11 : Our good doctor

Brain Wave Diary... Proudly Presents... Luq Doe

Chapter 11 : Our good doctor - fish?

Occasionally, the students implored Mr. Dross to tell them the most extreme examples of biological wonder he could think of. Once in a while he would give them examples, although he invariably said, "These are not the most extreme examples though, but rather some of my favourites. The entire class, especially Wendy and Marcus loved these episodes for they always led to such wonder and discussion on the way home.

"Way off in Turkey is a small village called Kangal. The village is quite close to the site of three open-air hot spring pools and one closed in pool. The water of these hot springs is too hot to support conventional aquatic life and has a chemical composition, which includes selenium. Selenium is a co - factor for glutathion peroxidase, an enzyme protecting cells against the effects of free radicals. The hot spring pools have, over the ages been touted as having healing properties for a whole range of human diseases.

The water has been reported as being beneficial in rheumatic disease, neurological disorders (neuralgia, neuritis, paralysis), orthopedic and traumatological sequelae (fractures, joint trauma, and muscle disease), gynecological problems (by lavage), skin diseases, urolithiasis (by drinking), and psychosomatic disorders. There is even a report from the Clinic and Institute of Physical Therapy and Hydrology, Faculty of Medicine at Ankara University outlining the merits of these selenium rich waters and the curative power of them."

The children forgave Mr. Dross’ tendency to sprinkle in the dull scientific facts, because the punch lines to the little dissertations were always so cool. Noticing the fidgeting caused, no doubt by the drier section of his story, Mr. Dross began to cut to the chase.

"Oh, and before I get too deeply into the conundrum of the piscatorial medics, I would like you to note that the area also produces a unique dog. A dog with an extra rib, but that is another story entirely." He stopped and looked up over his spectacles with a mock serious look on his face. This prompted several of the students to anxiously query whether the dog with the extra rib was indeed true. "Absolutely," he confirmed.

"Now about the curative hot pools. The pools are home to a most curious fish found only in this locale. They occur nowhere else on earth. The first wonder is they live in the pools at all, because the environment is definitely not suited to harbouring fish of any type. As it is, there is a fish, a most peculiar fish. It is a fish commonly referred to, as the Doctor fish although to be proper there are actually two types of specie, which over the millennia have adapted to the hostile environment. This is barely the wonderful part, so bear with me." Some of the children squirmed knowing there were more facts to come before the good part. Mr. Dross smiled slightly at the prospect. He was gratified that several of the pupils were taking notes although this was not part of the formal curriculum.

"There are two types of fish involved. Both are members of the Cyprinidae family and are adapted to living in a hot milieu. The so-called striker fish is Cyprinion macrostomus macrostomus. It has a terminal mouth and a length of 15 to 20 centimeters. It is covered with relatively large scales, and has six to eight irregularly arranged lateral spots of various sizes. The second fish, known locally as a licker, is Garra rufa obtusa. It has a crescent-shaped ventral mouth and a maximum length of 19 centimeters. Its body is also covered with large scales."

The STRIKER fish and the LICKER fish, these two descriptive names caught the children’s imagination, a glimpse of what was to come perhaps.

"Now here is a fact or two that might inspire some of you to remain interested in solving the planets mysteries in later life. Both fish are totally dependent for their survival, on each other and the human beings that place themselves into the water of the hot spring pools. You see, the fish have only one source of diet... the dead skin of humans. Their only other alternative is cannibalism. They cannot eat anything else." Mr. Dross paused for dramatic effect. A predictable round of "Oh's and Ah's" rippled around the room as the students absorbed the significance of fish eating dead human flesh from live people... or else resorting to fish cannibalism.

"The fascinating thing about how these two fish specie and their young sustain themselves is based on the fact the striker fish must strike the flesh of a human thereby knocking off or flaking tiny bits of skin, these are what it eats. Without the striker fish feeding first the licker fish cannot feed, for it needs to access the tiny wound made by the striker fish so it can gently suck the very small but observable wound made by the striker for nourishment. Following the adult licker to the tiny, almost imperceptible wound left by the striker, is the young of the licker who not only absorb nourishment but also secrete a healing substance into the slight wound promoting growth of healthy replacement skin."

The entire class was spellbound as each individual considered the spectacle of hundreds of these skin eating fish swarming busily over the exposed skin of willing human participants. "Is this for real?" asked one inquiring mind from somewhere in the back row. "Absolutely," replied Mr. Dross with zeal.

"But why on earth would people provide themselves to skin eating fish to begin with?" asked Wendy with a note of disbelief in her voice."

"Ah, great question," said Mr. Dross. "For as long as anyone can remember, people have made the pilgrimage to the natural hot water springs to avail themselves of the services of the Doctor fish. Many people with skin conditions, in particular sufferers of psoriasis. In the condition of psoriasis, as an example, the skin grows far quicker than it sheds off and leads to a build up of unsightly, painful, often cracked pads of skin, which the Doctor fish willingly tend and repair. It is said that severe skin disorder cases are often cured after the fish have done their work."

Mr. Dross went on to say the experience has been described as, "A darting school of fish surrounding the proffered human body which they strike and lick. The fish seem drawn to skin areas needing attention. There is an initial pleasant sensation and relaxation through “micro-massage” effect of the striking and sucking fish. This is replaced by a tingling sensation over the skin as the young sucking fish excrete the healing substance into the minute wounds.

Before more questions could be asked, the end of period bell rang soundly in the hallways prompting the busy gathering of books and pencils as the children chattered excitedly about the proposition of a Doctor fish and how they make their living.

"Well," said Wendy to no one in particular, I have way more questions about this. Marcus smiled inwardly; he knew the bus ride would have no dull moments this afternoon. Wendy was sure to want to explore the wonder of such a codependent relationships. For sure she would wonder how it all began to begin with. There is the hostility of the chemistry and the heat of the hot spring for the fish to contend with, then the tenuous relationship that had them become totally dependent on human hosts to feed them dead skin. Without a human host they have to resort to cannibalism. Cannibalism did not support any kind of evolutionary theory, did it?

Yes this had the makings of a rare discussion. Marcus relished these discussions as much as he knew Wendy did.

The discussions always seemed to start off with "I WONDER?"

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