WELS

AFRICA, Central Africa Medical M

By missions: on May 14, 2008 Topics: AFRICA, Central Africa Medical M

One of many changes I had to get used to when I moved to Malawi was sleeping under a mosquito net at night.  At first, it seemed so confining, but the net has grown into a type of security blanket for me keeping out not only mosquitoes but also every other creepy crawly creature that might try to disrupt my sleep.  Unfortunately, my net had seen better days and I decided after resorting to use a band-aid to patch the latest hole, it was time to replace my dear net.  Like most good consumers, I was so excited about my new purchase that I wanted to use it right away.  The package instructions said to hang the net outside in the shade for a full day before use, but it was already late afternoon, and I was anxious.  So, I hung my net outside on our clothesline under the shade of a tree for a few hours and determined that it was good enough.  After all, the packaging didn’t say what would happen if you didn’t follow the instructions, so I figured it couldn’t be too bad. 

Hanging the net is always the most difficult part for me, because at my height, the ceiling is a long distance away.  The net was finally resting at just the right height as a result of me balancing on the edge of a dresser on my tiptoes for most of an hour.  I was so proud of my work and was looking forward to a restful night’s sleep under my new net. 

Unfortunately, that’s not exactly what happened.  Shortly after going to bed, I noticed that the skin on my arms was tingling and burning, and I thought maybe I had been out in the sun too long.  Then I remembered that I had barely been outside at all that day and had been wearing a jacket, so I had to rule out sunburn.  The pain was getting progressively worse, and it didn’t take long for me to figure out what had caused it.  I pictured myself earlier that evening carrying my new mosquito net around in my arms, looping it over my arm while I was trying to hang it, tucking it around the bed and smoothing it out.  The chemicals used to treat the net must have gotten onto my skin and I was suffering from a chemical burn.  Although the chemicals are supposed to be safe and harmless, I’m fairly sure that is only after the net has been allowed to air out properly for an entire day according to the instructions.  In the end, I was tossing and turning most of the night repeatedly getting up to try whatever I could to soothe the burn. 

Thankfully, as part of the Central Africa Medical Mission, I have the pleasure of working with 6 nurses and a medical assistant every day and was able to receive treatment first thing in the morning.  I don’t think I caused any permanent damage, but I have noticed that the mosquitoes haven’t been bothering me at all lately.  I chalk the whole experience up to a lesson well learned and will try very hard from now on to show a little more patience and follow the instructions.