Not the Doctor

July17 2006

Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good is that I am taking the bad news surprisingly well. The bad news is that I have developed scabies from the toddlers that I work with. It sounds terrible and I tears fell from my eyes when the doctor told me on Saturday but it is just a skin irritation. My hands and feet have hundreds of tiny blister like sores on them. The gross part is that these are from tiny mites that have burrowed their way into the top layer of my skin and laid eggs. I am appalled at how I am taking the whole ordeal but I guess you deal with whatever comes your way. It is common to catch scabies when working with young children at an orphanage. Most of these poor little people suffer from more health conditions then just scabies.

I have treated it as informed by the doctor. It is very uncomfortable – my hands and feet are unbelievably itchy. But I can deal. I have been doing fine. The shoe fits – so I am wearing it!! I am taking a couple days off from Bal Mandir for this skin infection to clear up. I am hoping that it will not reoccur. Last week was unusual circumstances anyways. I was taking care of the children in their bedroom from 12-3pm. In the morning they have school, which is a room directly below their bedroom and looks like a typical child’s classroom. The kids only had a half a day at school last week because the regular teacher was sick. Normally, my entire workday would be spent in the classroom. There, I play with them – there are a lot of toys, photographs, school supplies to keep them occupied. The children’s bedroom isn’t very sanitary. I’m sure you can just imagine how dirty little kids can be. Well, imagine about 20 of them in one room with no toys, nothing colorful on the wall, and not a thing stimulating for a child and at least half running around with no diapers! They pee all over the place! It is difficult to stay germ-free. Soap and warm water is not so readily available like it is home. Actually, I have yet to see a child getting washed in any form or fashion. They all have buzzed heads – the girls and the boys. This makes head lice less likely for them. So, the fact that they run around diaper-less helped me in the beginning to decipher which kid was a boy or girl!

Scabies is usually spread from the infected person to another usually through being intimate. When I was working in their bedroom, I was much closer to the kids because they were often crying and wanted to be in my arms. Downstairs, I do not have such close contact. So, I am hoping that once my bug clears up, I can continue working with these cute little kids without becoming infected again.