Infectious Diseases :: Tick Borne Encephalitis
Dec 5, 2014
I got back from a 2 month trip across Eastern, Central and Southern Africa about 6 weeks ago. A few days after I got home I felt quite unwell, fever, headache etc and I was concerned I may have contracted malaria as I wasn't brilliant at remembering to take my pills. So I got referred to infectious disease department who tested me for lots of travel related illnesses. I was negative for malaria but came back positive for tick borne encephalitis and also Rickettsia (related to African tick fever) I think.
I am actually feeling fine now but they called me in for the results ... I'm just a little confused as from what I've seen on travel health websites is that you can't get tick borne encephalitis in africa! I didn't know this at the time so I didn't say anything to the doctor. You get it in Asia and Europe..I did go to Asia about a year and a half ago but would it be possible for this to still show up in my blood?
I'm just a bit worried as I know this disease can be potentially deadly or cause lasting neurological problems and there's no treatment. I'd feel a bit better knowing I definitely caught it from the earlier trip to Asia as then I know it would have made me much sicker by now if it was going to.
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Hi I just had a friend pass away from what they believe was Sepsis. But they aren't sure just yet. His organs and fluids came back great. There doing blood tests and we won't know exactly what it was until mid March. I was just wondering if his family and friends should be concerned about getting it?
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So last friday night, my cat bit me on my lower leg. I washed it coz my mom got mad at me with water and soap. Yesterday I feel fatigued (probably due to my brother's birthday and I cooked half the day ugh) and just this morning when I woke up my throat feels itchy and I have had chills. I don't have fever but feels like about to have a flu. I had myself vaccinated after waking up but still feels chilly. Is it rabies? My cat looks well anyway so I don't think she has rabies but I want to be sure. Everyone in my family has had flu last week so I'm not really sure.
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I am a 29 year old female. Around 19 years ago, I had slipped capital femoral. Around 6 months ago, the same pain started to occur. I went for a dye injected MRI and the results were inconclusive due to the pins interfering with the magnets. The pain has gone away for the most part with a few outbreaks but about two weeks after the injection, I found a pea-sized hard movable lump in my groin, painless unless manipulated a lot . I spoke to my general practitioner about it going on 6 months ago, and he said keep an eye on it but confirmed it was a swollen lymph node. I am scared to go back but the lump has stayed consistent, possibly enlarged. Should I be worried? I have had insomnia and I have narcolepsy, so it's very rare for me. I am always tired, but again have narcolepsy and hypothyroidism .
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i had unprotected sex on SUNDAY sept 1(pull out), plus oral and protected a week or two before that.
***note: it happened on burning man, with no shower, little water, a lot of sun, and i knew this guy was drinking a lot and taking drugs and not sleeping for a week. it was the end of the day 2 for me and i took a small amount of MDMA that day.]
5-7 days later i was feeling tenderness and a little tingling burning pain, but thought it was my period, which was unusually heavy as i`m on birth control.
MONDAY sept 9 i knew something was wrong. the tingling got worse and i went to some doctor i knew for blood test and he also gave me DOXYCYCLINE (he s not a gynecologist) i also asked for ACYCLOVIR in case have herpes. i started taking them at 4pm
TUESDAY morning i threw up with yellow stuff and had a lot of green/yellow/brown watery then cottage cheese discharge, which became yellow watery and by the end of the day pink. pain got worse
WEDNESDAY morning i went to free clinic, where they told me most likely it CHLAMYDIA or GONORREA, told me to continue doxy and gave me shot for gonorrea
THURSDAY i noticed the discharge got water and thicker, pain was still there. in the afternoon after a long flight and traveling i noticed red single BUMPS on my skin in my bikini area, between ******* and vagina and above the clitoris, some of the hurt, some itch, not considerably. 7 in total, plus one on the labia, just not sure if that`s a bump. the next day 2 of them had water inside. i immediately texted my friend i knew he has herpes and he said it looked like it 99% and we now can be in relationship ha! i wasn't sleeping all night, googling and googling, pain seemed to increase and the bumps itched a little bit.
