Topic: Anyone here get Lyme from a Horsefly Bite???
Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
TxCoord and I visted a friend today who is in a rehab unit after contracting Guillian Barre Syndrome.
He Pastors a church not far from us,and woke up partially paralyzed one morning after ABX treatment for a Sinus infection.
It worsened over a couple days and he landed in the Duck Motel and now the rehab unit for PT.
They did bunches of blood work,and somebody was on the ball. He is positive for Lyme disease,and now on IV Rocephin.
He will be in the rehab unit for about four more weeks.They are trying to help him regain his walking abilities,as his knee joints do not bend w/o help.
His family is from California,and he remembers a horsefly bite,that caused issues [we don't know how long ago?].
If it' okay if I ask here,Please pray for *G'Y* [I don't use full names w/o permission for privacy reasons]. I am just remembering finding out last summer that I have Lyme Disease.
I'd heard of mosquitos maybe carrying LD/Coinfectants,fleas etc. possibly too. Maybe any flying biting insect can carry it?
Gotta run for now,out this evening,but I'll be around tommorrow resting!!!
From Silverwolf in my boots today so maybe I wont trip on mahself!!!
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged |
Dave6002
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9064
posted
I never saw a real tick or tick bite in my life, but I got several bad ant bites several months before I fell really ill.
However, I did work on a deer path with tall grass and bushes.
Posts: 1078 | From Fairland | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ya know, I've wondered the same thing about a nasty wasp sting I got about a year ago. This wasp stung me THROUGH MY JEANS on the inside of my knee.
It hurt so bad, I thought I was going to die. I had no idea what got me, and I swear it took me 5 minutes to drag myself across our front yard to get to the back door! That was a long 5 minutes!!!
My husband ran a knife across my knee to make sure the stinger wasn't still in, which it wasn't. I put Benadryl ointment on it, hoping it would get better. It continued to hurt like hell.
All of this happened on a Sunday night, and by Tuesday morning, I had a full blown situation. I had a fever, felt miserable, the inside of my knee was hot and swollen. You could see where the sting was, which turned white in the center. There was a burning red/purple rash that ended up being about the size of my hand. Come to think of it, the rash was circular or oval in shape.
I called my doctor and of course they wanted me to come in...........I was SO miserable, I BEGGED them to call in an antibiotic. It was so obvious it was infected. I can't remember what she called out, but it worked. Thank goodness.
I felt better within 24 hours, but my knee was atrocious. They told me to keep it elevated and to put moist heat on it. OMG, that felt soooooo good to it, but otherwise the pain of it continued to dominate my life. It took probably 2-3 weeks before the "rash" or whatever you want to call it faded away. You can still see the center and the "outline" of where the rash was.
So, I wonder if you can get "something" from a wasp in your front yard, OR if it's more likely that it's probably a tick from the ranch. Hmmmm, I wonder? There are so many possibilities, it could one or the other or both or neither!!
Any thoughts?
Thanks, terri3boys
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
| IP: Logged |
Greatcod
Unregistered
posted
There was a short article in the NEJM by a doctor from Lyme Ct who was bitten by a horsefly and contracted Lyme...Long time ago, almost 20 years..
IP: Logged |
savebabe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9847
posted
Another llmd I met believed that lyme can be transmitted this way.
Very scary!
Posts: 1603 | From ny | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
I know of several folks bitten by biting flies that were infected with bartonella... including myself.
I know of two cases of mosquitoes transmitting Lyme.
I know of two cases where ticks passed on West Nile.
I know people who were bitten by spiders who developed Lyme.
I know people who were bitten by chiggers who had tick borne diseases and other infections.
Outside the USA there are reports of bartonella transmitted by flies.. and also I believe one abstract dealing with bartonella in flies in California.
Mosquitoes have been shown to harbor Lyme but no one is doing much to see if they can transmit it.
My thought is they all can carry it and transmit it. I have yet to see proof that they can't and there are too many cases showing they can.
posted
This would not surprise me at all. I truly don't think I ever had a tick bite but a hi=orse fly bite--Yes. I literaly lived on my horse when I got lyme disease. sick
Posts: 538 | From Iowa | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
I think any bug that can pierce your skin is a possible contender for transmission.
As we have 11/12 people within a quarter of a mild infected with Lyme,
The probability (based on ticks carrying Lyme) that our vector may be the mosquito
Or some other biting/stinging insect increases.
I just find it hard to believe that 10/11 of us never saw a tick,
Never had a rash, but all have Lyme.
Who knows.........
