My niece is returning shortly from her mission in Argentina. She has been sick the whole time but never saw a doctor there. (She had heard horror stories regarding local medical care so decided not to get any care at all!) Anyway, for those of you who, unfortunately, returned home with health problems, I would appreciate any advice on what she should be tested for the minute she gets home. I'm thinking that she should go to a doctor who specializes in parasites, infectious foreign diseases, etc. but don't know where to start. I don't want her to waste any time in getting treatment. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Get tested. Could have a tapeworm or lots of other things. Stock up on Coke and Pepsi if she likes that. I was in a third world country, sick the whole time there, and my intestines have NEVER returned to normal. They need to stop sending these young people out, permanently damaging them.

Yes, and her complete work up should include an MRI
of her brain as tapeworms can lodge anywhere in the body and grow, including one's head.

I was in Brasil from 1968-1970 and oddly enough, don't remember being sick there, except for colds occasionally.

I didn't have any issues when I got home, although I knew a guy in my very short period at BYU who had been in Argentina, I think. We were taking a shower after gym class at the old Richards center (?) and out came a big ass tape worn, and I don't need to tell you where it came from. As teenagers says, GROSS!

He said later that he'd had several but it's been so long now I don't remember what the treatment was for them. He took it pretty much in stride.

We were careful always to drink filtered water and only eat things that had been cooked. No fresh veggies or fruit.

I wanted to add, that I had never really drunk Coke products before my mission, being the good TBM. We were told it was okay to drink it since it was safely producted.

To this day, I drink mostly diet coke, and I'm sure it's just for the caffeine buzz I get. It doesn't taste all that good.

Someone I know was in Brazil on a mission a couple of years after you and contracted Hepatitis, even though he had gotten the shots for it. They said that the shots have to be changed periodically because they eventually become ineffective.

Was she in rural areas? The northern more tropical areas?

I was never sick in Argentina except for an occasional cold. I know of one hermana who came home with parasites, and she worked in the north. Generally there was always one or two elders in the British Hospital with hepatitis.

This was a long time ago. Most of the time I was in BA or one of the larger cities. We never drank tap water or green-bottle milk.

She is in the north and I know that she drinks tap water because they use it as a ruse to get into houses. They aren't allowed to carry bottled water. That's criminal as far as I'm concerned!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2014 08:43PM by moira.

Argentina close to the capital has a good health care service, also the water is fine, maybe she served in the country side

Shamefully topping to see if anyone has some new advice.

I was in the Cordoba Argentina mission in 1985-87. Then it covered most of the northwest part of the country.

Halfway through, I had appendicitis and had an emergency appendectomy performed in Jujuy, Argentina. The operation was successful and I fully recovered. There were a lot of appendicitis among the North American missionaries during my time there, I think it was like 13 in those two years.

I did have some intestinal issues when I returned home which causes some minor issues. It was common then for us to become very sick during the first several weeks of our mission and to suffer the runs alot during the initial phase and really throughout the entire time.

My advise is for her to get a physical and let the doctor know when she's been. Tapeworms were not uncommon then.

And for what its worth, I really loved Argentina and the Argentines. For South America, she went to a great country, which is very modern and very educated.

Keep us informed.

Hey skeptical, I went to the same place, just a few years later. Awesome place to go (which is why I'm not too bitter about spending two years on a mission), and boy do I miss empanadas arabes.

You're spot on with your recommendation. It took me about 10 years (literally) before I got over the runs. The missionary coming home should definitely see a doctor and get checked for parasites.

I was in Bolivia in the early 80's and was sick during much of my mission, weighing in at an emaciated 117 pounds at one point (I'm a 5'9" male). My parents had a doctor appt already scheduled for me when I arrived home, and I was treated for parasites over the next couple months.

I think if your niece has an appt with her regular family doc when she gets home, that would be adequate. They'll do blood work and request a stool sample and go from there.

I was in Sao Paulo Brazil '85-87. After 4 months there caught a lower GI issue, lost 20 lbs. After a couple of months of suffering submitted stool cultures to a local MD. I didn't hear of any positive results and the issue resolved over a three month period.

Hey Skeptical, did you know Rick? I've lost contact with him. He was a roommate at the "zoo".

flyindocc, There was a missionary in my MTC group of ten with the last name of Ricks. We all went to the same mission Very bright guy who became a journalist and then got a law degree. I think he lives in Park City, if we are talking about the same guy. Red head?

Sorry for the confusion Skeptical. Rick Watson, American Falls, ID.

I was in southern Brazil 1993-95. I remember getting a cold and once a slight upset stomach. Other than that, no problems. I did have to get a boat load of vaccines before I left and every few months the "peanut butter" shot (this was before there was a hepatitis vaccine) and every few months they gave us a pill that was supposed to kill off any worms.

I ate whatever members fed me (we had no $ to feed ourselves), lived in very scary cockroach infested rooms, and drank tap water because that is what people have to give you. I ended up with fleas once (learned to stay away from pets) and lice (from holding infested kids). I almost always felt like the food I ate was very safe and tasted very good. Once in a while it was iffy...

I remember a few elders getting food poison (from rotten meat). Missionaries are sometimes afraid to not eat what someone offers them. If there had been rotten meat on my plate, I wouldn't have touched it!

Overall, I felt really lucky to never have any health problems while I was there. It doesn't surprise me at all that missionaries come home sick from unsanitary and unsafe living conditions!

If her regular doctor and regular tests don't show up anything and she still feels sick, you should take her to a doctor who specializes in treating things picked up in foreign countries. I had a mission comp who came home early with intestinal problems that could not be diagnosed. She finally went to someone who specialized in treating travelers and who was very well versed in what was going in European countries with Americans and the locals there, health-wise. He remembered reading about how motor oil was found contaminating the olive oil in parts of Southern Spain where we served and asked her if she was in any of those cities (just like 2 or 3 cities in the whole country) during any of the months there was an olive oil recall. Sure enough, she had been and they diagnosed that she must have gotten some of that bad oil because her symptoms were exactly those of other sufferers. They were able to address her problems from there. My point being is that she never would have gotten diagnosed properly without going to someone so up on what sorts of diseases Americans can pick up abroad. So while I agree that a regular GP is the place to start, move on to a specialist if she isn't getting the right help or diagnosis. Because weird things happen, even here in America.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/2015 02:15AM by CA girl.

Encourage her to have a trusted member refer her to a local doctor. Or contact the enbassy and ask for a referal to a doctor.
I would not trust a referral from the mission home. They go with free or cheapest.

Local doctors know local diseases and there may be a simple cure.

I have been to doctors all over central and south america, there are many good ones out there.

Returned hermana here. I love hearing from RMs that served in Argentina! I served in Cordoba in 99-00. Mostly rural areas. I was hardly ever sick there but several years later during an appointment with a homeopathist, she found several different parasites in my gut and gave me stuff to get rid of them. Definitely get checked for them.