The most common major health event for Peace Corps volunteers in any country is intestinal problems brought on by parasitic or bacterial infestation. Moldova is no different. Because we all drink from wells, the water we have access to is not treated and anything that might leach into the ground near a well gets into the water. And it is amazing how much shit (literally) there can be in the water.
In my mid-service checkup last week I was tested for giardia, a single-celled intestinal parasite that forms colonies in the intestines of humans and animals and causes a host of intestinal and stomach problems. I was anticipating eventually “getting giardia” because most volunteers get it sooner or later in Moldova. Those who have it usually have violent intestinal events that won’t stop until they are treated with antibiotics. This means you would KNOW that something was wrong and would seek medical attention if you had it. Normally.
The thing that I took a year to figure out is that the parasite affects everyone differently and some people have no symptoms or very mild ones. Also, there is great variance in the symptoms you can have. While some people go running to the bathroom every 30 minutes, others can’t go at all for weeks.
I had not been having any violent episodes so I assumed that things were fine but turns out, I just don’t exhibit very pronounced symptoms. Which means that, if I count up the months that I have been having the mild symptoms that I do exhibit, that I have had the parasite living off my intestinal juices for about 8 months. Nice.
The doctor at Peace Corps gave me an extremely heavy dosage of antibiotics. Apparently they are the pills that they used to give alcoholics so they wouldn’t drink. If I have a drop of alcohol in the next week I will become so violently ill that I will have to go to the hospital. Too bad for all the Moldovans having masas this week!
The thing is, giardia is spread through contaminated water. You can get it through food but then only if the food has been prepared with contaminated water – it all comes back to the wells. I boil all my water in a kettle and then filter it in a Brita filter after it cools, but apparently this has not protected me from infection. If that won’t do it then I’m almost wondering what the point of even medicating myself is since I will apparently be re-infected within a week. As of now, I have taken the meds and will see if it really changes anything. The good news is, I lived for 8 months infected without really knowing it and there are no long term dangers to carrying the parasite, so, as gross as it is, if I suspect I’m infected again I might not do anything. I don’t see the point of taking really harsh antibiotics basically for the rest of my service if it doesn’t make a difference….
But we’ll see. I might object to hosting a parasite on the principle that I am no one’s stepping stone. Not even a unicellular eukaryotic protozoa.
Noapte Buna!
