Ethiopia-to Share

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Metronidazole and a Black hairy tongue- ewww

Metronidazole- is an antibiotic often prescribed to treat people and animals with Giardia. I went out to read about the drug while deciding when to take it- (before I return or after I come home from Ethiopia- knowing that another treatment on arriving home will be likely). Loving Wikipedia- I just had to go out and review what was written on it-before persuing a more reliable resource..

"High doses and/or long-term systemic treatment with metronidazole is associated with the development of black hairy tongue, leukopenia, neutropenia, increased risk of peripheral neuropathy and/or CNS toxicity."

I seriously began to think-Hey, I can continue to live "a-symptomatic with Giardia"-but a black hairy tongue- now I can't live with that! NO Way. I don't care how "temporary said condition is"! Call me shallow-but ewwwww!

The Mayo Clinic says the following about "Black Hairy Tongue" but I still think it sounds disgusting:

"A black, hairy tongue is a temporary, harmless condition" (*harmless provided that you can hide in your house through entire treatment I'm guessing-laugh)..

"It typically results from an overgrowth of bacteria — and sometimes yeast — in the mouth. These organisms accumulate on the tiny projections of the tongue — called papillae — and cause discoloration. Certain types of bacteria and yeast make red blood cell pigments (porphyrins) that can give the tongue a black appearance. In some cases, the tongue may also appear "hairy" due to more rapid growth of papillae or an interruption of the normal shedding of cells by the tongue."

My oh my how the joys of travel...sometimes continue even when you've been home awhile-laugh. (please note the picture is not of my tongue- my tongue is still a nice pink color)..

A quiet weekend away and a Growth update

Denis and I spent the last few days in NH- celebrating and "saying goodbye" to our "couplehood".

Although, Denis had hurt himself falling on the ice a few weeks ago-we still managed to fit in a bit of snowshoeing, we sat in a bar to have dinner instead of at a table in a restaurant-laugh, and we enjoyed some quiet time reading books, drinking coffee and ripping ideas/suggestions that we liked out of parenting magazines.

Mostly we just enjoyed being together. We were alone, enjoying the quiet-knowing the quiet life we know that is about to end. Of course it was quiet minus the sound of Geneva snoring..,

While we were there- we received a small reminder that yes- our lives really are about to change:

We received the monthly "growth update" on "our" children. Although it's small-Getting this information causes great excitement.

(information in the paragraph next to the measurement is: growth since our referral)

Debritu
Weight 9.9 Kg (1 lb heavier)
Height 75 Cm (1 inch taller-just under)

Habtamu
Weight 15.4 Kg (5 lb's heavier)
Height 91 Cm (1 inch taller-just over)