Friday, January 28, 2011

A very funny ( but not at the time) Africa story

On the third morning we were in Ethiopia, I was still waking up pretty early..around 4am. I decided to go ahead and get up and shower. The guest house was full and I was concerned about the supply of hot water for showers. I tiptoed in the bathroom, shut the door and turned on the light and water for my shower. I decided to brush my teeth first and when I stuck my toothbrush in my mouth. I discovered something very alarming. My tongue was black. Coated in a black substance. With my heart racing I tried to think back to the night before..Did I fall asleep with a grape throat drop in my mouth? Did I have any grape soda? Mmmmm no.

I not so calmly got in the shower, on the verge of a full blown, 4am panic attack. I must have contracted some African black tongue disease. They are never going to let me adopt these babies. They are never going to ever let me back in the United States. Did our travel insurance cover black tongue disease? What on earth was an Ethiopian hospital going to be like? Total freak out..Dear God, why me??

So I get out of the shower, brush my teeth and tongue again. This time I really brush my tongue and the nasty black stuff scraped off. OK, so maybe its not as bad as I am thinking. I get dressed and log into my computer. Thank the Lord, I had Internet and googled "black tongue".

It turns out that Pepto Bismal had a key ingredient called bismuth sulfide and a side effect of too much is that it will turn your tongue black. I had read on someones travel tip page that taking a pepto tablet every morning while in country will help keep your stomach settled. Well, overachiever that I am, I was taking one every morning AND night. :)

That morning I was thanking the good Lord for my health and Web MD!
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8 comments:

  1. JennyJanuary 28, 2011 at 6:16 AM

    I had a bad stomach mess back in December and took a pepto tablet and then freaked out the next morning from my tongue! I googled it too and my mind was put to rest... I thought I had some kind of crazy toxin in me! :-)

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  2. DebbJanuary 28, 2011 at 9:33 AM

    Oh My Goodness, I am sooooo giggling right now! ONLY because I now know the whole story! Quite sure I would be nearing the panic attack you embarking upon if I hadn't known the "why" behind the black tongue! Whew! Ha! Ha! "Overachiever that I am".......oh, I can relate too well! :) Hope your tummy did well after all you went through to keep it calm! Tee! Hee! CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU IN A WEEK!

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  3. TracyJanuary 28, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    so inquiring minds want to know --- does the pepto-a-day keep the runs away????? I think I'd risk a black tongue just for that assurance!!! (says the girl who spent 3 hours on a bumpy bus from rural Africa to city -- the entire time doubled over in stomach cramps.)

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  4. Erin HurleyJanuary 28, 2011 at 10:20 AM

    How well I remember my first experience with the "Pepto Bismol Black Tongue"! I was totally freaked out too, but I can't imagine how much worse it would've been if I'd been in Africa when it happened!

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  5. THE WEBERSJanuary 28, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    Hilarious!!! Me too, in Ethiopia! :)

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2011 at 9:47 PM

    As soon as you mentioned "African black tongue disease" I burst out laughing! I was pretty sure it was from Pepto. Glad you were able to learn what it was. :-)

    Carmen

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  7. ChristinaJanuary 30, 2011 at 11:39 AM

    That is so crazy!! I would have been freaking out too!!

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  8. KendraJanuary 18, 2012 at 2:25 AM

    HAHA! I am in Addis right now, and googled "black tongue" because two of us woke up with it! I did not associate it with the pepto! Thanks for making me feel better ;)

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