I was special ops in 'Nam, really Laos and Cambodia. I had malaria and dysentery. Everybody did. And I took the pills. Never really got over either one. I fight diarrhea all the time and once in a while I wake up with the sweats and chills. The damn bugs were everywhere. We put too much trust in the iodine for water purifying and never waited long enough for it to work. I was handing out penicillin shots for everything from clap to that god awful syphilis.
But the worst was foot immersion syndrome and crotch rot. The latter I had all through college after I got back. I had to hide it from the women when I got lucky. My feet did pretty good because I was not special forces or LRRP's that had to slug through the mud more than I did. The heel of my left foot still wants to break loose and fall away. I had to red tag (send them to sick call) several guys who just did not get out of the mud slugging for at least an hour everyday and change socks. They couldn't. That shit is hard to cure. The last thing I checked (after breathing, wounds, and bleeding) when we exfil-ed SF guys was their feet. It was sad. Some of them carried leeches in their crotch and never had time to cut them off. (Never wear underwear or piss when you are in the water in the jungle. Leeches love to feel that warmth. They will crawl right up your pee hole. Women especially, take note.)
So far I don't show any dain bramage. But the night is young.
What Are You Feeling Today? Not Thinking, Rather Feeling! Can You Identify Yours?