Surgeon General's warning

Just ask my civilian job’s term life insurance provider.  War is never a healthy investment, but it gets compounded when the environment is toxic.  But then again, when was the last time we fought a war in a paradise or much yet a developed country?  I guess that’s why my civilian insurance policy doesn’t cover me in case of death during war.

When I in-processed into my new unit on this base last week, I went through a number of stations.  One of which was the TMC (troop medical clinic).  They gave me my standard brief which included their hours of operation, make sure to take my anti-malarial prophylactic medication, and to run inside on the treadmills and not outside around the compound because the air quality here in Kabul is so poor.  They didn’t have to tell me twice not to run...

The anti-malarial medication comes in two types:  doxycycline and mefloquin, and basically you have to choose your poison.  I was advised by the doctors at the mobilization station to take doxy because meflo will give you “vivid dreams”.  I argued that doxy upsets my stomach badly and I really wouldn’t mind more vivid dreams.  They didn’t listen apparently and prescribed me six months of doxy.  After a week of taking the doxy I knew I wasn’t going to be able to handle this for the rest of my year here, so the other day I went to see the medics to be put on meflo.  I started taking it yesterday so we’ll see how “vivid” my dreams get.  My question is can I choose which dreams come in vividly?

If you get grossed out easily, you may want to skip this next paragraph.  So if you’re still reading, I will assume you want to know more.  Well, I learned yesterday I have an allergy to rubber.  More specifically, I have an allergy to the rubber in those tight Under Armor type shirts.  The shirt I’m wearing in the picture while taking my concrete nap is a combat version of those skin tight shirts.  So I found out, wearing it for 24 hours or more and sweating profusely creates an allergic reaction under my arms.  Lucky me, I get to take Benadryl and hydrocortisone cream, and I can add that to my list of environmental allergies.

To top it all off, I picked up something.  No, I’m not talking about a cool trinket at the bazaar yesterday.  I picked up some type of food poisoning.  Apparently the man at the Ministry of Education from the other day either knew my future or put a hex on me as I’m writhing in pain from a belly ache every hour or so.  It started yesterday and has gotten progressively worse.  The TMC won’t open until the morning so I hope I can sleep well through the night.  Remember, I want to try out those vivid dreams.

In any case, I didn’t come here expecting this place to be a health resort. (Although there is a small day spa operated by the PX I’ve promised myself to try)  I’d just like to not be put in the hospital from everything else around me.  I figure that the threat of combat is enough that I don’t need to battle the environment as well.  There should have been a warning from the surgeon general on my paperwork when I joined the Army stating that the possibility of going to war is dangerous to my health.

More to follow.