FRIDAY i went to my gynecologist and he said it`s not herpes(the culture text will be ready in 10 days), not even STD, but YEAST. He said you are not supposed to be treated without knowing the reason and doxycycline is old and not supposed to be taken for a week but for 2 days. also the std test will show only in 2 weeks after the exposure.
stopped taking meds and taking xre of my yeast now, hoping for the best. and i got my lesson!!
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This should be a title to a horror movie, not the title of a post,in another attempt to gain some insight to what is inhabiting the largest organ of my body.
Am I really delusional? the dermatologist diagnosed me as being a cracked egg,I'm a victim of domestic violence and therefore,my brain has made up an imaginary situation, to take me away from the emotional trauma...he says I may also be psychotic, I've mutilated my skin,picked and scraped away at myself,simply because I'm convinced that I am unworthy of my vulnerable protection,my defenseless,pink skin...NO.
I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY DAMN PORES.
That man....he scared me more than any violence, domestic or random! I'm looking to find a slight insight,other than Demodex,scabies,botfly,or the largest bodied Demodex...the one that causes mange in dogs. They're very small but damn it...they're very visible! I thought I had pinpointed where they hail from predominantly... I was wrong. I researched myself...tried different creams...permethrin, high dose cortisone,tea tree...still popping out of the open pores,sometimes sebum sometimes alone. Thread like but also grain of rice like,can't see them move,think they may be in my mouth as well. When I haven't slept for 24 hours( I work a lot) they bite(?) And it feels like I walked through fiberglass,then they come out! Yep,uninvited terrorists and I'm the host. What is this?
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Spontaneous splenic rupture in infectious mononucleosis. How will his body fight the infection without his spleen.
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This weekend I discovered some worms in my stool which is a first as with my current problems I have been quite observant of my body over the months. I'm planning to go doctors this week when I can call up Monday.
I've been to the doctors a couple of times over the past few months with problems, which I can obviously point to my new discovery, however I was diagnosed with the usual stress etc. after my blood deficiency tests a month back came back normal. I still knew something was wrong because of the patterns. Before this discovery I was pin-pointing it food allergies / sensitivities as my symptoms seemed to peak after meals.
It started with a fever back at the start of February. The next week I was getting chronic nausea and headaches (seemed to be shortly after eating). I went to the doctors and reassured I was fine. I was getting a lot of small muscle twitching, nerve pain, general fatigue, especially after meals and anxiety. I cut gluten from my diet and noticed my symptoms seemed to drop by 90%, although my whole diet changed so it could of included over things. After that point I've been sensitive to some foods e.g. after having a banana or orange juice I will itch and have felt a lump in the back of my throat which I assume could of been contributing to my symptoms. The banana gave me noticeable chest pains, maybe cause bananas are a known laxative and I was annoying the worms!
I will also mention I have a few cats and sometimes interact with dogs. I can eat rare steak quite occasionally. I'm in the UK as well and haven't traveled for a while, last was Sri Lanka December 2014.
What worms do the <attached photo> look like? Sorry for the grossness. I figured pin worms or hook worms from what I read but I guess the symptoms are a big clue. I will have to get a stool sample I assume, but obviously want to be on the biotics as soon as possible so I can return to normal as the last couple of months have really impacted me.
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I have a worm infestation in my face. They travel around under the skin leaving tracks and bursting holes into my skin. they create glass like balls that split the skin open and move around my skin with ease.
I first reported it 3 months ago and the doctors totally ignored me treating me for a secondary infection that was caused by open wounds in my face. They have given me 4 courses of antibiotics treating the wrong infect but totally ignored what I was telling them about the worms.
The worms whatever they are are very sharp and wherever they travel through in my face the skin collapses, leaving it like plasticine and it causes tiny splinters that are as sharp as anything that embed themselves in the inside and outside of my skin right down to the lowest skin level. My skin is also producing a clear sticky substance which feels like little shards of glass if I touch it. All in all, it really couldn't be much worse except for the fact they have made a hole around my mouth which they can look out of. I am totally sane!
