More Health Issues...

Over the past week, we have had more sleepless nights and, as any mum would, I have been worrying over my children's health. Ben has come out in a nasty, itchy rash (scabies??? we hope not- not again!!), Esther has developed a week-long temperature with a nasty, hacking cough and Joel contracted an awful-sounding, chesty cough accompanied by wheezing and gurgling in his chest.
In my home country, these ailments would concern me, but out here they seem more frightening when there are so many nasty, tropical infections that they might be exposed to and when finding a reliable doctor is a hit-and-miss affair.
Having no medical training myself, imagination can run away with me as I wonder what they might be suffering from. Going to the doctor becomes a last resort instead of a first port of call, since we do not always feel we can trust the diagnosis given or the medicine prescribed. A trip to see the doctor means a whole morning put aside, with lots of waiting around outdoors, surrounded by all the other patients with various illnesses: that is the last thing you want when your child is feeling unwell and you are worried about exposing them to the sun and to new germs!
However, on Monday morning, Joel's cough sounded terrible and his wheezing was worrying us, so it was off to the clinic I went with little Joel... driving across to the other side of town and up the hill to DCMC- Dodoma Christian Medical Centre:

 The road is somewhat bumpy and sandy...

 ... but at DCMC it was not too busy on this Monday morning. Most of the mums, wearing their colourful khangas, were attending a Mother and Baby clinic, rather than waiting to see the doctor, meaning that our wait was not too long:

 We even met some Dutch friends up at the clinic, who took this picture of us sitting on the comfortable benches in the outdoor courtyard waiting area:

 Joel saw a very nice Tanzanian lady doctor, who is a trained paediatrician and had excellent English, which was very reassuring as we were able to discuss Joel's symptons easily. She diagnosed "pneumonia", which seemed a little extreme, but the antibiotics she prescribed for Joel seem to be the right medicine and he is now making a good recovery. It was a successful morning and I'm glad we made the trip up the hill, even if the traffic on the way back down had become rather busier, with a few more stops necessary:

As for Ben, we have treated the whole family for scabies, just in case, with mounds of washing of bedsheets, towels etc.- now we need to order more scabies cream from the UK in case we need it again in the future (I sincerely hope we don't though!!).  Esther is still coughing and after 7 days of fever, and 3 negative malaria tests ( :-) ), she is taking the same antibiotics as Joel (bought without prescription over the counter at the chemist!!) and seems to be turning the corner. So here's hoping that we get a better run of health for the next while ahead!