37 days in Africa so far, split between SA and Bots. No diseases, but figured out that I am HIGHLY allergic to Malarone. That was hell figuring that out.

I've been fortunate to spend about twelve months in Safari camps across Africa and even more fortunate to have been only sick once complements of Jo'burg Airport fried Chicken.
"Touch Wood".....

Well, I have bored everyone here already with my Mystery Illness from Africa, but in short,

I had been ill with the stomach upset or fatigue flu a few times, a nasty spider bite on my first trip that hurt like hell and raised a large concentric blister on the back of my hand, but-

on my 14th trip, I came hope and was in bed for two weeks, with flu like symptoms and high fever, really a drag. Over the next few years I would get really ill like this every 3-4 months, high fever, absolutely wiped out for 1-2 weeks.

I went to many different docs, ERs, and so on, with no definitive diagnosis. After one bad bout, I asked to be referred thru Duke Medicine to an infectious disease specialist, who refused to see me, which was not helpful.

About one year ago, I was ill, again, for about 2 weeks, felt better, and went to a Super Bowl party, my first outing in two weeks.

Barely made it home. Later that night I had a freaky seizure then was in and out, went to the ER. I had a BP of 60/30, which apparently is pretty rare in a living person. They said it was a by-product of some massive infection.

ICU, coma like for a few days, they tried everything, tested for everything, and I was on IV antibiotics for 3 days, then oral for 30 days.

No definitive diagnosis, but it has been a year and I have not been ill again (knock wood).

I was tested for malaria all the blood borne illness they could think of, parasites and so on. When I posted earlier about this some Africa based members had good suggestions, and thought i should get a complete work-up next time I was in Africa to take advantage of local knowledge, which I may still do.

I can say that it was a real drag for a few years, and I really got tired of being ill, I was ill Two Christmas days which was also no fun.

No one knows what is was or is-

Born with malaria in Cameroun. Had all the "normal parasites" including hook worm, round worm and tape worm. Caught some sort of disease that stymied Antwerp Tropical Medicine, Stanford University and a number of others for over a year with no resolutin except slowly getting better. Keep ging back evey year, because it is the best palace to truly live.
Camshaft

Couple tick bites in the Eastern Cape in March 2011. Turned into open sores with lots of redness and swelling, went away in a week with doxy.

I have found out that the water in RSA does not agree with me. While I drink bottled water I did not think about the morning coffee back in 2005 and got a very bad stomach virus and also being diabetic had to spend 5 days in an RSA private hospital. Since then I make sure whatever I drink is bottled water, however, last year what I did not think about was when I was brushing my teeth. I got the nasty stomach virus again but this time did not have to go to hospital that is until the flight home where things went south for me in a hurry and the plane made an emergency landing in Purtico Rico where I was put in the hospital and the hospital tried to kill me. First they let me all most slip into a diabetic coma and then gave me an infection in my arm when they did not clean the iv port before injecting dextrose into me to bring me out of going into coma. Plus the hospital was the dirtest, nastiest hospital I have ever seen in my life. If my brother had not come down to get me I doubt I would have made it out of that hospital alive.

Well. I guess I’ve just been lucky! I’ve always felt much better after returning from Africa! One time I had a shoulder that hurt so badly that my doctor put my right arm in a sling for about a month just before I was to leave for a safari. Within a day of arriving in the Luangwa Valley, my shoulder stopped hurting, and has never bothered me since!

The only thing that has ever bothered me at all is those damn Tsetse fly bites that kept my shirt sleeves bloody for a month after returning home. If you hunt Cape buffalo, be warned, the Tsetse flies are part of the package!

.......................................................................

Nothing here in 11 trips....may have left behind a few infectious spores, though :-)

On both of my trips my wife and I used Doxy as a malaria prophylactic. It also prevents lots of the problems listed here like tick bite fever. Why do most not use it and kill two birds with one stone? Are there problems with it? After reading about some of the negative effects of other malaria meds, it seemed the safest.

The water in Zim didn't agree with me either. They didn't tell me not to brush my teeth with the tap water out of the sink and fortunately for me, I brought a Z-pack to combat the stomach cramps and such. No other problems as of yet other than safariitis.

I've caught the creeping craps each time I've been in Zimbabwe. The last time included a nice little bought of nausea and vomiting as well but Cipro and lomotil fixed it up in about two days time.

Advice..If you start feeling off in the gastro department start your Cipro earlier rather than later. I let my last one go to far and it was MISERABLE for about 36 hours. I'm talking down and out!

Here is the other one that smacked me but good and that was pre trip at the travel medicine Dr. They gave me the oral typhoid vaccine. And boy oh boy, it knocked me on my butt for about three days with fever and a headache to end all headaches. They told me if I had any symptoms like headache or fever to call right away as these are rare but serious sometimes fatal side effects of the oral typhoid vaccine. So I called them right away and they told me that their next available appointment was in two weeks, would I like to schedule?

Friggin doctors...................

Forgot to mention that I also broke my ankle on last year's trip, on the first fricking day. But they quickly solved that and took my gum away and I didn't fall again.

Something simple to help prevent traveler's diarrhea is probiotics.

From a trauma conference I recently attended, it sounds like probiotics are going to be one of the big areas of research in the near future. In the meantime, probiotics have been shown to reduce travelers diarrhea, and antibiotic associated diarrhea.