Putzi Fly

    First off, sincere apologies for not writing a blog in ages.... I'm afraid I've gotten out of the habit and found other things to do with my spare time than write.... However, I am currently house sitting for two and half weeks, where I have 24/7 internet and no excuse not to blog! And today I had quite a momentous 'African' experience.....

     So over the past couple days I've noticed a small red bump on my bum along my pantyline (okay, I know this may seem a bit personal, but trust me, it is part of the story). It started off really itchy (yes, that was embarrassing), then started to be quite painful. I didn't think too much of it at first, but today upon getting out of the shower and inspecting my red bump quite awkwardly in the mirror, I realized that I may have become the victim of the infamous putzi fly....

    What is a putzi fly you ask? Well it is a fly that lays their eggs in damp clothes and laundry hanging out to dry during wet season. When you wear these clothes with eggs in them, the eggs get under your skin and hatch into putzi larvae, or maggots, creating red bumps on the skin. I've been warned about them, and was told to just be sure to iron all of your clothes because that kills the eggs. However, I don't own an iron..... I figured I would be safe if I hung my clothes out during the day because while in Ghana we just made sure not to have the clothes hanging out at dusk or dark, when the flies came out. Well, my mistake! Apparently the flies here are different.... and one must have found a lovely home in one of my pairs of underwear last time I did laundry and hung it out to dry!

     Next question..... what do you do about a maggot that is living under your skin?? (Warning: putzi flies are not for the faint of heart, this may get graphic...) The best way to get it out is to put a bit of vaseline over the 'breathing hole' at the center of the red pimple-looking spot, wait a minute until the maggot starts to suffocate and pops his head out out of the hole, then squeeze it out. So, that is what I attempted to do with my putzi friend in my bum. After you get over the initial 'I have a maggot living in me!' thoughts, you really just do what you have to do.... I think I have been positively influenced by one of my wildlife professors that had a slight obsession with these flies - she loved getting them out of people! So I was pretty okay with the idea, it was just quite an unfortunate location when you live by yourself because you can imagine trying to twist around to see your bum in the mirror! Nevertheless, I proceeded with the vaseline, wait, squeeze process..... but unfortunately I think my removal process may have gone a bit awry when I had the brilliant idea of using tweezers. I grabbed it with the tweezers and started to pull it out and this is what I got: 

It was eensy weensy! But I was still proud of myself for being able to remove a putzi fly when I could barely see what I was doing! The only problem was that it still felt like there was something under my skin in the red dot...... SO. I'm pretty sure I just pulled the 'head' off and that the the other half is still in my bum.

   Well, quite honestly, this is where you hop on the computer and google 'putzi fly stuck inside!!!!' Not many results, really.... but I did read on a blog that if they die inside of you they will just get absorbed into your body. Now that's a pleasant thought......

    I think I will just wait it out from here, maybe check with some knowledgeable friends about what to do, but either way, I learned two and a half things today:

1) Its time to invest in an iron

and

2) Squeeze don't tweeze! (and find a friend to help with hard-to-reach spots)

    

Hope I didn't gross anyone out too much, but folks, that's life in Africa. I now feel properly initiated to life in Botswana!