Just think of the magnitude of Lyme cases that are potentially out there based on
Transmission via another insect boggles my mind.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I never saw a tick but had a strange bite (thought it was spider) followed by extremely high relapsing fever/chills and muscle weakness about 5 days later.
Posts: 212 | From Eastern CA | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
<<<<< All'a'y'all Who've Responded >>>>> Thanks for the tho'ts, and info' you replied with!!!
I wonder,the more I hear,see and experience,I don't remember being bitten by a tick,tho' I have seen ticks in some areas we've lived,or camped in the summers.
I've been bitten by spiders, fire ants,mosquitos, a bee like insect that bites rather than stings[don't know what they're called],horseflies,and an unidentified something that bit me as a child, that left two little holes in the back of my heel/achilles area,stung and burned and swelled fiercely.
A few years ago,a bug of some sort,smallish,about watermelon seed size, dark colored,fell off a roof eave and bit me on the arm.Didn't look like a tick from pics I've seen. A day or two later I went to the Dr. w/ a rash that I was told was *'Pitariasis Rosea'.
Having had many rashes, I was told were excema, the *'PR',and grass allergy rashes. Not Sure I'll ever know how I contracted Lyme disease/Bartonella and?...
I am just glad that there is treatment,and folk Like y'all who will help us find the treatment options and Doctors/Naturopaths etc...who'll help.
Thanks again for the responses,thot's info' questions ans all!!!
Love from the Silverwolf!
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Here is a story from a well known deer photographer for hunting magazines on his getting lyme from a blackfly bite. This was in western NY where lyme does "not exist". Long but good article
ONE MAN'S BATTLE WITH LYME DISEASE by Charles J. Alsheimer
I still remember the phone call I received two years ago on a crisp October day. On the other end of the line was a local newspaper reporter who wanted my opinion on the prospects of hunters contracting Lyme disease during the 1993 deer season. I can't remember my exact response, but it went something like this:
"I realize Lyme disease is a problem in many parts of the country, but not here in western New York. My guess is that a hunter has a better chance of being hit by a meteor than contracting Lyme disease around here. So, I'd tell your readers not to worry about it. The whole issue is overblown.
Famous last words. My comments returned to haunt me. I ended up being the guy who got hit by a meteor. Less than eight months after that phone call, I found myself in declining health and didn't know why. As you can imagine, I became deeply concerned. America's woods and waters are my workplace, and all my life I've been involved in athletics as a player and coach. I consider myself to be in good shape, especially for someone who is 47 years old. As a result, I was mystified when my health started to deteriorate last summer.
Overlooked Dangers In my line of work, I had always viewed biting, buzzing or crawling insects and arachnids as nothing more than a nuisance. Oh, I always used the necessary insect repellants and protective clothing, but biting bugs never caused me to shy away from a woods, swamp or stream when pursuing my work and recreation. As a serious white-tailed deer hunter and photographer, I should have known better.
My bout with Lyme disease had a vague beginning. I had always thought, because of sketchy media reports, that I could only get Lyme disease from certain ticks, specifically the Ixodes, or deer tick.
Further, I believed that if I were bitten, I would develop a telltale bull's-eye circle or rash around the bite. Neither was the case with me, and, as you'll see, there might be many other ways to contract the disease.
My encounter with Lyme disease probably began in May 1994. During May and June I was doing a tremendous amount of deer photography on and near our farm. My goal was to capture doe and fawn behavior on film. The photography went well in spite of high populations of mosquitoes, black flies and "punkies."
For the most part, I kept these nuisances in check. Still, in spite of wearing lightweight hip boots, protective garments, and insect repellants, I took a few hits.
One morning, while photographing a whitetail at a stream crossing, I watched as a black fly chewed and bit my right wrist. I felt a great deal of self-gratification when I squashed it before it could fly away. By the next morning, the bite had swollen a little and turned red, but it didn't concern me.
Within a week, I came down with a sore left elbow (I'm a lefty) while pitching batting practice to my son's high school baseball team. I've been a baseball coach in various leagues for nearly 25 years, and have pitched batting practice at nearly every practice during those years. I seldom got a sore arm, even when I pitched competitively, so I shrugged it off as old age catching up with me.
A week later, with my left arm still sore, my right wrist and the toes on my right foot started becoming sore. Also, I began encountering a wide range of ringing in my ears. That caused a little discomfort, but I still didn't give it much thought. My concern increased a week later when my right hip began hurting. I didn't know it then, but worse symptoms were to come.
