It has now been more than six months since we moved to Addis and I am utterly confounded by a peculiar medical issue. I have crops of allergic papules erupting on my extremities every evening. Let me describe the symptoms in detail first and then we can examine the clues and literature to pin point the source. I notice a ferocious itching in my lower legs usually about half an hour after returning home in the evenings and changing into pajamas. Once I start scratching, of course the itching increases and then what started as one localized red spot has soon mushroomed into a whole crop of papules, scratches, erythema and edema and more itching. Of course I know the whole mast cell degranulation-histamine release-vasodilatation cascade but when it itches, you scratch and mast cells be damned.
Thinking logically and being my fathers daughter and having inherited a fervent hatred of all indoor insects, I first blamed the ubiquitous mosquito. The problem is that mosquitoes are few and far between in Addis and of course, when the mosquito is the culprit you can hear it, see it and DESTROY it. I even contemplated a silent, invisible,ninja-Addis mosquito species for a while but as the problem persisted even with multiple mosquito repellents, I need an alternate suspect. As an aside, liquid mosquito repellents are not available in Ethiopia and you are well advised to carry it with you. I ran out and made my sister bring it in from Egypt when she visited.
Next I contemplated if an army of bed bugs was lurking in my mattress which silently emerged under cover of darkness to suck my sweet blood. So, I had the mattresses and sheets baked in the sun and sprayed the beds with whatever pesticide I could lay my hands on, to no avail. The itching and scratching continued unabated.Also, bed bugs are not microscopic so I should have caught sight of them at some point especially when I started switching on the light in the middle of the night and obsessively picking through the bed linen. My husband was not amused. Oh, and what of my husband amidst all the itching and scratching you ask. Well, he is as affected as I am but as he considers all non - Delhi places infested with phantom itch causing vermin, he is content scratching and grumbling and thinking no further about it.
At the end of my wits, I called my neighbor, an eight year old Addis veteran, to pick her brains. I had an illuminating conversation from which I gleaned the following - the phantom itch affects most Indians who move here, some more than others.There is a cream called Mos-bit on the market which is of questionable use. No one knows exactly the source of the allergy. It can be reduced by rinsing your clothes in dettol, ironing your clothes on the inside before wearing them ( heat sterilization ) and putting naphthalene balls in the cupboards.
I have instituted all the above measures and shall return from Delhi armed with naphthalene balls ready to renew the battle with the phantom menace. Return from Delhi? Well, yes. We are off to Delhi for a two week break which includes a week in the Andamans where the azure water will cure me of all dermatological defects for a while.You can do the slow burn now.
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| Tasteful photograph taken with a view to minimize the gore and skin show |
Thinking logically and being my fathers daughter and having inherited a fervent hatred of all indoor insects, I first blamed the ubiquitous mosquito. The problem is that mosquitoes are few and far between in Addis and of course, when the mosquito is the culprit you can hear it, see it and DESTROY it. I even contemplated a silent, invisible,ninja-Addis mosquito species for a while but as the problem persisted even with multiple mosquito repellents, I need an alternate suspect. As an aside, liquid mosquito repellents are not available in Ethiopia and you are well advised to carry it with you. I ran out and made my sister bring it in from Egypt when she visited.
Next I contemplated if an army of bed bugs was lurking in my mattress which silently emerged under cover of darkness to suck my sweet blood. So, I had the mattresses and sheets baked in the sun and sprayed the beds with whatever pesticide I could lay my hands on, to no avail. The itching and scratching continued unabated.Also, bed bugs are not microscopic so I should have caught sight of them at some point especially when I started switching on the light in the middle of the night and obsessively picking through the bed linen. My husband was not amused. Oh, and what of my husband amidst all the itching and scratching you ask. Well, he is as affected as I am but as he considers all non - Delhi places infested with phantom itch causing vermin, he is content scratching and grumbling and thinking no further about it.
At the end of my wits, I called my neighbor, an eight year old Addis veteran, to pick her brains. I had an illuminating conversation from which I gleaned the following - the phantom itch affects most Indians who move here, some more than others.There is a cream called Mos-bit on the market which is of questionable use. No one knows exactly the source of the allergy. It can be reduced by rinsing your clothes in dettol, ironing your clothes on the inside before wearing them ( heat sterilization ) and putting naphthalene balls in the cupboards.
I have instituted all the above measures and shall return from Delhi armed with naphthalene balls ready to renew the battle with the phantom menace. Return from Delhi? Well, yes. We are off to Delhi for a two week break which includes a week in the Andamans where the azure water will cure me of all dermatological defects for a while.You can do the slow burn now.
