection and am heading to the Thai MD tomorrow.

ADMITTEDLY, IT WAS DEFINATELY NOT FROM QUITA, ALTHOUGH SHE WANTED THE HAMI MELON THAT CAUSED ME TWO DAYS OF HIGH FEVER AND DIAHRREA. SO THAT WOULD MAKE YOU MILDLY RESPONSIBLE, DO I HAVE A CASE, MS. ST. JOHN?