I am in pieces. I've been telling the doctors what it is and they have totally ignored me. Even refusing to refer after an A & E i visited confirmed I needed to be referred as the lesions had been on my face for so long.
I discovered I had private medical care through my company which now thank god means I've seen my first dermatologist. He's referred me to another dermatologist that apparently knows more about things in the skin who I'm yet to see. Even though he's now put me in the right direction, I'm not convinced he was sure it is worms. I can pull 1/2 inch worms out of my skin bit by bit. They look like thread worms and never come out intact, you pull little bits off of them. It leaves worm shape dents in my face and they feel like little match sticks under the skin. Nobody is taking me seriously as people don't really get worms in the face.
They have totally destroyed me skin and I have bad scarring. I have never had acne and had no scarring. This has all been caused in the last 3 months. I dread to think how many are alive in there now they've been left so long.
Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?
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CDC states in Literature Physicians do not have enough education in regards to Hemochromatosis
Toxoplasmosis is an emerging infectious disease that may not be as rare as they think it can come from cats other mammals fleas cockroaches rare meat more...it affects the muscles liver heart brain throat can cause birth defects jaundice premature birth stillbirth miscarriage cerebral palsy or defects later in life blindness deafness is linked to Schizo/bi-polarism more.
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Living with Recurring Glandular Fever
Many people who catch glandular fever (Epstein-Barr virus) recover completely, but for a significant minority, like me, the virus hides from the immune system. I believe that this ability was discovered in the late 1960s. I heard of it in a BBC science programme in the early 70s, and immediately recognised my situation.
I caught glandular fever (without complications) in spring 1967 when I was a youth. Those who are affected by recurring symptoms, will recognise my case, where the symptoms receded imperceptibly slowly. It took about 9 months from being infected before I felt more or less normal again - for a while.
I pass on my experience of coping with this condition. There is bad news and good news.
The bad news is that the symptoms recur throughout life - that is for those who have difficulty clearing the original infection. A cure might emerge, but I am assuming that this will not happen. The good news is that, in time, the symptoms become gradually less of a problem.
The bad news is that one needs to adapt one's lifestyle in order to deal with this. The good news is that one can live a normal life. There are many with other lifelong conditions, who are far worse off.
Any virus illness (cold, 'flu) will trigger the symptoms. Something as common as catching a cold runs as follows. One feels unwell (exhausted), with no symptoms. About 2 days later, the cold symptoms start, accompanied with swelling of the glands in the throat and/or cheeks. The swelling is not very noticeable to others. One has a slightly raised temperature, and feels quite ill. After 4 to 10 days, the cold symptoms and swelling subside, but the feeling of exhaustion remains. This can last 4 to 6 weeks, or 6 months after a bout of 'flu.
How can you cope? There are a number of measures.
1) Smoking exacerbates the symptoms. If you are a smoker, you will be one of those who find stopping smoking relatively easy. You will soon learn to avoid smoke-filled places.
2) Should the symptoms start, treat as for a cold, or 'flu. You will feel exhausted, and a good thing to do is to get a lot of sleep.
3) It is worth getting a 'flu vaccination, if you can.
4) Exercise - you won't feel like exercise, and it is wise to rest while the cold symptoms are there. Once they are gone, and the feeling of exhaustion remains, that is the time to resume vigorous exercise. I think it might be the raised body temperature which helps to fight off the symptoms. In the case where you go to the gym, you will have to force yourself against the feeling of exhaustion for the first time, and even the second time, but by the third time, you realise that you are much fitter. The exhaustion will go. Regular exercise helps ward off the problems, and the fitter you are, the better you will manage.
5) Avoid catching colds. You will find that you have become especially susceptible to colds. There are many things involved here, from a good, varied diet, a daily multivitamin/mineral tablet (don't overdose), cough sweets in the bus/train etc.
The best advice, and perhaps the most difficult and lifestyle threatening, is to follow what (great) grandmother told you, "Wrap up warm!" Think how she would say, "Put on your sweater/scarf/hat/woolly socks before you go out!" You think. "It is not cold outside". You know it isn't "Cool", and you don't want your friends to laugh at you.
