We carry lunchboxes in the forest. As I ate my fish (alone, with radio), I felt this funny unpleasant numbness on tongue lips, then gums and all the mouth area. It lasted a while, then was gone. I wondered about the strange spice they must have used. When back to camp, Alice (the other researcher) arrived, sporting a uniform red color (even the pupils!), heart pounding, fearing a heart failure, which luckily didn’t occur. The others had an assortment of headaches, dizziness, pains. It was the fish. Trying to interpret the information we were given, first there was “yes, some people are allergic to that” (uh, at least it is cool, mysterious tropical fish..), then “well, it was just rotten fish” (no! come on, not even the charm of the exotic fish), finally a combination of the two: it is a type of fish which, if not cooked right away, produce a toxin which stays even if you then cook it (killing the bacteria that activated the toxin). Apparently the blood of the fish is used as poison for arrows (somewhere, as usual information is not the most accurate).
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Medical bulletin #3 – fish
We carry lunchboxes in the forest. As I ate my fish (alone, with radio), I felt this funny unpleasant numbness on tongue lips, then gums and all the mouth area. It lasted a while, then was gone. I wondered about the strange spice they must have used. When back to camp, Alice (the other researcher) arrived, sporting a uniform red color (even the pupils!), heart pounding, fearing a heart failure, which luckily didn’t occur. The others had an assortment of headaches, dizziness, pains. It was the fish. Trying to interpret the information we were given, first there was “yes, some people are allergic to that” (uh, at least it is cool, mysterious tropical fish..), then “well, it was just rotten fish” (no! come on, not even the charm of the exotic fish), finally a combination of the two: it is a type of fish which, if not cooked right away, produce a toxin which stays even if you then cook it (killing the bacteria that activated the toxin). Apparently the blood of the fish is used as poison for arrows (somewhere, as usual information is not the most accurate).
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2 comments:
Luca, I am glad that you are ok after those 2 new medical episodes... YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!!! how is life otherwise? research?... we miss you so much
Luca! -- this sounds like fugu fish poisoning, even though they are apparently not fugu fish (which live in the sea). I am happy that everyone is fine. Take care! When are you coming back?
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