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I've just returned from my safari in the Eastern Cape - Kirkwood area near port Elizabeth. I know this is the wrong area to put thi but just thought I'd add it as a reminder for anyone wanting to travel to SA on Safari. I was out there for 11 days and came home only to go straight to the local hospital where I was admitted for Tick Bite Fever. I must admit it was my own fault as I didn't use enough tick spray but it's not one of the nicest problems you could have. The glands in my legs all swelled up and I couldn't move my head at all. The little tick's bite resulted in a 4 night stay at hospital and being given enough antibiotics to start my own pharmacy. So I just thought I'd remind anyone traveling out there to ensure they use a good quality tick repellent. | ||
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Thanks for the reminder. Get well fast! (Hellova way to get a rest.) Mike -------------- DRSS, Womper's Club, NRA Life Member/Charter Member NRA Golden Eagles ... Knifemaker, http://www.mstarling.com | |||
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doxy takes care of both malaria propho and tick bite fever | |||
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Prevention is the best cure. Get well soon Paul, David Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232 "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running...... "If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you." | |||
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Get well soon. | |||
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There's another treatment that although not curing the symptoms, does usually makes you feel consideably better. Might I recommend large, regular doses of a good malt whisky............  It's a shit of a thing huh? - get well soon. | |||
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Ticks, are very bad this year with all the rain we had as well. What worked for us thus far is Bushmens Plus with 80% DEET but beware use it well whatever you dont apply they will find. Wearing long trousers and applying well just above my ankles it worked but some got me on my side below the belt. So I would recommend applying on clothing as well. By June - July they should be easing up. Frederik Cocquyt I always try to use enough gun but then sometimes a brainshot works just as good. | |||
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Here is an old cure I heard about. You will need a thimble. an icepick and a match. Pour the thimble full of lighter fluid. Pour the lighter fluid around the affected area. Light the lighter fluid on fire. As the little bastards crawl out, stab them with the icepick. Works well with crabs in the genital area too. Just trying to help. Trophyman Benefactor Member NRA SCI California Rifle & Pistol Assoc. Drive a 69 Chevelle SS396 | |||
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Trophyman, Hope you won't mind my saying that's one of the worst things you can do with a tick and almost guaranteed to get you tick bite fever as the tick will probably regurgitate before letting go. The best way to deal with an attached tick that you've located is to take a pair of tweezers and grab the tick firmly under the head end (where he mouthparts are embedded), then carefully push down to disengage the 'teeth' from the skin and gently pull away. If that doesn't work, rock the tick from side to side. Once it's off, apply a little antiseptic ointment to the bite sight. If you suspect you might have ticks on you, but don't know where, take a shower and subistute your usual soap or shower gel for anti tick and flea dog shampoo and go over every inch of yourself two or three times. - It's actually a good idea to do that every few days when you're in the bush anyway, and again when you get home. If you find yourself licking your own balls, you're probably overdoing it!  If you're using Doxycycline as an anti malarial, that'll also help, as it's an antibiotic and will help relieve the symptoms of tick bite fever. | |||
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Had mild symptoms after my first trip to RSA. Went to the doc told them what I probably had, told them what cures it, and I was set from there. Read a bunch about it online, and he glanced over the info then prescribed the antibiotic. Second trip over I made sure I drank plenty of Scotch. It seemed to prevent them from bothering me. Mink and Wall Tents don't go together. Especially when you are sleeping in the Wall Tent. DRSS .470 & .500 | |||
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Shakari, Sorry for my injection of a little humor. My God man-- get a life!!! Do you really see yourself stabbing yourself in the thigh with an icepick? Take a little time to smile. **** me runnin' Trophyman Benefactor Member NRA SCI California Rifle & Pistol Assoc. Drive a 69 Chevelle SS396 | |||
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My one bout with tick bite fever in the late 1980s damn-near killed me. I was bit on my inner thigh, and the symptoms weren't bad enough to seek treatment until a week after I got home from a nyala hunt in Zululand. I kept thinking it would clear up by itself, but by the time I went to the doctor I had a large target-like wound, the center of which consisted of rotting meat that I literally could pull flesh from, along with a high temperature that totally drained me. My regular doctor prescribed antibiotics that did nothing to help me. He was convinced I'd been bitten by a brown recluse spider (they're common in Arizona) after returning home and not by a tick on another continent. After nearly a week of high fever, I saw another doctor, who called the CDC in Atlanta and prescribed the recommended antibiotic. I started feeling better overnight and the wound eventually healed. African tick fever is nothing to joke about, and from the horror stories I've heard from other hunters, most U.S. doctors are ignorant of its symptoms and how to treat them. Bill Quimby | |||
