- Thread starter InterestedSugoya
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Chikungunya and fashion choices
Does this work because
a. The mosquitos don't like the smell of the booze seeping through your skin, or
b. You're drunk so you don't feel the itch from the bites, or
c. Some other reason????
Same here.. no long pants, long sleeves, no bug repellent and still no screens on the windows or bug nets on the beds. The kids had nets on their crib as little babies but nothing now. Not saying this is necessary the best option as 3 out of 4 of us had chikungunya last summer, but so did about half of Cabrera regardless of how much deet they used and how much they tried to hide! Can't imagine getting all deeted up everyday, nor can I imagine long pants in this heat, and our house would be almost impossible to fully screen, so this works best for us.
Does this work because
a. The mosquitos don't like the smell of the booze seeping through your skin, or
b. You're drunk so you don't feel the itch from the bites, or
c. Some other reason????
Quinine is a cure for malaria so I was a bit off the mark. The concept of using quinine with gin tonic and lemon was introduced by us Brits in India way back to deal with the malaria problem there with employees of the East India Company.
A malty beer however is a good deterrent. In Kenya the very malty Tusker beer would do wonders to keep the mossies off you.....they would spin over your head in the scores in circles whilst you tuck into nyoma choma (roasted meats in kiswahili). It is apparently to do with the odour of a malty beer in your sweat. I'm afraid the modern lager beers don't seem to have such a strong effect but you still get a few mozzies spinning aloft.
I guess I'm a bit like harley and dv8, love the tropics, love my shorts and short sleeved T shirts and don't care, and only when in serious malaria areas revert to the 'wheel' and religiously take my anti malaria pills. I do freak out whenever a mozzie enters my living space and especially the bedroom. It becomes a hunt and destroy mission with loads of spray.
Thanks for all of the opinions folks. For DV8 and others that said they "don't care", I'm just surprised. I understand that life happens and what will be will be, but wouldn't you guys like to avoid the aches and pains associated with the chinkungunya?
I think I had it, not 100% sure but I had a flu like illness for 3 days around the time my wife got her bad case of Chicky a year and a half ago. She still has daily pain from it.
If it were something that would kill me I may care a bit more.
ah. i'm not old enough to be crippled with this. where i live there are lots of mosquitoes, i cannot live in long pants/sleeves and constant fumigation. i use mosquito coils during the night, occasionally fumigate the garden and maybe spray organic repellent on my legs. but i cannot go nuts over this. it would kill my flow to constantly worry about the dangers of tropics. if i get ill i will deal with it. if i don't, all the better.
It is Dengue that people don't want to catch. Chiki is just like the worst hang over you could possibly ever have after falling down the highest set of stairs you could ever fall down. Dengue almost killed me, and at the time I would have accepted being put out of my misery. Easy enough not to care now, but......................................
Agreed Hug
The cavalier attitude of the never afflicted will change after losing a couple rounds in the Dengue fight.....
and Chunky is bad too, I hear.
The cavalier attitude of the never afflicted will change after losing a couple rounds in the Dengue fight.....
and Chunky is bad too, I hear.
I know exactly what DV8 means. If I had to live here covered up from head to toe, constantly spraying DEET on myself, I would consider living elsewhere. Shorts and T-shirts for me. It will be 13 years full time living in Cabarete come September. I call it a calculated risk.
Influenza is a darn sight more likely for us older folks and more likely to put us out for good. And with all it's new variations a darn sight more dangerous as well as being very uncomfortable.
One doesn't let the fear overtake your life.
Good lifestyle, good diet, awareness and a strong body immune system are better causes to concentrate on.
In terms of the mosquito, be aware that it is the female that bites and they do so from dusk to dawn, so keep them out of your living space during those times and the probability diminishes exponentially. Avoid standing water of course and I would not have grass in the back yard in the tropics........millions of blades of grass onto the underside of which those mossies pass out the day.
Do I wear long trousers when out at night.....yes......reason is that I think it a more appropriate dress code. Long sleeves no. Off depending on location. Rest of the time shorts.
