Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes and I have a love-hate relationship. They love me and I hate them.

This relationship goes back to my childhood. If there was one person in a crowd that the lone mosquito would find, it would be me.

At camp, when we had contests to see who had the most mosquito bites, I would win every time. At times I've had over a hundred bites on my body. While I don't like getting bitten and all the itchy-itchy scratchy-scratchy that goes with it, it's never been a big deal. I've learned that if I get enough bites, I develop some immunity to them. By the end of the summer bites would appear and most would be gone in a couple of hours.

However, things are different here. Mosquitoes carry malaria. Malaria is really nasty. While it's usually just miserable, it can kill you. It kills lots and lots of people, mostly children.

There are actions to take to avoid getting mosquito bites and malaria. First and foremost, sleep under a mosquito net, a treated mosquito net--a net treated with some nasty insecticide. What it doesn't keep out, it kills. It's not just enough to have a mosquito net, you have to use it. You must tuck it in all around the mattress every night. I do. So does Bry'Chell.

Unfortunately, only eleven percent of Ugandans sleep under a net. Many who don't can't afford one. Others have different priorities. Some would rather buy minutes for their cell phone than buy a net. Since a cell phone can mean a job and a job means food, this is not as foolish as it might sound. There are many competing priorities for survival. Most people are just too poor to afford a mosquito net.

Mosquito repellent also helps. I brought a whole case of time-release repellent with DEET. We wear it. Daily. However, unless I take a bath in the stuff, some enterprising mosquito will find the one tender spot on my body that I missed. You'd be surprised where I have found bites. Yep, even there. These are some pretty ingenious mosquitoes.

Finally, there are anti-malarials, medication that provides some protection against malaria should an infected mosquito bite. I take mine faithfully. Some medication I can be less earnest about, but I take that doxycycline every day without fail. Bry'Chell would skip hers if I didn't remind her (translation; nag her unmercifully).

So, take that you nasty mosquitoes.