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My hunting partner contracted this a couple years ago in RSA. Had terrible sweats and fever in the hotel before leaving for home. The house doctor came up, gave him a shot of anti-biotic in the butt, and a prescription of doxycycline and the world was right within 24 hours. Like everyone said before, prevention is half the cure. The weather was really hot and rainy when we were in Namibia for my leopard hunt, and when I went to take the hero pics, I could see at least 30 ticks on the cat around the head and neck areas. They said that was really common in the early season. Decided that the dog handlers and PH could do the photos and I would just smile!!!!Damn, I hate bugs! | |||
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I got tickbite fever dec - jan. I should of seen a doctor but never bothered, I had extreme headaches, coughing so much that I would vomit and extreme problems with my chest, I thought it was all because I gave up smoking, none the less I found out a month ago that it was tick bite fever. Im 100% now, could of gone the wrong was. As I now say one must get your wife to search all those hidden away areas. A PH friend says his wife is only allowed to remove the ticks on him with her teeth.... lol | |||
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Trophyman, I had a blonde moment and misread your post to read toothpick........ then thought what a load of tosh......... sorry 'bout that!   | |||
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No worries mate.  Trophyman Benefactor Member NRA SCI California Rifle & Pistol Assoc. Drive a 69 Chevelle SS396 | |||
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Funny you mention tick bite fever because right now as I am writing this i am in bed with tick bite fever. It sucks. The head ache is unbearable. I probably got bitten by the little bastard last weekend in the timbavati game reserve. The Archer seeks the mark upon the path of the infinite, The Prophet Kahlil Gibram | |||
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Yea the tick bite fever sucks allright. I've just been signed off work for another week while I recover. Also the medication they have put me on makes me sensitive to light so I can't even go out sunbathing in the garden. LOL. I does seem thought that there's a lot of the little buggers around this year, that'll teach me to hunt Kudu for 7 days solid. | |||
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Your tick bite fever sounds really bad! I got it last year (in Kenya) and thought I had a bad case of flu. The camp mgr didn't think it was flu so she had me fly to Nairobi to the infectious disease dr there. I did have a quarter-size ugly bite on my waist (still have the scar a year later). It was diagnosed as tick bite fever and a prescription for doxycycline had me feeling a lot better right away (other than the extreme sun sensitivity!). Cindy   | |||
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I got a tick bite from my leopard in June 2006. I took antibiotics for 4 days and was right as rain. I did have the high fever, and neck pain. I got bit at the base of my skull and it hurt when he bit me, so I didn't get much of a dose...but it was enough to make me sick for several days. I had joint pain for about 6 months after, but the blood test came back normal. I am fine now, except I feel this continual urge to go back to Africa...my doctor says now I just have African fever. | |||
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Regretfully, there is no known cure, once afflicted the fever never wanes. Some days it is not as bad as others, but it is always there. Mike | |||
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I found and removed a tick on my side in Moz in 2005 and one on my leg in Zim 2007. In both cases I began taking the antibiotics I brought along. I didn't have any ill effects. I don't know if the ticks just didn't carry the fever or if I was actually treating it. Is there a way to ID the ticks that carry the fever? Regards, D. Nelson | |||
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In addition to deet on your skin consider treating your clothing with permithin(SP) | |||
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Steve, do you know the most common ticks that are the culprits? They are pepper ticks. How the hell do you get tweasers close to their JAWS.....??? Or, "rock it from side to side"??? Charl van Rooyen Owner Infinito Travel Group www.infinito-safaris.com charl@infinito-safaris.com Cell: +27 78 444 7661 Tel: +27 13 262 4077 Fax:+27 13 262 3845 Hereford Street 28A Groblersdal 0470 Limpopo R.S.A. "For the Infinite adventure" Plains Game Dangerous Game Bucket List Specialists Wing-Shooting In House Taxidermy Studio In House Dip and Pack Facility In House Shipping Service Non-Hunting Tours and Safaris Flight bookings "I promise every hunter visiting us our personal attention from the moment we meet you, until your trophies hang on your wall. Our all inclusive service chain means you work with one person (me) taking responsibility during the whole process. Affordable and reputable Hunting Safaris is our game! With a our all inclusive door to door service, who else do you want to have fun with?" South Africa Tanzania Uganda | |||
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That's one of the things the dog shampoo is for! I usually use it about every 2 or 3 days instead of ordinary shower gel...... Don't forget about what happens if you overdo it though........ | |||
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Woof woof, now I know why we disagree so much Stevo  Cheers mate Charl van Rooyen Owner Infinito Travel Group www.infinito-safaris.com charl@infinito-safaris.com Cell: +27 78 444 7661 Tel: +27 13 262 4077 Fax:+27 13 262 3845 Hereford Street 28A Groblersdal 0470 Limpopo R.S.A. "For the Infinite adventure" Plains Game Dangerous Game Bucket List Specialists Wing-Shooting In House Taxidermy Studio In House Dip and Pack Facility In House Shipping Service Non-Hunting Tours and Safaris Flight bookings "I promise every hunter visiting us our personal attention from the moment we meet you, until your trophies hang on your wall. Our all inclusive service chain means you work with one person (me) taking responsibility during the whole process. Affordable and reputable Hunting Safaris is our game! With a our all inclusive door to door service, who else do you want to have fun with?" South Africa Tanzania Uganda | |||