After baking my skin in the tropics for I don't know how many years, my skin is tough as leather and my belief is that the mossies have one look and decide that pale white form nearby has easier blood to suck. I do have a barrier of hair on my legs to act as first line of defense too.
One of my earlier tropical postings was Kenya which has a very serious malaria problem and a lot of celebral malaria, which is a 24 hour death sentence if you don't react to any malarial symptoms and go get checked. You worry at first and take the precautions and adapt. I was on a married posting with two young kids at the time so my awareness was at its peak.
Here I have seen a friend of the ex-esposa die of dengue in a matter of days through blood loss. Reason she died was she took blood thinning pain killers....awareness is key.
One doesn't let the fear overtake your life.
Good lifestyle, good diet, awareness and a strong body immune system are better causes to concentrate on.
In terms of the mosquito, be aware that it is the female that bites and they do so from dusk to dawn, so keep them out of your living space during those times and the probability diminishes exponentially. Avoid standing water of course and I would not have grass in the back yard in the tropics........millions of blades of grass onto the underside of which those mossies pass out the day.
Do I wear long trousers when out at night.....yes......reason is that I think it a more appropriate dress code. Long sleeves no. Off depending on location. Rest of the time shorts.
After baking my skin in the tropics for I don't know how many years, my skin is tough as leather and my belief is that the mossies have one look and decide that pale white form nearby has easier blood to suck. I do have a barrier of hair on my legs to act as first line of defense too.
One of my earlier tropical postings was Kenya which has a very serious malaria problem and a lot of celebral malaria, which is a 24 hour death sentence if you don't react to any malarial symptoms and go get checked. You worry at first and take the precautions and adapt. I was on a married posting with two young kids at the time so my awareness was at its peak.
Here I have seen a friend of the ex-esposa die of dengue in a matter of days through blood loss. Reason she died was she took blood thinning pain killers....awareness is key.
On a positive note;
This week for the first time since my Chicky attack in March 2014 I am off the painkillers!!
It's been a painful ride but now the ache is manageable.I was convinced that I would be left with an arthritic hip (old horse-riding injury from many years ago that came back because of the Chicky) but it seems to be fading.
There is hope folks. The older you are and the more severe the old injury seems to be a factor in curative time.
The shoulder (rugby) ankle (gym),knee (bike) injuries all from years ago went away last year but this hip still bothers but much less this week.
Hope it stays away now.
The problem is that with the Chicky mosquito it's a tiny day-biter and on many people has no effect at all but on others it can be life-changing.
My Daughter in Law got the virus and was fine just a few days later but she is young and not so damaged.Maybe that helps.
It is not lethal like malaria which is some consolation.
This week for the first time since my Chicky attack in March 2014 I am off the painkillers!!
It's been a painful ride but now the ache is manageable.I was convinced that I would be left with an arthritic hip (old horse-riding injury from many years ago that came back because of the Chicky) but it seems to be fading.
There is hope folks. The older you are and the more severe the old injury seems to be a factor in curative time.
The shoulder (rugby) ankle (gym),knee (bike) injuries all from years ago went away last year but this hip still bothers but much less this week.
Hope it stays away now.
The problem is that with the Chicky mosquito it's a tiny day-biter and on many people has no effect at all but on others it can be life-changing.
My Daughter in Law got the virus and was fine just a few days later but she is young and not so damaged.Maybe that helps.
It is not lethal like malaria which is some consolation.
who shot JR ???
Lyme disease can be debilitating if not detected and treated....
memory loss, lethargic , a laundry list
The Cdns are notoriously bad at diagnosing it.
We would get it in PA and never get diagnosed in Canada - Pa gets it in asecond
Not much Lyme's in Canada ----yet
has appeared lately
Lyme disease can be debilitating if not detected and treated....
memory loss, lethargic , a laundry list
The Cdns are notoriously bad at diagnosing it.
We would get it in PA and never get diagnosed in Canada - Pa gets it in asecond
Not much Lyme's in Canada ----yet
has appeared lately