By the first week of June, I found myself getting tired in the middle of the day, so I began taking a ten-minute "power nap" every noon. I awoke from these siestas feeling refreshed and ready to go. Often I would kid with people about these naps, and mention how great they made me feel. As with the sore arm, I just figured Father Time's clock was slowing me down.
Then, one night in mid-June, I pulled up to a traffic light and noticed I had difficulty reading the neon sign on a bank next to the intersection. I don't wear glasses, and figured it was merely eye fatigue. After all, during my annual eye exam the previous February, the doctor told me I would have to start using non-prescription reading glasses because of my age.
I figured that might be part of the problem. Unfortunately, within a week of the neon-sign episode, I was having trouble focusing my eyes during the day. This condition was especially disturbing because it was affecting my photography. I wondered what on earth was going on. More than once I worried about my future in photography if I couldn't see well enough to use my cameras. Of course, those thoughts were premature, but I had serious concerns.
Slowly, I began to feel like an old man. From mid-June to mid-July, more unfamiliar symptoms began plaguing me. At the end of June, while bush-hogging some of our hayfields, my heart began to race and palpitate for no apparent reason. I quickly turned off the tractor's power take-off unit, cut back the engine's throttle, and stopped the tractor.
I put my hand on my chest, wondering if my heart was going to jump through my shirt. I was scared, but within a couple of minutes the palpitations stopped. Little did I realize that was only the beginning of more episodes.
Bow Practice Becomes Painful On July Fourth, I dusted off the bow and began shooting in preparation for the fall. I was scheduled to go on a bow-hunt for whitetails with the Realtree Camouflage folks in October, and I wanted to be ready. My practice sessions didn't go well. After about three shots each day, my left "pitcher's elbow" began aching. That � coupled with the sore joints, fatigue, blurred vision, ringing ears, and a second bout with irregular heartbeats � greatly increased my concerns.
By mid-July, I was battling yet another problem. Without warning, pain began shooting through my thigh and arm muscles. Though these pains lasted only a couple of seconds, I felt as if I was being stabbed with an ice pick. Despite all the discomfort, I was able to function, though I was becoming greatly concerned.
Around the end of July, another new twist developed. I felt quite good for a few days. I still had the joint soreness, but my stamina and steady eyesight were returning. I began to think I might be getting over whatever had plagued me. Unfortunately, the recovery lasted only a few days. I later found out that this short "recovery" was a trait of Lyme disease.
Slowly, all of the problems returned except the heart palpitations. In addition, another new problem surfaced: brief bouts of nausea. The episodes never lasted more than five to ten seconds, but they hit once or twice a day.
As August arrived, I got lucky. One afternoon, I was on the phone with Dave Buckley, a fellow outdoor writer from West Valley, New York. With our conversation nearly complete, I asked about his wife, Beth. Dave responded, "Oh, much better." "Better? What's wrong?" I asked. Dave told me Beth had contracted Lyme disease and was in the final stages of treatment. When he told me about it, I asked to speak with her.
After asking many questions about her symptoms and how she was being treated, I said goodbye and hung up. For the next hour, my mind was racing at warp speed. Many of Beth's symptoms resembled mine. She never got a rash from being bit, and neither had I. All I had was a slight scar, still visible, from the black fly's bite. Nor had Beth tested positive for Lyme disease on her first test.
After doing a little more self-diagnosis, I called Dave and Beth again. I told them of my symptoms and the lack of any Lyme disease rash. Beth was involved in a Lyme disease support group and urged me to see a specialist, 250 miles from my home.
On August 16, 1994, I made the 250-mile drive to his office. The crazy thing was, I had felt fine the previous 36 hours, and nearly all the soreness had gone away. Meeting the Dr was a breath of fresh air. He was personable and, like me, an outdoorsman. He put me through a battery of tests before we sat down to talk.
During our conversation, he grilled me about my symptoms, my line of work, and how much time I spent in the outdoors. About fifteen minutes into our conversation he said, "I don't know what your blood test will reveal, but I've seen enough cases to tell you that you probably have Lyme disease.
I drove home with a sense of relief. Within a day, I began my oral medication, and felt a major improvement within a week. The soreness started going away and I could see better.
I returned to the Dr. on September 17 and, as we talked, he said my first blood test had been negative. Still, he was so certain I had Lyme disease that he conducted more blood tests. The second test was different, and proved to me what many medical experts were learning about Lyme disease: Just because the first test is negative doesn't mean the second test will also be negative.
