I do realize this is probably not what why I am sick and I was probably more likely infected from a tick, but I swear years ago after being bitten by a hampster is when all my problems started.
I remember it bit me and I started bleeding really bad, the only thing I found on this was it may spread tuleremia, but very rare.
Has anyone else ever been bitten by a hampster?
Posted by lyme in Putnam (Member # 11561) on :
Not thati can think of buti have tularemia. I know it's from rodents, mice. Feel better.
Posted by shannon12 (Member # 36149) on :
well I found my answer, tuleremia has been associated with hampster bites if any one is interested.
lyme in putnam- ok so my biggest concern is that im reading you need specific antibiotics to get rid of it and that it also does not show up in testing easily, are you on a specific med for it?
Posted by shannon12 (Member # 36149) on :
Not saying I even definitely have it, but it seems wierd I think it was a few months after being bitten by a friend's pet hamster I started feeling ill, may or may not be related. I remember the thing was wild too, cause it ws in a big cage and I just had my hand at the top, it leaped up and attached to my finger. I'll have to ask my doc about this also, they say it's really rare this way but according to the cdc lyme as a whole is rare too, so that means nothing.
Posted by lax mom (Member # 38743) on :
I have Tularemia antibodies (just 2). I don't think I should have any.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Research is showing more and more small animals to be carriers like chipmunk etc. No telling what that hamster was carrying.
It was probably wild, cause it had tick borne illnesses. Lyme rage!!!
Pam
Posted by shannon12 (Member # 36149) on :
this is kind of funny for some reson idk'''''
map1131-yes it may have been i don't know I think it was right from a pet store, but they say even if the pet hapmster have it they will die within a few weeks if they themselves carried it , which I don't think this one did.
It concerned me because there are even different meds to take for this, usually not lyme meds.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Aw, I enjoyed having having hamsters as pets when I was a child. They were fun, friendly, little furry creatures.
I was bit a few times but they were all accidents, all my fault (fingers smelled like fruits/veggies!).
I remember one time I had just eaten a juicy fresh peach. My hamster must have smelled it on my lips and thought that my lip was the fruit. She bit my lip but quickly dropped it when she realized that it was not the fragrant fruit that she desired. I think we were both equally startled! She was my favorite hamster, she never bit me again.
Shannon, if you got bit by a hamster that came from a pet store, it is highly unlikely that the hamster was sick.
A couple times we had some young hamsters accidentally breed. We loved having the babies but cried when we had to give them away. The pet store gave us food and store credit in exchange for the hand raised/friendly hamster babies.
Our hamsters usually lived for about 3-4yrs.
Posted by shannon12 (Member # 36149) on :
sammy-yeah I doubt it either, just something I thought about.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by shannon12: well I found my answer, tuleremia has been associated with hampster bites if any one is interested.
- I'm actually glad I did not know that back when I was teaching!!
I usually had hampsters, gerbils or mice in my classrooms!
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Shannon,
Anytime anyone with a chronic illness puts "crazy" in their posts, my eyes pop out - because we've been beaten down so often by doctors with that "crazy" label and I'm out to stamp it out.
I don't know why you'd think asking about a hampster bite would sound "crazy" at all. It sounds very smart, indeed. And, yes, it could certainly explain some acute &/or chronic infections. -
Posted by lyme in Putnam (Member # 11561) on :
I tested equivical for tularemia but a machine, the biotracker was the first to tell me last year. Blood work testing equivocal was confirmation. Im on Byron white A-TULA. It covers tularemia, lyme and bart,but I have lyme and bart too. Bloodwork confirming. This has been the roller coaster from hell ride. Nothings crazy with this. Innocent things turned poisonous/ Im also doing ondamed.
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
I remember when hamsters were a concern many years ago in NY City. No one could figure out why apartment dwellers in high rises in the city were being infected with Lyme. Ticks on a hamster were found to be the problem.
Posted by shannon12 (Member # 36149) on :
Keebler-I don't think anything about lyme is crazy, trust me I've been dealing w/it for almost 10 years and have been looked at like I've been crazy so long now.
And if you look up hamster bites on the internet causing infection,, it says they are extremely rare and it states only ONE case of a little boy getting tuleremia from it. That's why.
I'm not trying to upset anyone when I post a question, but I guess I always seem to.
Posted by shannon12 (Member # 36149) on :
And if tuluremia wouldn't be out of the question, why isn't it routinely tested for, with lyme disease?
Does it fall under erlicia panel or something else?
Should I ask my doc to be tested for it??
Posted by lax mom (Member # 38743) on :
My LLMD ordered "Tularemia titer" to re-check my antibodies.