GUEST POST BY CORINNE KEMP: MY THAILAND HOSPITAL VISIT

*WARNING: this post contains graphic imagery that some audiences may find disturbing!*

When your really good friend comes all the way to Thailand to visit you, your main aim is to show them the time of their life, not end up with them in the hospital. Incredibly, when Corinne had an allergic reaction to her mosquito bites, she somehow managed to laugh about it, still visiting every tourist attraction and partying up to drunkenly boarding the plane at Bangkok airport. Before heading to the hospital we spent some time googling what on earth was wrong and found very little help or advice on what we should actually do. Allergic reactions to mosquito bites are not uncommon and if you ever need a doctor in Bangkok, Corinne is proof that it’s not something to be scared about…

Due to a combination of alcohol consumption, weak insect repellent and hours spent chatting on a beach in Koh Phi Phi, I managed to accumulate over 100 mosquito bites on my legs. Insect bites are irritating and unsightly for all who are unfortunate enough to get bitten, but in my case I found that I am quite allergic to mosquito bites – so much so that my feet swelled to 3 times their original size. I was cankles galore! And the bites did not look too good either.

THE PROS & CONS OF A 1* BEACH HUT

4.15am:
We write this from beneath the mosquito net. Or ‘the net of fear’ if you will. We don’t ever want to mislead in our blog and so we’ll be straight with you, we’re wimps. We are not hardened to cockroaches and the bats whose home we have invaded by entering this hut. It’s the middle of the night and we are anxious. The mosquitos are circling like hungry sharks, we know they’re aware we’re under here, they are a rare breed of super mosquito that show no fear of deet or beatings. The net provided had gaping holes through which we could fit our head and we rightly assumed that a mosquito could do the same. We therefore had to fashion a contraption…