Chris Blattman

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Rhymes with penicillin

I’ve landed in Liberia with what is probably the tail end of a flu but could be the rough end of bronchitis. Today I did the rounds of drug shops looking for anti-biotics, before we head up-country. Most of the conversations went something like this:

“How are you?”

“Thank God.” (This is Liberian for ‘just fine’)

“Do you have septrim or septra?”

“Yes, here you go.”

“Hmm. This drug starts with the letter S, but it’s not septrim.”

“You take it boss. This one helps.”

“Um, how about penicillin?”

“Oh yeah-o. We got this one”

“I see. Yes, it’s true this one rhymes with penicillin. But it’s not penecillin.”

“You take it, boss. It’s good for the malaria.”

I’m beginning to understand the life expectancy statistics.

Don’t worry, Mom, septra was eventually found.

8 Responses

  1. Haha. The great news is you don’t need a prescription!

    On a sidenote, Cipro has never helped me. Namely because the problem for me is usually an amoeba, against which Cipro will do diddlysquat. Nobody in travel medicine in the states tells you this though, I don’t know why. What you do need is copious amounts of ghastly pills that include way to many x’s and z’s in their names. And they make your mouth taste like tin for days. Mmmmmm.

    Hope you feel better…

  2. Once I broke out into a terrible rash while in Liberia – it covered my body, itched like crazy and bright red. Still don’t know what it was.

    So, at the pharmacies I went to (in Central Monrovia), I was offered:

    Nivea hand cream
    Band-aids
    Rehydration salts

    Luckily it went away on its own.

  3. ala CIPRO

    It’s broad spectrum but not good against the flu…which no anti-biotics are….in any case a day or two at the wonderful tent camp at Robertsport should set you straight…be well

  4. That coughing flu has been around our lab (… at Yale) for the past couple months. Really horrible. You’ll be coughing for a couple weeks after you start feeling better.

  5. Don’t forget to check the expiry date! Hope you’re feeling better soon.

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