Getting Sick In Palembang

Since arriving in Indonesia, I felt an obligation to get sick in order to experience medical care in this country. I am proud to say that I have stayed true to my ambitions and have experienced a few different illnesses during my stay. To my dismay, I have yet to experience the big players, i.e., malaria, dengue, typhoid fever, or rabies. I have, however, been getting a sufficient amount of nasal infections and fevers in the past few weeks that have allowed me to learn more about my community's understanding of health care and some of the traditional medical techniques still widely used in Palembang.

Masuk angin- Literally translating to 'enter wind', masuk angin is the understanding that the body can experience disease through the 'entrance of wind' into the body through the skin. It sounds peculiar at first, but the idea behind the belief is very solid. Basically, it is believed that a person's body can experience a state wherein they are more susceptible to disease, the state at which 'wind' can enter the body and cause illness. Masuk angin can result from someone being outside in the cold rain, from running themselves down physically, from eating and drinking substances that are not believed to be healthy, from not sleeping enough. It occurs more commonly during rainy season or during the changing of seasons. This makes a lot of sense, and these are all proven instances where one's immune system is weakened and the body is more susceptible to illness. 

Kerok- This is a method used by Indonesian people to help alleviate the symptoms and disease caused by masuk angin. Basically, one uses a hard object with an edge, such as a coin or a spoon or the lid of a jelly jar (which was used on my back) to firmly scrape the skin. The scraping causes blood vessels in the epidermis to break, causing the appearance of blood at the surface of the skin. An aromatherapy solution is used to decrease friction.

My back after receiving 'kerok' from my Bapak

The idea behind kerok is that the bursting of blood vessels causes blood to rush to the surface of the skin. They say that masuk angin causes decreased blood circulation which can cause an array of disease. Kerok, then prevents wind from entering through the skin and causing further illness while increasing circulation to fight the current state of disease. At times, the procedure was akin to a massage, and at times it felt reminiscent of my older brother pinning me down and digging his chin into my back. Afterwards, I cannot say that I felt better or worse, I just felt a little weird. 

Jamu- a traditional medicinal herbal drink that is sold and drank all over Indonesia. In fact, every morning, a lady wheels a cart past my house chanting "jamu, jamuuu" (oftentimes waking me up from my beauty rest). I have yet to try jamu, but it contains many different and varying leaves, barks, seeds, fruit, and flowers. I'll give an update when I do get a chance to chobs it. 

Typical jamu shop
 (from http://mikejkt.livejournal.com/13262.html)

I will say that the overwhelming response I have gotten from my community when they learn that I am sick has been holistic and simple. Here are some common pieces of advice that I received:

• Drink a lot of clean water.
• Rest and drink a lot of clean water.
• You have been playing too many sports, tell your friends you need to rest.
• Stop playing futsal in the rain!
• Sweating a lot is good, keep the A/C in your room turned off.
• No cold showers, heat water before showering.
• Don't drink ice water.
• Don't drink soda.
• Wear a jacket outside (haha).
• Drink hot water.
• Stay home from work and rest.
• Go to a doctor if you do not feel better.
• Rest, rest, and rest some more.

I have been very happy to hear that my community has a deep understanding of the body's inherent healing abilities and the idea that sickness is oftentimes caused when we do things to weaken our immune system. They also understand the importance of staying home and resting in order to overcome illness. There is no question, as there oftentimes is in America, about caring for your health above all other important obligations. 

When myself, or another teacher or student is ill, it is inevitable that the sick person will be visited. I have missed class on many occasions to visit members of my community who are sick and in need of friends to make them feel better. It really does a lot for your health to see how many people care about you in your time of illness and to have some company after being hauled up in your room all day. One time I had over 30 students all come to see me at once, equipped with loaves of cheesy-bread and chocolate. Needless to say, I felt better in no time.