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I've been swopping the dog shampoo for the wife's shower gel for years - hasn't made any difference though! Christ, I hope she doesn't read this - she'll kill me if she sees it! | |||
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Look on the bright side - at least we agree on some things! | |||
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.458Aubs, At one stage in my life I used to hunt on a very tick-infested farm. Got tickbite fever about twice a month - as soon as one course of antibiotics is completed, I got sick again. Then once I just suffered the sickness - with the antibiotics just on standby. Since that time, never any tickbite fever again. True that I now use Bayticol and generally hunt only where I know there are few ticks, but as we all know despite all precautions you still sometimes get bitten. With your suffering you possibly also became immune to further suffering. Never mind tickbite fever – I simply H-A-T-E the itching! In good hunting. Andrew McLaren | |||
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If you got tick bite fever, and not do anything about it, you`ll get sick very sick you think you shall die. after a long week you get better, and you will never get the fever again, yoy got immune to the tickfever. My PH`s told me so, and the doctor back home agree in that. Another matter and this is very actuall in scandinavia and i Africa as well, is the Borreliouses that causes from tick bite, You get very sick, some may die, You have to treaten it with antibiotics, the first sign of it is a red ring around the bite, this ring will grow and get darker in colour, it can take weeks before you see anuthing. The best protection is use a lot tickreppelent, use long trousers and be sure it`s closed around your shoes/hunting boots, using gaitors is very smart even on long trousers, and finally scheck your body every night, and use something that we call a tick picker, this effectivily removes the tick from your skin. http://www.idbrickor.com/images/415001.JPG Tickpicker that is very easy to use. Another link to a tickpicker: http://www.genttrade-ab.se/guide.htm Salesagent Africa hunting | |||
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Now that you mention it, I have pulled a couple of fiesty buggers of my skin in the last three months and not much has happened. So maybe im immune to tick bite fever. But then I've recently heard of a cattle farmer who dropped dead from tick bite fever. He app had been bitten many times before App research shows that one in ten thousand ticks can infect you with tick bite fever. Some researches say that a tick with thin white stripes on the underside of the abdomen / body of the tick are the ones that give you tick bite fever. Infinito - app peper ticks are not the cause of tick bite fever, they are the ones responsible for the terrible itching and scratching..... the best thing to do with them is to run a bath with water as hot as you can handle to open the pores and then add savlon to the bath and soak in it for ten minutes, the savlon coats the pores and gets rid of the pepper ticks | |||
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This is a really interesting discussion. Especially since I have gotten Borreliouses.. I was supposed to go to Russia for a ibex hunt in May, but had to postpone because of a bad knee. After a lot of different tests, my doctor called telling me I had Borreliouses. I haven`t had tick bite since RSA 2006. And I never had that ring around the bite mark.. Last year I had some troubles with my hips as well, but else from this I haven`t noticed anything. A friend of mine hunted EC a year prior to me, and was very ill. So I knew of the problem before my hunt, and checked every inch of my body every day. They say that they normally must bite for over 24 hours before the Borreliouses can infect you. Will have a check with a neurologist soon. This might be smart, since I probably have been infected for over two years.. Anders Hunting and fishing DVDs from Mossing & Stubberud Media: www.jaktogfiskedvd.no ..and my blog at: http://andersmossing.blogspot.com | |||
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Hunted near Hluhluwe last year for red duiker in very thick, pepper tick-laden cover. Took a couple of cans of permethrin with and sprayed three changes of shirt/hunting shorts/socks. No ticks, unlike the previous year. Will be smarter this year and spray before I leave, letting the three changes of outfit dry and then putting in plastic bag for Africa. Don't expect any problems. Note: Bought a large pumpspray can of Sawyers permethrin from REI. Regards | |||
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Anyone know where to get one of these in the States? Thanks, Andy | |||
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REI has a product that I've carried in a first aid kit for a couple of years called the Tick Nipper. See at this URL: Tick Nipper Most others I have seen are in pet stores but could be used on humans as well. "Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult." | |||
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I, too, am just recovering from tick fever from being there three weeks ago ...... it's not fun. I'll take better precautions next time also. ____________________________ .470 & 9.3X74R Chapuis' Tikka O/U 9.3X74R Searcy Classics 450/.400 3" & .577 C&H .375 2 1/2" Krieghoff .500 NE Member Dallas Safari Club | |||
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Both my wife and I got tick bite fever in June about 2 weeks after getting back from South Africa. I took our cipro (I was on another trip) and my wife took doxocycline. Symptoms were mild and after 3 days of antibiotics it was mostly gone. I hunt, not to kill, but in order not to have played golf.... DRSS | |||
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