Hypochondriac

Have you ever read any books by Redmond O’Hanlon? I’ve read quite a few of them and was deeply impressed by In Trouble Again: A Journey between the Orinoco and the Amazon in particular. That’s not just because of the hilarious way the author describes his journey into the deep, impassable rainforest. What regularly comes vividly to mind are the horrific insects, spiders and other scary creatures he runs into. O’Hanlon seems to take great pleasure in describing in detail what harm they might do to human beings.

In our job, we travel around the world a lot. And, of course, our employer takes care of all the main vaccinations we might need. Moreover, I usually don’t hang out at the sort of places O’Hanlon describes.
But still, whenever I feel an itch, see odd spots on my skin or notice anything else unusual, my thoughts go back to the journeys of O’Hanlon right away. Worms and spiders laying eggs underneath your skin, bacteria that can cause terrible diseases, parasites that take over your organs: my imagination runs riot.

Last week I returned from a flight feeling not too well. When my fever increased the next day, I recalled my recent trips to the tropics and started to get a little nervous. I told my boyfriend a dozen times that if I started to become delirious he should immediately take me to hospital, because it might be malaria. He very patiently assured me over and again that I had not to worry.

The fever dropped and a few days later I felt as fit as a fiddle again. So besides being infected by a common virus, I had also been suffering from hypochondria.

Still, I learned there’s nothing wrong with being just a little alert. Despite all of their precautions, some of my colleagues have indeed picked up malaria and other tropical diseases during their travels. So as long as my worst ailment is hypochondria, I’m happy!

Caroline