If the summer weather is really hot, you can get away with fashionable wear. Otherwise, the bad news is that keeping warm maybe "uncool" but if you ignore this, you will suffer. Ideally, you should keep on the verge of perspiring, and if the surrounding air is fresh and cool, that is the ideal. Avoid stuffy environments. Avoid becoming too hot, sweaty and wet, and then getting chilled. However, if you can arrange to change into dry clothes and not become chilled (as when you go to the gym), all well and good!
I found these lifestyle adaptations very unwelcome. You will have to find your own way to cope. Thinking of these matters will help, and you can lead a normal life, with bouts of extreme exhaustion from time to time. Take comfort in that these will become less severe, and maybe less frequent as the years pass. Otherwise, you are quite normal. You can achieve what you are capable of intellectually, and physically. Face up to the occasional difficulties, and be determined to succeed with your life. Epstein-Barr will not prevent you.
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I just pulled a tick out of my vagina ... It had not latched on yet so its head was still on its body. It was squirming on its back and now im freaked out. Could I have more down there? Why was it there? could that make me sick? Was my breathing hard, fever, and nausea earlier the cause of a tick down there?
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Is it possible to contract diseases, other than cold and flu viruses, from smoking after someone? I recently hung out with a friend who has a slightly questionable lifestyle, and now my boyfriend is freaked out and wont see me till I get tested, and i want to be sure its actually possible before I spend the money for the test.
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I have recently completed 2 stool sample tests that have rendered the same outcome, positive for parasitic organisms but unable to identify. Now I have to complete the exam a third time. I have still not received any treatment and have experienced some serious health problems over the past few years, including an idiopathic cardiomyopathy a little over 2 years ago. Two years before this I was hospitalized for a serious virus that could not be identified. This involved a very high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and the start of kidney failure, however I went to the emergency room at the right time. One month later, I had mono, then 4 months later, had a palsy in my left foot, then less than one year after, started experiencing chest pain, serious headaches, and extreme fatigue. The emergency room kept sending me home telling me it was a virus. Finally several months had passed after numerous visits to this ER, I went to a different hospital where they found a cardiomyopathy. My ejection fraction was 35%. I am only 37! Just after this, I noticed one day that I had experienced severe itching in the rectal area with several days of white discharge that had an odor of infection. I waited for a couple of months to see if things would get better, and they didn't, so I went to the ER. I told the doctor about the cardiomyopathy and previous mysterious illnesses, he completed a brief rectal exam, and said it was probably internal hemorrhoids. I asked if a parasitic infection was possible, and he said it was very unlikely because I hadn't been out of the country in several years. So he never tested my stool. Two years have passed, and I have had the same/similar problems since, and have reported this to the doctors over and over. For the past year and a half, I have developed new symptoms. Extreme fatigue, weakness, joint aches, headaches, constipation and diarrhea, greasy, yellowish stools, sweat that smells like ammonia, skin peeling out of my mouth, gas, burping, bad breath, weight loss and loss of appetite. In addition, I have mysterious skin rashes with hives on a daily basis, and started taking pictures of them to document this. In December of 2012, I tested positive for lupus with a positive ANA, and my doctor ordered the test because my eosinophil percentage had consistently been flagged on my blood reports as high. I still was not getting any answers, so I switched all of my doctors and have been going to the city. This is a world renowned hospital. Upon meeting my new doctors, they ordered a repeat of blood tests. This time the lupus was negative. The doctors quickly dismissed the lupus results prior, and said that sometimes people just test false positive, with no further explanation. Back in April of this year, my doctor informed me that my vitamin d level was very low, 12, should be between 30-40 he said, so I have been taking prescription vitamin d. I met with an infectious disease specialist a month ago, and she said she didn't think that I had parasites, but she would test because of my eosinophils. Bingo, I do have them, and now the doctors are trying to say they are parasitic but may not be causing my symptoms. For several months I have noticed that there is strange looking debris after blowing my nose into a tissue. Last night, I am about 99% certain that it was a small worm, certainly looked like one, and I was a teacher, so I am fairly well educated. I saved it in the tissue and put it in a ziplock bag. I don't know whether to call my doctor or not on Monday morning, as I don't trust him, and think he will once again be dismissive. I already went through the HIV phase with him, and told him I didn't have it, as I've only had 4 partners my entire life, have never had unprotected sex, I don't rim, and had an HIV test. I haven't been sexually active in about three years, so I knew I couldn't have it. I retested a couple of months ago to satisfy him, and it was negative once again. I have asked him if any of my past symptoms are connected, and he didn't think so. I disagree. The only diagnosis I have is another one of idiopathic nature, urticaria, (spelling) and says my blood work is fine, which it isn't, because my vitamin d was very low, and my eosinophils are still high. Any advice on what I should do? Prior to all of this stuff over the past 5 years, I was very rarely I'll. now I can no longer do many of the things that I used to, as I don't feel well enough, and I would really like to get some normalcy back in my life. Is there a doctor who can answer this without telling me that I am imagining things? The test results obviously indicate that I am not.
