Ecuador Home Remedies, Part Deux

So I'm beginning to think that there is no such thing as a "normal" cure for any type of sickness here in Ecuador. Be it a nasty cough, an upset stomach, a bad cold or any other ailment that has you feeling puny, you better believe that the Ecuadorians have some special home remedy up their sleeves. This weekend was no exception.

On Saturday, I awoke feeling exceptionally close to the equator, i.e.: I had a temperature of 102 and a sore throat to go with it. Seeing as how I already put my host mom through enough worry (and pots of burning leaves) with my cough, I wasn't planning on telling her about the fever. I reasoned that since it was Saturday, I could easily just stay in my room and rest without raising too much suspicion. This actually worked wonderfully for all of Saturday and most of Sunday. However, come Sunday evening when my temp still hadn't gone down, I knew that I needed to speak up.

I guess it's inately in moms to know when their kids are sick, even if the kid is a temporarily adopted gringa. Also, I hadn't left my room for two whole days, not even to eat. Before I even told Monica I wasn't feeling so great, she had come into my room with a worried expression and a head full of ideas on how to treat me. I explained to her that I was "con fiebre" and she immediately varified this by feeling my forehead and replying with, "Sí, sí pobrecita." Having been through the gamut of cures with my cough, I started preparing myself for the worst. I had already started thinking of how to say, "Please, no more burning leaves," when Monica surprised me by giving me a pill. Shock prevented me from doing anything but sit on my bed and stare, until finally Monica put the pill in my hand and told me it should help lower my fever. I looked at the tiny red capsule with skepticism, half expecting it to sprout wings or do something equally radical right there in the palm of my hand. After a few more moments of staring, I decided that maybe the days of crazy medicine were behind me and happily took the pill.

Unfortunately, it did not make my fever go down. I think I was the only one truly upset by this. Monica, being the ever-vigilent mom, told me not to worry and instructed her other (real) daughter to go gather some lemons from the backyard. Half an hour later, Monica strolled confidently into my room carrying a pot of warm water, a wash cloth and about a liter of pure, freshly squeezed lemon juice. She sat on the edge of my bed and told me to lay my head in her lap. Simple enough, I thought. She then mixed the lemon juice and water together and began to douse my entire body with the liquid. My head, stomach, feet and every other body part inbetween received a cool bath of lemon water. It actually felt good to have something cool on my fever-ridden body. However, I figured that just plain water without the lemon would have felt equally as refreshing. Nevertheless, I didn't say anything to object. After I was completely soaked, she poured the remaining liquid onto the wash cloth and instructed me to lie with it across my forehead. All this took place around 8 in the evening.

Fast forward to 6 the next morning where I found myself a sticky mess, reaking of lemon juice and in desperate need of a shower. However, I was also fever-free. Following Monica's advice, I stayed home from work that day to rest and make sure that my temperature would stay at a normal level. My fever never returned and it seems that I have made a full recovery. The lemon cure actually worked! Either that, or I just had a 72-hour bug that happened to end the same day I received my citrus bath. I'm going to go ahead and give this one to Ecuador, though. She earned it.

So let's see... That makes the score: Modern Medicine - 5,823,977. Ecaudorian Home Remedies - 1.