Maladies in Congo

Well, as it goes, with short-term mission trips I (Michelle) was bound to end up with some sickness or another, and so I have. Roughly 2 weeks ago I woke up with a stomachache and fever, which I took medicine for and the next day felt like my old self. Still it seemed like my body was set to revolt against me, as a few old mosquito bites became infected and have stayed that way long after my fever had gone. I tried treating them myself as I would in the US (washing with soap and water and applying anti-biotic ointment), but them seemed to get worse by the day. I decided to tell Lute (the wife of the director of Elikya) who is trained as a nurse. I told her how I had been treating my Mpota (cut or sore) which had now become a small hole in my arm/leg and she in was not pleased. Instead she set to working on cleaning out my infections with some products of her own. I started reading the labels of the Kisi (medicine) she was using and saw that she was washing the it with an aloe based body spray moisturizer, she then applied an aloe based cream moisturizer, and finished with a big glob of aloe based toothpaste! I picked up the toothpaste and said, "Kisi oyo ezali mpo na mino?" (Isn't this "medicine" for teeth?) She smiled and said yes, but it's also good for healing. A couple days of this repeated treatment and things were looking better. There was still something that concerned her though, so yesterday she changed the medicine she was applying to a clear gel, and this container did look more like a tube of medicine, but on reading this label I saw it was anti-biotic eye ointment. My bites are healing and I have to say I am amazed! For instead of being healed by western medicine I have been saved by moisturizer, toothpaste, and eye ointment! (Pictures not included as they might gross you out)