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Stomach bug hits Canadian Everest
10:10 a.m. EST Mar 16, 2004
Martin and Richard of the Mexican/Canadian team are on their way up to Island Peak for some pre Everest acclimatization and reached the down of Dengboche yesterday. The plan was to take an acclimatization stroll to Chukung, but Martin has come down with a stomach bug.
A case of the runs
This happens to just about everyone who travels to Nepal or climbs Everest. Whether it’s from the food or the water – nary a person makes it through an Everest expedition without getting a case of the runs. And if it escapes you while you’re there, just wait until two days after you’ve arrived back into the United States, or even worse, on the 18+ hour plane ride home.
Ride it out
What can be done about a case of the runs? Depending upon just how strong your stomach is and what form of the ailment you get, a variety of things. If you can handle it, wait it out near the charpi drinking lots of water, and avoid the antibiotics you have. These will often shorten your bout with the runs, but there are repercussions – the drugs might make you feel like crap for a couple days afterwards, especially your stomach. It kills everything, even the good bacteria.
Don’t forget your drugs
If it’s just that bad and you’ve got the amoebic dysentery, the king of all the stomach bugs, take the medicine. Just about everybody traveling in Nepal should come equipped with Cipro, Tiniba, and Flagyl. If you forgot to get it before you left, you can typically buy most of these drugs over the counter in Kathmandu.
How do you know if you’ve got the amoebic dysentery, follow the link to the left and scroll down to the subtitle, “What does amoebic dysentery feel like?”
Read up
Do your reading before you head over there to learn the different strains you can get, there’s of course the amoebic dysentery and then its lesser cousins, bacterial dysentery, and giardia. Different drugs are used to treat the different types of ailments.
On the upside, the Cannucks got their first glimpse of Everest. Today they planned on making it to Island Peak Base Camp, but depending on how Martins’ stomach feels they might take an extra day.
The team comprises two Quebecois and four Mexicans, "bound together by friendship and respect,” Andres Delgado, Luis Espinoza , Alejandro Ochoa Reyes, Martin Boileau, Richard Cartierts. The climbers will attempt Everest without oxygen (a first for Canada if successful). After Everest, Delgado will travel to Pakistan for a K2 double header.
Image of Mount Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam from a hill above Namche Baazar courtesy of Michael Brown and Serac Adventure Films. Because of the angle Ama Dablam looks much bigger than Everest. This is also probably the spot where Martin and Richard got their first glimpse of Everest.
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