Bug Bite

by Bod Wilson
(Baghdad Iraq)

In Iraq, you can get a bug bite without even knowing about it. But don't expect a simple bite with a little itching in Iraq...

I was working at Al Asad Air Base when my company sent me an abolution unit. It was trashed inside so we decided to use it as a store room.

While in there I felt a small prick in my right leg. I did not think anything about it until the next morning.

When I woke up my head was pounding. I was freezing. I had the chills so bad I was shaking. I took an extremely hot shower and got under two blankets. After a couple of hours I started warming up. But my head kept pounding. I was sucking down Ibuprofen left and right.

Around 4 pm my head stopped hurting so much but then I started throwing up even though I had not eaten all day.

All throughout the day, my Indian laborers kept checking on me to see if I was all right. They brought me food but I did not eat any of it.

The next morning I felt better but I felt very weak. On my leg I could feel where the prick had taken place the day before and so I looked down at my leg. It was red and swollen. I looked closer and I could see the fang marks of what I guess was a spider bite.

My leg continued to swell for two days and then it started going back down slowly.

About every two to three months, I will, all of a sudden, feel weak, then I will get the chills, followed by a headache. This goes on for about a day and then it is gone. All due to my Iraq bug bite. I never did find out what type of spider bit me and the base doctor decided he could not give me anything. He was more concerned with my weight than my bug bite.