For historical accuracy (#transparency) this was after the end of the BB2019 experiment but I needed to backfill a few posts and it seems super relevant.
I have spent the past 36 hours in agony with some stomach bug. Knocked on my a-s-s. Could not walk. Which gave me two good things to consider:
1. what can you have to make yourself feel better when you feel like sh*t?
2. what do I need to bring on my next big adventure just in case. I leave the US for >5months and won’t speak the language at least 4 of those months.
The digging on #1 was a mix of old fashion common sense and total bummer. This was a spasm-type situation so only an anti-spasmodic could genuinely help, but those are apparently only available with a script. Not cool FDA – since these are available in every major country. How about a little coca-cola? Also No. 1. carbonation in my belly would have been horrendously painful but 2. SUGAR!!
These damn bugs feed on sugar. I wouldn’t say I have “THE” answer on this, but I started looking at how you would grow e.coli and its friends in the lab. Agar. Basically a mix of sugar and gelatin. So at the very least, I don’t want to give them a decent growing medium within me.
So, the bread I craved to shut up my gut, the coke my mind was telling me would make things better – and here I’m getting a little absurd – were just signals from the damn bugs I want squashed. Bastards!
What probably would have been a good idea is broth, homemade chicken soup.
I did start to try that somewhere around hour 20. I have some on hand at the house, but I was too weak to get the jar open and couldn’t stand long enough to heat it anyway. (I was in bad shape)
It also may have been a good idea to take a competitive probiotic, something that would overwhelm the nasty buggies. I wasn’t willing to experiment on that just in case it went nuclear.
Worst tombstone ever: She died from Bacterial Experimentation.