Living in a tropical climate, exposes you to new medical challenges. Bacteria grow fast and there are a range of diseases and afflications westerners are not familiar with. Recently I met 2 older westerners who have fungal / parasitical problems (and we’re not talking about their girlfriends!).
One guy has lost a large percentage of the melanin on his forearms (vitiligo) which he told me was a fungal infection. He got this since moving to Bali and has taken steps to prevent it from spreading. He told me it was only a matter of weeks, since the thing started, and left him with large pink patches. I guess that’s one disease I don’t have to worry about, not having much melanin to start with.
Another older fellow (61) told me he was suffering from some kind of intestinal parasite (probably picked up in India). He’s getting colonics on a regular basis, and is taking a couple of table spoons of apple cider vineger a day. He reckons for a healthy person, that is a good way to prevent intestinal parasites while travelling, as the parasites don’t like the ph level. Anyway, he’s probably going to have to get properly diagnosed sooner or later. Yet another long term expat, who also had been living in India, told me months ago, that he has suffered from gas, stomach pains etc. for 12 years, thinking it was ‘just part of living in the tropics’, before getting it taken care of at a hospital in Thailand. This guy had been taking medication from Bali doctors, with no success.
In tropical places you gets fungal infections easily, on parts of the body that do no get sufficient ventilation. Wearing socks and athletic shoes, tight thick underwear, sitting / driving for long periods etc, can create conditions for fungal infections. My guidebook’s advice, echo’s what most people do in Bali, which is to wear loose fitting clothing, change towels and underwear often and dryy them in sunlight. If you do get a fungal infection, expose it to sunlight, keep it dry and ventilated, clean with disinfectant and dry well.
Intestinal worms can enter your body, through under cooked meat, or through your skin. They are not generally life-threatening, but should be dealt with if detected. You’ll know there’s something going on if your anus is itchy. Visit a doctor and he should fix you up with medication. (Some of the expats I know drink so much, I would be amazed if anything could survive inside them).
I guess the writing is on the wall. If you live in Bali and get some kind of strange symptom, get it checked out in Singapore / Thailand / Australia, otherwise they’ll keep giving you a ‘bandaid’.
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One of the most common forms of fungus infection, anywhere in the world, is Candida. The most common symptom is a rash in the genital area, which can become extreme. This condition is usually known as Thrush. It can be particularly bad in hot, humid climates.
Like other fungus organisms, Candida flourishes in hot, damp situations, such as inside wet bathers. A substantial proportion of the general population is susceptible to Candida infection, but most people probably don’t really know what it is, what is causing it, or what is making it worse. Or, if they do, they don’t choose to do anything constructive about it.
Think about the number of people who practically live in wet bathers, lying next to the hotel pool, or on the beach, for literally hours on end. A leaflet on Candida which I picked up from a local pharmacy [in Australia] advises people to dry themselves promply and thoroughly after swimming or bathing.
The same organism can also cause ringworm on other parts of the body. Candida infection can become systemic, ie go through your body, and cause a whole range of distressing [and even potentially dangerous] health conditions.
For an excellent overview, read The Yeast Syndrome by John Parks Trowbridge MD and Morton Walker DPM. ISBN 0-553-27751-0.
Of course we can always ignore the known causes and just carry on buying things to treat the symptoms with, and this is the approach understandably promoted by most of those with vested interests.
I have just gone to a nautropath that has diagnosed me with this parasite that I must have gotten from Bali when I visited there in 2000. I have had bloating and all the mentioned problems since but never thought it would be from Bali. I had been to doctors that diagnosed it at IBS…. Very similar symptoms but I never was realeived of it. I am on my first course of anti-parasitic tablets to get rid of it, so I will see what happens from there but it does definatly seem to be what my problem is.
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