JillF
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5553
posted
My best friends' father was told that he had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever by a dermatologist but now the doctors have no idea what it is that he has.
He has red/pink fluid filled warts. It started on his ankles and slowly moved up his body. He thinks he even has it in his throat.
I believe this all started with a fever.
He had just gotten back from Germany and Jamaica when this started.
posted
Hi JillF, Well, since you asked for ideas about your friends' father-----I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. This is a strictly amateur guess.
Did the DOC mention pemphigus? Pemphigus affects the skin with blisters that can also be in the mouth and throat. It's an autoimmune disease, but in my opinion, I think most autoimmune diseases are caused by a bacteria, virus or mycoplasm.
The part that puzzles me is that a dermatologist should have been able to diagnose it on the spot.
(I used to work in a Dermatologist office & we had a patient with pemphigus.)
This picture is probably magnified or shows a blister that's infected----the worst case scenario. So it may not completely resemble the type of blister he has. http://tray.dermatology.uiowa.edu/PemVul01.htm
It seems as today you have to diagnose yourself and do all the legwork to get a "correct" diagnosis------rather than a doctor's guess.
Couldn't the DOC culture the blister contents? It is puzzling he developed this after being overseas; could be a big clue. Maybe it'll just go away by itself?
Hope others will have some more expert ideas. Let us know how he does. Take Care, Jan
[This message has been edited by RECIPEGIRL (edited 18 August 2004).]
Posts: 602 | From Burleson, Texas, USA | Registered: Jul 2004
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Posts: 602 | From Burleson, Texas, USA | Registered: Jul 2004
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Beverly
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 1271
posted
Hi Jill, I don't know what your best friends father has, but maybe this information previoulsy posted by Tincup will help? ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Posted by Tincup I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago that people could be infected by Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever without having been bitten by the tick, just by touching it. Someone was watching me and asked for documentation...AND a web site to prove it. YUP...Keep me on my toes.... Since all my info was really old and stored away in boxes out of state...I was not sure I could by using the computer. Good news! I found over 500 listings for documentation and then I thought that maybe others were not aware of this problem. I had studied it years ago when I came down with it and lived! It was NOT fun! SO...This is why we NEVER handle a tick with our bare fingers/hands/or have them crawl on us... Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever has been identified in all of the US mainland states except for Vermont and Maine I believe. But that report is about 6 years old so those states may be included now too? http://www.peteducation.com/dogs/rockymsf.htm People do NOT get infected directly from a dog, but through a tick bite or the contents of a tick. This is why it is very important not to remove a tick from a pet with your bare hands. Check out our article to learn the proper way to remove a tick. http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbrmsf.htm Rocky Mountain spotted fever is spread by the bite of an infected tick (the American dog tick or the lone-star tick) or by contamination of the skin with tick blood or feces. Person-to- person transmission does not occur. Remove any tick promptly. Do not try to burn the tick with a match or cover it with petroleum jelly or nail polish. Do not use bare hands. Be sure to wash the bite area and your hands thoroughly with soap and water, and apply an antiseptic to the bite site. http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/955142302.html RMSF is spread by the bite of an infected tick (the American dog tick, the lone-star tick or the wood tick) or by contamination of the skin with the tick's body fluids or feces. Person to person and direct animal to human transmission of RMSF does not occur. To remove an attached tick, grasp it with tweezers or forceps as close as possible to its attachment (skin) site, and pull straight back and out with a firm and steady pressure. If tweezers are not available, use fingers shielded with tissue paper or rubber gloves. Do not handle with bare hands. Be careful not to squeeze, crush or puncture the body of the tick which may contain infectious fluids. http://hlunix.hl.state.ut.us/els/epidemiology/epifacts/rmsf.html People get Rocky Mountain spotted fever from the bite of an infected tick. There is no evidence of natural person-to-person transmission, however, there have been cases reported in persons who removedinfected ticks from other people and in doing so, crushed the ticks and exposed themselves to infection from the tick. Ticks should be removed promptly and carefully by using tweezers and applying gentle steady traction. Do not crush the tick's body when removing it and apply the tweezers as close to the skin as possible to avoid leaving tick mouth parts in the skin. Do not remove ticks with your bare hands. Protect your hands with gloves, cloth, or tissue and be sure to wash your hands after removing a tick. Man usually contracts the illness either from the bite of an infective tick or by crushing infected ticks between his fingers. http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/whealth/factshet/rmsf.htm RMSF is spread by the bite of an infected tick (the American dog tick, the lone-star tick or the wood tick) or by contamination of the skin with the tick's body fluids or feces. Person to person and direct animal to human transmission of RMSF does not occur http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/doh/html/cd/cdrmsf.html How is RMSF spread? RMSF is spread by the bite of an infected tick (the American dog tick, the lone-star tick, or the wood tick), or by contamination of the skin with tick blood or feces. Person to person spread of RMSF does not occur. IP: Logged Posts: 6639 | From Michigan | Registered: Jun 2001
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