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Yesterday (Saturday) I went for a cycle along a rural cycle path in Devon. When I got home and took my top off my wife noticed something that turned out to be a tick embedded in the left side of my lower chest. She removed it carefully.
I had been on a residential for three days before, in some woods, but had showered every morning and I had a long bath on Friday night and noticed nothing.
We suspect it bit me on Saturday morning but could potentially be any time from Wednesday to Saturday.
What shall I do in terms of going to the doctors / monitoring symptoms?
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What can I do while I wait to see what medication is going to help me. Predisone and hydroxychloroquine 200 mg
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I was bitten by a tick in 2010. It wasn't until this week I learnt about Lymes disease. I got the bullseye rash, and as the months progressed I had the worst flu of my life, incredibly painful episodes of back pain and neck stiffness so much so that I was given physio and literally couldn't move my neck when i was having a flair up. I got severe headaches which made me almost pass out and so dizzy I was sick. I had tests for labarynthitis and saw a ear nose and throat specialist but found nothing. The right Side of my face I got facial numbness and neuralgia, and my eye would twitch and go blurry. Saw an eye clinic and found nothing.
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I live near Sydney , Australia, 49 years old, normally very fit and healthy. 8 weeks ago I was bitten by a large adult tick on right shoulder while hiking. It was on me for about 24hrs before I noticed, killed and removed it. A week after bite, chronic dull headaches started, sinus pain focussed on left side with whitish foamy post nasal drip, neck like a pepper grinder when I turn it, jaw joints clicking and stiff, darkened hollows around eyes, extreme unnatural fatigue. Have been to 3 separate GP doctors and local hospital ED several times and they were at a loss except to give me painkillers and antibiotics. Given 4 blood tests and all returned completely normal with no markers for inflammation, serology negative for infections. Had sinus x-ray: normal. Had brain MRI: normal Have taken so far in sequence, Doxycycline 100, then Amoxicillin Forte with Clavulanic Acid, now on Cephalexin and Metronidazole in combination with grape seed extract. None have made much difference except to lessen the headaches and I suppose rule out bacterial infections, so what I have is probably viral. Taking loads of vit C, garlic, horseradish, etc and resting in bed but nothing is helping. This going on for 6 weeks now, very debilitating.
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I found a tick on my back - it was very bloated, soft, and a light olive green color (almost like a small berry) and came off easily. I squished it and dark brown liquid came out. Does this have any significance? I've never seen/heard of such a thing.
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total thyroidectomy 2 months ago due to Graves disease, 3x since, I have experienced, edema of both eyelids, itching and redness, I am on Synthroid 0.1mg po/daily. The symptoms dissipate after about 2 days.Anyone post Thyroid removal ever have this happen?
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What causes Immune systems to become useless and non functional ? Is it drugs too many, to strong ,killing off what is good stuff in our blood, ?
taking yet more drugs to compensate for blood disorders,to give the system chance to revive to fight back, but seemingly never does.
What happens when the immune system can't take any more drugs,
does it shut down totally, and then what?
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