The Curse of the Delhi Belly: or being Sick in India

Sitting in my bed for the 3rd day in a row and dreadfully missing the beautiful caves of Ellora and Ajanta (and my beloved fellow FSPers) I thought I’d take the chance to blog a bit about being sick in India. Because let’s face it… no one is immune to the Delhi Belly. Before our departure, Dick’s house gave us an intense rundown on medical does and don’ts, a lot of which I found roll my eyes self obvious. Oh, poor innocent Meg. Following this “easy” advice has gotten harder and harder as the weeks go on. It gets annoying to carry a bottle of water into the bathroom every time you want to brush your teeth. You start craving salads. That fresh pineapple being cut by a street vendor in the old city looks too good to resist, or you forget to tell the waiter to hold the ice in your coke and you just decide to go with it. Regardless, you wind up spending two terrible nights camped on the Tagore bathroom floor with your blanket and a trashy romance novel, and another two days curled in bed feeling exhausted and trying to force down glass after glass of rehydration salts. But although this blog is partially an outlet for a “meg’s sick pity trip” (I really miss you guys!) what I really wanted to write about are the resources available. Being sick sucks, and when you’re sick it’s hard to figure out what to do, or who to go to, especially in a new environment. The campus health center is the obvious place to go, located right on campus with free treatment, but it’s nearly an hours walk from Tagore, definitely not an excursion I was capable of at the time. So enter my heroic roommate Mia, who suggested talking to Mr. Daas our house supervisor, who immediately called me a campus shuttle to take me directly to the health center. Once at the health center and accompanied by the wonderful Jyotsna, I checked in with a receptionist and waited for a doctor. After being bypassed by nearly three patients who came in after me, I learned quickly that waiting patiently was not going to cut it. With the help of my advocate Jyotsna, I really had to push my way into a doctor’s office. Once there, after a bit of trouble communicating (who knew “vomiting” could sound so much like “warm things”?) I was given a prescription for multiple medications, which were filled immediately at the prescription counter in the front. The whole trip was relatively easy, but did feel a bit unnerving as compared to my usual medical experiences. The doctor didn’t check me out, take my temperature, or ask more than a few cursory questions. My prescriptions were snipped off of a larger disposal of pills, and I was given no clear directions about what they were, or when/how I should take them, least of all potential side effects. Luckily, I’m into my second days of meds and feeling better, so all seems to have turned out well! Last but not least, I highly suggest the healing powers of Mulan and a skype call to your mom. They do wonders!