Did we ever get his hunt report?If so, I have missed it.Could someone direct me to it as I have been waiting with baited breath.

eyedoc
I havenot posted it yet, I am recoverring fron a couple of bad bug bites.

That African bug bite is permanent. No cure. Might as well start writing.

450-Thanks for your reply.I do not wish to pester you ,especially if you are not well.I look forward to the report as I am sure it will be worth waiting for.

NE450 No2,

Don't tell me you found worse bugs than in Tejas? Heck when I lived down there I used to carry a tennis racket just to swat the skeeters.

I have been bitten by a lot of different bugs, but this is by far the worst.

He was bitten so bad, that he's already booked another hunt!

Hope you are feeling better soon, Tony!

I got South African Tick Fever when I was over there. Felt like crap for a week before I got on meds.

Here is the link to Web MD.

http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/sts14971.asp

I got on Meds and was cured up in a few days. I wasn't even checked for it. I brought in a printout to the Doc, said I was in RSA got bitten by some ticks and could have it. I had the WebMD stuff with me, he glanced it over, filled out a prescription and I was better in a few days.

I don't know if this is the case for you. But good luck.

I have not had any swolen glands, only redness and swelling and intense soreness at the bite site, and soreness in the leg muscle up through my knee.

quote:

I have not had any swolen glands, only redness and swelling and intense soreness at the bite site, and soreness in the leg muscle up through my knee.

Well as long as the trigger finger and shooting eyes are OK there is hope.
This may be the most anticipated hunt report ever and I am sure will rate there AT the mountaintop.
I would also love to see any video you were able to gather up.
Remember to spend time healing first.
Frank

Here's a pic of the bite I got in Africa. No idea if it was a tick or spider.


I never saw any ticks. I had 4 bites, one on each arm/leg. This one was the worst. I had fever/chills/headaches etc. for a week. Local Docs know nothing about African bites. They prescribed antibiotics only.
Good luck.

TJ
My bite looks a lot like yours.

That looks like a spider bite to me but I would go see a doctor.

May I join in?

I got hit by a spider - it hurt like hell. The doc in RSA, a woman!, said it just got me, not too bad, but gave me UV treatment and meds. It hurt, and looked like hell, but went away.

Last trip in March, for buff, I counted over 100 bites on each leg. I have a photo, but it is probably only interesting to me to see my white legs with a zillion red bited (and scratches).

Another reason my wife won't go to Africa- the bites on me and the Animal Planet tv special last night on all the weird parasites people pick up in Africa, including one a Peace Corp guy had for seven years, that finally manifested itself when he saw a worm crawling aross his eyeball (just under the skin). Charming!

I think most Americans, myself included, just figure, ah it's no big deal, people have lived there for a long time. I'm in no danger.
Think again. Look at the medical problems our French friend Jean B., NE 450 NO2 and I have had. They are not trivial. Jean B. may be in pain for a long time. Fortunately NE 450 and mine were trivial in comparison.
My best friend went to Africa 6 times, the last time he got sick. They hauled his butt to Anchorage, couldn't find the problem. They notified the family and did the last rites thing. He was dying. Fortunately a young Doc found out that he had been to Africa. He diagnosed some weird malaria, which the other Docs missed. He recovered.
I didn't run around in short britches or short sleeve shirts when I was there.I wore long gaiters half way to my knees. My bite was on the ankle.
I only saw four mosquitoes and no other bugs.
My point is, you may go to Africa every year the rest of your life, and never have a medical problem but....you may not.
I won't let this keep me from going back, but I now know the dangers, and it ain't snakes and buffalo!

450,
my 2c worth, it looks like you were nailed by a Sack spider. They lurk in bedding and curtains and are an aggressivebut floppy looking spider but have a nasty cytotoxic bite which tends to leave a festering and sometimes ulceratiing wound for weeks. You might end up with a nasty scar to remind you of your african adventure

There are a few well-known-and-named fevers associated with ticks and spider bites, then there's all the rest.

I take the meds for the full protocol for Lyme disease with me to Africa. I know they don't have Lyme disease there, but I think 3 weeks of antiobiotics is a lot better than long term problems later.

A lot of the bacteria you get with these bites cause arthritis-like problems years later if not nipped in the bud. Fevers, chills etc after a bug bite - or a target reaction like TJs - and I start and take the whole series. (I agree TJs bite looks like a spider bite.)

I got Lyme disease and was lucky it was diagnosed early. I seem to be falling apart no faster than my friends!

I have a couple of bug bite stories...
On our first trip to Africa in 2002 my wife was bitten by a tick which came off of a kudu that I had shot. We were in the Limpopo area of RSA for plains game. The tick was the size of your thumb nail, and a combination of both bright green and orange in color. Our PH showed a lot of concern over it. We dismissed it as nothing. About a week later the Mrs. was down and out. Same story as NE450 No2, the doctors here in the States didn't check for tick bite fever even after we had told then the story. We found some information on line and brought it to the doctor. He prescribed doxycycline and within a few days she was back at 100%.
On our third trip we went to the Chewore North area in Zim. This was a great hunt. But once again, we get back to the States and the Mrs. starts complaining about aches, pains and a splitting head ache. Off to the doctors again. This time we were sent to an infectious disease specialist. He concluded that it was either dengue or yellow fever. It was never definitively diagnosed since both can show false negatives. The prescription for this one was to wait it out. Two and a half weeks latter she started to come back around.
Most of the time it’s not he big critters that will get you in Africa, it’s the ones you never see.
We are booked for a hunt this fall in the Deka area. Going for another jumbo. My wife will be there at my side as always. We have both been bitten by the worst bug- “AFRICAâ€.

If you have been to Africa and become sick on return the first words out of your mouth when you see a doctor is I JUST GOT BACK FROM AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!It is incredible that people dont tell their doctor this.

I allways use doxycycline as part of my malaria
prophylaxis-this covers you for the chloroquine resistant strains of falciparum as well as many other bugs.
The Australian army also use this medication in the tropics of New Guinea I believe.

I'm not a doctor but that is a spider bite !!
I have seen them before.
I wish you a quick recovery.
L