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Pain Days


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They call it Chikungunya and it really, really sucks.

You catch it from mosquito bites. Avoiding mosquito bites in Mississippi is pretty much impossible. We joke about them being our state bird.

I got it working in my garden I'm sure. To avoid the worst of the daily heat you work early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I always put on repellent but the little buggers think I'm delicious.

First comes a fever, a rash on your feet and then it attacks your joints. With me it hit me in the hands, knees, shoulders and elbows. For a while there wasn't much that didn't hurt.

You don't want to move. I parked myself in front of video games and played and played and played. I'm pretty much sick of them now. I didn't think that would ever happen.

I'm not really sure which is worse: the pain or the boredom. The pain isn't really horrible. It is constant and doesn't go away. It is monotonous and wears you down. It's very hard to sleep with constant pain until you are absolutely exhausted.

It's so slow watching the calendar watching the days of May and June tick away.

Now that it's going away, I try to do too much.

Upside: I lost some weight. I don't recommend the method. I'm immune and won't get it again.

I'm just glad that I'm relatively young and healthy so I could throw it off. It tends to be a chronic condition in the elderly and that would really suck.

It is a rude way to make you really appreciate good health.

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Jeezus. First the damn ticks and now mosquitoes. I'm glad to hear you're on the mend, and even gladder that you are now immune. I will definitely be staying away from your state, I have so many chronic conditions already I sound like a clock.

Be well.

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Holy hell, James! You poor man. I've never heard of Chikungunya before, but it's another fine reason not to visit strange mosquito ridden foreign climes....

This vaguely amused:

The most effective means of prevention are protection against contact with the disease-carrying mosquitoes.

And exactly how, in the real world, are you supposed achieve that?

Read and shudder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chikungunya

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The Ross River virus is thankfully is not something we have in Adelaide but just over the border in Victoria the mosquitos do carry it.

I read somewhere that if you take Vitamin B1 the mosquitos won't touch you, but on Googling, it seems like it doesn't work.

I found this which might be of help, but DEET sounds nasty:

Mosquito Control

Clip-on personal diffuser devices containing metofluthrin or a mixture of cinnamon oil, geranium oil, eugenol and peppermint oil may be an effective defense against mosquito attacks, states the “Acta Tropica” study. Clip one onto your clothing before going outside when mosquitoes are a concern. You can also apply a topical solution directly to your skin that contains N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide -- DEET -- which, according to the American Mosquito Control Association, is the standard by which all other insect repellents are measured. Citronella candles are somewhat useful for keeping mosquitoes at bay, although other smoke-producing candles may be just effective.
No wonder the aliens don't take off their space-suits and show themselves to us.
It's a wonder we live as long as we do.
Take care James.
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We tried citronella candles on our front porch in Berkeley and they seemed to attract the mosquitoes to us as a way for them to avoid the citronella.

James, how much longer will you be impacted by Chikungunya?

Colin :icon_geek:

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  • 2 months later...

It seems we can lose a pint of blood between the pool and the house. Mosquitos are just a fact of life down here near the Gulf. Want a real bite, just cavort with horse flies! Those buggers can give you all sorts of problems.

We hope you get better soon!

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  • 1 month later...

And now we know the real reason for the Brotherhood wearing those long white gowns and masks and lighting smoking fires all around the Deep South. (It's a joke, so don't go getting all offended on me, please.)

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