Fortunately, the Dr. had begun my treatment a month before the disease was confirmed. By November, I began feeling like my old self. I felt I had received a new lease on life. I finished my medication on Christmas Eve and haven't looked back. Not a week goes by that I don't think of the saying, "If you have your health you have everything." No truer words were ever spoken.
I've also thought a lot about the mystery of Lyme disease and the difficulty of getting the right treatment. I was fortunate to find a competent doctor who specialized in Lyme disease.
I say that because I've since talked to a couple of local doctors who have doubts Lyme disease exists in western New York. That's sad, because my Doctor is treating other patients from my area.
-------------------- Nori Posts: 109 | From Virginia | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Greatcod: There was a short article in the NEJM by a doctor from Lyme Ct who was bitten by a horsefly and contracted Lyme...Long time ago, almost 20 years..
quote:Originally posted by Greatcod: There was a short article in the NEJM by a doctor from Lyme Ct who was bitten by a horsefly and contracted Lyme...Long time ago, almost 20 years..
("Lyme Disease Transmitted by a Biting Fly," New England Journal of Medicine)
This case report offers about the best evidence I know of for transmission of Bb by vectors other than ticks. But it's still only anecdotal evidence.
Posts: 30 | From Here | Registered: May 2007
| IP: Logged |
Jill E.
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9121
posted
Yes, one of my fellow Southern Californias contracted Lyme, Babesia and Tularemia through a fly bite.
Jill
-------------------- If laughter is the best medicine, why hasn't stand-up comedy cured me? Posts: 1773 | From San Diego | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Helloooo,and WOW,
<<<<< Lymer Friends >>>>> [<< >> my hug sending],
Thanks for putting more info' on this thread!!
It will help next time we go to cheer up *G'Y*,and his family!!!
And also,this is all helping me make sense of how I may have gotten the Neuro Lyme?Bart' illness!!!
Supposedly I am in the beginning stages of remission,tho' I still keep getting odd symptoms. I feel stronger,but my legs,especially the rt. one get irritatingly weak w/o warning.
I am trying to be patient,which isn't my strong suite! Also trying to stay hopeful and positive...
Love from the Silverwolf!!!
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged |
TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
Ticks and biting insects infected with the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi.
L A Magnarelli and J F Anderson
Department of Entomology, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven 06504.
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
Abstract
Members of 18 species of ticks, mosquitoes, horse flies, and deer flies were collected in southeastern Connecticut and tested by indirect fluorescent-antibody staining methods for Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease.
An infection rate of 36.2% (116 tested), recorded for immature Ixodes dammini, exceeded positivity values for all other arthropod species.
Prevalence of infection for hematophagous insects ranged from 2.9% of 105 Hybomitra lasiophthalma to 14.3% of seven Hybomitra epistates. Infected I. dammini larvae and nymphs coexisted with infected Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) immatures on white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), but unlike I. dammini, none of the 55 adult American dog ticks collected from vegetation harbored B. burgdorferi.
Groups of 113 field-collected mosquitoes of Aedes canadensis and 43 Aedes stimulans were placed in cages with uninfected Syrian hamsters. Of these, 11 females of both species contained B. burgdorferi and had fed fully or partially from the hamsters. No spirochetes were isolated from the hamsters, but antibodies were produced in one test animal.
Horse and Deer Flies HYG-2115-98 William F. Lyon Common Name Scientific Name Horse Fly Tabanus spp. Deer Fly Chrysops spp. Female horse and deer flies are vicious, painful biters. They feed on the blood of cattle, horses, mules, hogs, dogs, deer, other warmblooded animals, and even humans. These flies cut through the skin with their knife-like mouthparts and suck the blood for several minutes. When they fly away, a drop or two of blood usually exudes from the wound, permitting secondary feeding sites for other nuisance insects. The flies are potential vectors of such diseases as anthrax, tularemia, anaplasmosis, hog cholera, equine infectious anemia, and filariasis. Also, deer and horse flies are suspected of transmitting Lyme disease (New England Journal of Medicine 322:1752, 1990). Biting deer flies frequently attack humans along summer beaches, near streams, and at the edges of moist, wooded areas. Some people, when bitten, suffer severe lesions, high fever, and even general disability. Symptoms are allergic reactions to hemorrhagic saliva poured into the wound to prevent clotting while the fly is feeding. A person can become increasingly sensitive to repeated bites. Nuisance Autumn horse flies "buzz" people and rest on porches during late summer
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
the day i got suddenly sick, i was bit by many biting flies near a lake. It could be possible.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic