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My daughter is stuck on an island in Africa and can't stop throwing up.


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She is able to text me. It is in the middle of the night there, and she is camping on an island with a few other students. There is no electricity and no boats coming until morning. I don't know what else to tell her except to keep taking sips of clean, boiled water so that she doesn't get dehydrated. She is very, very sick. Any other thoughts?

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Is she heading home? Or does she still have time in country? I don't have any immediate advice, it is usually ecoli. Something like immodium sometimes helps, but not usually if you are throwing up. Probiotics like acidophilus can help her recover if she has diarrhea after the vomiting is over. If she is sick more than 24 hours, then she may need antibiotics.

 

I do have suggestions for not getting sick, especially if she isn't coming home right away.

 

Only drink sealed bottled drinks. Or water/tea that has been boiled for several minutes in your presence (not just heated). Carbonated water/drinks are a wise choice since they cannot just refill those from the tap.

 

Never use ice.

 

The only meat you should eat is chicken, it is killed and cooked on the same day most of the time.

 

Rice is fine to eat, it has been boiled.

 

No raw vegetables or fruits with high water content: lettuce, tomatoes, plums, melons, nothing like that.

 

I am sorry, you must be worried sick about your baby! :grouphug:

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I assume they have boiled or bottled water. I don't know what else. Her texts are sporadic, between her episodes. I'm not real clear of her situation. I know boats are coming in the morning. It's 5am there now. I did ask her if she has salt available, and sugar.

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Thank you for all of the suggestions. She'll be there for 5 more weeks. I believe she'll be okay once she gets back to the capital city, where she's going to school. There are good clinics there. She has been studying there for three months, and has been very careful about her eating/drinking. But now she is stranded on some island and without many resources. I haven't heard from her for 45 minutes -- not sure if that's good or bad.

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Thank you for all of the suggestions. She'll be there for 5 more weeks. I believe she'll be okay once she gets back to the capital city, where she's going to school. There are good clinics there. She has been studying there for three months, and has been very careful about her eating/drinking. But now she is stranded on some island and without many resources. I haven't heard from her for 45 minutes -- not sure if that's good or bad.

:grouphug::grouphug:

What is a mother to do.

If the odds play out, she will be fine and recover, as humans are generally quite resilient creatures. That being said, I hope she insists on being evacuated at the earliest possible time.

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Hugs. :grouphug:

 

She needs electrolytes.....salt, sugar, clean water.

 

She may also need to eat a BRAT diet for a while until it goes away (bananas, rice, apples, toast) as that is what we did growing up in Africa when we got dysentery and it helped.

 

Dawn

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I hope you hear good news from her soon.:grouphug: I can only imagine how worried you are.:grouphug:

 

Thank you for all of the suggestions. She'll be there for 5 more weeks. I believe she'll be okay once she gets back to the capital city, where she's going to school. There are good clinics there. She has been studying there for three months, and has been very careful about her eating/drinking. But now she is stranded on some island and without many resources. I haven't heard from her for 45 minutes -- not sure if that's good or bad.
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I have an update on my daughter; I was finally able to talk to her by phone for a few minutes awhile ago.

The boat came at some point in the morning, and another student who was with her hired a private taxi and accompanied her back to the capital city and to her home.

She was extremely sick all night. Throwing up every 10-15 minutes, delusional, chills... She is so relieved to be back home now, and apparently the throwing up has finally stopped (about 2 hours ago). She is really wiped but feels a little better.

She is going to try and hydrate herself, but if she doesn't feel better within a few hours, will find a clinic before the day's end. I've asked her to text me every two hours.

I'm so glad she is back in the city again where she can be helped.

Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and suggestions!

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