Hi Everyone!

I’m sorry that this has to be my first blog update in so long but I know that many of you have heard that I’ve been sick so I wanted to write a quick update and let you all know I’m doing much better. Last Tuesday I woke up with a strange rash and my left eye was swollen. I honestly didn’t think to much of it because the rash resembled heat rash and my eye was normal by lunchtime. When I woke up the next day the rash had spread and was extremely itchy and the entire left side of my face was swollen and did not respond to benedryl. I called the medical office at Peace Corps and they referred me to a regional hospital. The hospital was a nightmare to navigate and they were convinced my problem was an eye problem since a swollen eye was the most visible symptom. I’m not sure they had any idea what to do with this crying, rash-y white girl wandering around speaking kindergarten Kiswahili. They gave me a malaria smear (non-reactive), stool sample (I’m good to go), and a vision test (my vision was not impaired). I’m not sure I ever got to see an actual doctor but I was prescribed an anti-histamine, an anti-biotic, and an anti-fungal. The diagnosis on my chart read, "Dermatitis." The Peace Corps doctor, based in Dar Es Salaam, was just as frustrated so she had me stay with a Peace Corps Volunteer who lives next to the hospital for 2 days just in case the reaction got worse. I was well taken care of with delicious food, homemade hibiscus wine, and lots of bananagrams! Soon my eye just looked like someone had punched me (as opposed to the entire left side of my face looking like it had been run over by a pikipiki) and my rash was fading so I returned to my village Saturday afternoon. Since we still hadn’t pinpointed the allergen, I greeted my neighbors and went straight to my house. Unfortunately within 2 hours my rash was red and itchy and the tear ducts in both my eyes started to swell. I took my meds, washed all my clothes and sheets in medicated soap and aired out my mattress. Despite a double dose of benedryl, I didn’t sleep that night because my body was so itchy and sure enough my eyes were swollen shut and my rash had spread over my entire body by the morning. I called medical again and they asked me to come to Dar for a check-up. I left early Monday morning but my bus broke down right outside the town of Lindi and by the time they got it working again, I would have been arriving in Dar at 3 am, which would not be safe. I was extremely fortunate and figured out that we broke down near a PCV’s site so I was able to call her and stay with her for the night. I got back on a bus Tuesday morning and arrived safely last night in Dar. My rash has already faded, although it still itches and is slowly driving me insane, and my eyes are almost back to normal. They aren’t able to do any allergy testing in any of Tanzania but we are pretty sure at this point that I’m allergic to a phenolic resin called anacardic acid that is found in the shells of cashews. It’s chemically related to the toxin in poison ivy, which I am for sure allergic to. Cashews are a huge cash crop for my village and 3 weeks ago the harvest started. To harvest the nut, the pods are placed over a fire on a metal tin. The oil in the pods immediately catches on fire and the tin burns with flames up to 4 feet tall (it’s a pretty spectacular site to watch these Mamas throwing flaming tins around outside their homes). They dump the pods on the ground and bury them in dirt to put out the flames. Once they cool a little, they hammer the shells to get out the nut. Usually my involvement in this process is sitting under the shade of a tree, talking to the Mamas while they feed me a now seemingly endless supply of cashews. Unfortunately, they think that this toxin is released into the air from the smoke of the roasting and that is what has caused this rash. Over the next few days I’ll be discussing with the Medical Office and Peace Corps Staff about what to do and I will certainly keep everyone updated. For now, rest assured that I’m feeling fine and I’m in good hands. Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers!!

LOVE,
Katie