Hello!! Here is a tune for all you people staying at home on a Friday night. Remember, as Gnome said in a previous post,
“July is a time for contemplation.”
Well, what else can you do when it’s so wet outside…although it is drying up a bit now!
Tag Archives: Friday Night I Am Stuck At Home Post.
Looking For Love.
Our Goosie has finally given us permission to place an ad for him in this Lonely Heart’s post. His long term partner died three years ago of death-by-doggie and he now thinks that it is time to seek a new partner.
Goosie is looking for a longterm female goose for fun, chaos and good times. Also considering starting a family.
He has kindly given us his profile:
Name: Martin AKA Evil Goosie
Star Sign: Aries
Likes: Likes to peck small animals and children. Likes to play “pinch the dog leg.”
Dislikes: People and dogs…actually has a disdain for all living things especially if cute and fluffy.
Food: Likes all yellow things including bananas, corn and velveta cheese. Claims he is vegetarian but steals and eats chicken feet.
Political Allignment: Strong Anarchist tendencies. Likes chaos,destruction and mayhem.
Religion: Discordianism.
Favourite quote: “Kill, Crush, Destroy.”
Favourite Film: Fight Club
Relevant Medical History: Wart of Evil removed. Otherwise Fertile.
All applicants must be Geese. Please send two passport photos with application.
Big Cute Terrapin!
It is a Saturday night and I am posting up pictures of terrapins…ha-ha…I have “tagged” this one as “Friday Night Stuck At Home Post.” As you already know, Gnome has been hard at working cleaning up the farm. The other day, whilst he was mowing, he found a big terrapin in the grass. These are so big compared to the tiny ones that I used to have as childhood pets.
Here are a few pictures of this lovely, cute friendly beast.
And, another one…
Anyway, if you are also at home this evening, here is a tune to listen to whilst sipping a glass of red wine or port:
A tune for reminiscing…
The Kissing Bug.
Hello Every-one!! My Friday night posts have proven to be statistically unpopular probably because most of my readers are rather sociable people with a night-life at the end of the week. This is why I have chosen to write about a particularly nasty bug because it would never be a popular subject anyway. But nevertheless, it is worth talking about. This is a Friday Night Stuck At Home Post!!
Chagas Disease is also known as American trypanosomiasis and is a disease of the Tropics caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi which is spread by insects known as triatominae, or more commonly kissing bugs.
This was actually one that we found in our house…aarrghh!!! They send shivers down my spine!! This is the variety that tends to pop up in our area.
At the risk of sounding petty, they do look rather nasty and evil, don’t they? We actually call them “The Bad Bugs” because they look so mean and intimidating.
During the day, triatomines hide in crevices in the walls and roofs. They are especially prevalent in thatched roof houses. These bugs come out at night and tend to bite people’s faces, ingest blood and also defaecate at the site of the bite. It is the faeces that are the problem and cause transmission of parasites at the site of the wound especially when the wound is scratched. The parasites then replicate within the blood stream.
(Yes indeed…this is turning into a Friday Night Horror).
There are other modes of transmission including blood transfusions, organ transplantation, breast milk and very rarely, contaminated food.
In terms of signs and symptoms, this disease is separated into acute stage and chronic stage. The acute stage is at the time of the insect bite and may include non-specific symptoms of fever, malaise, muscle aches, headaches, diarrhoea, vomiting and rash. Romana’s sign is a well recognised sign of Chagas Disease in which the patient presents with a swollen eyelid on the side of the face with the bite.
Whilst working in Punta Gorda NHI Clinic, I actually saw quite a few of these cases with the characteristic signs.
The majority of patients get better within about two months with no dangerous sequelae. There are a very small percentage that end up with symptoms of the chronic stage which may include problems with the heart (cardiomyopathy), dilatation of the digestive system and nervous system problems.
Phew…that was pretty heavy going…
There is medication (benznidazole or nifurtimox) to treat the disease if diagnosed in the acute stage. However, the medication still has limited efficacy in eliminating the parasites to give an effective cure. Diagnosis can be made by microscopic examination of fresh blood which will reveal the parasites.
What do you need to do to prevent Chagas Disease? Regular cleaning and sanitising of the sleeping areas are essential especially if the roof is thatched or the house unsealed. Mosquito nets are a cheap and effective preventative measure. Camping out in the bush can be especially dangerous and it is not recommended.
Having said that, most people do not need to worry about them (like all you guys out there). It is only a risk to those mad people (like us) who decide to live in the middle of nowhere next to the rainforest!!