hi, my daughter is in Hopkins with a volunteer group, ProBelize, supposedly doing some building projects. She arrived on Dec. 29 and they went into the jungle on Jan 2 as a search party for missing people. She was badly bitten by sand fleas and no-see-ums so that she bled. The bites have made her ankles and lower legs swell quite badly and they are hot and red. WE are concerned that they are infected and that she might need medical attention. Does anyone know where she can get help? She said that the doctor at the Hopkins clinic is on vacation. A web site said that the hospital in Dangriga is new; is this true or will she have to get to Belize City for more antibiotics. thanks for any advice or information.

She must be suffering mightily! The hospital in Dangriga (Southern Regional) would be able to treat her, I'm pretty sure. She needs to get there as soon as she can if she can't get to the doctor in Hopkins.

Your daughter might want to try antihistamines in the interim. "Antihistamines can also relieve itchiness caused by insect bites and stings, poison ivy and poison oak." (Benadryl, Actifed, etc) This in not in lieu of the visit to the Dr but rather an interim measure to help relieve the itching/swelling. I have been attacked by sand fleas many times and this is what I have used.. but must admit that on at least one occassion did have to resort to getting a steriod shot from the Dr (in Belize)! Now I have Benadryl ready the minute I notice I have been bitten.

Hopefully she finds quick relief...
Gail

Sounds more like chiggers, try applying nail polish to the bites or vicks vaporub (not the bleeeding ones.) The hospital in Dangriga is very good, had surgery there, very professional.

Chiggers are god awful things and I've had them in places unspeakable. For me they usually last 3 to 4 weeks.

I don't recollect the doctor's name in Dangriga but he was good. Too reasonable in price though.

She'll need some professional help for sure.
Encourage her.....

I live here in Dangriga and the Southern Regional Hospital is VERY good.

She can get help here.

All she need is antibiotics.

If it's chigger, baby oil is good too.

I have a terrible reaction to the bites I get, hot and red and swollen and all that stuff. Taking Benadryl, spraying bactine on the bites, and drinking a lot of water has made it bearable (amazing what staying hydrated can do for ya!). Of course she should see a doc too, but those things have helped me.

Good God -get your daughter to the Universal hospital-what is the matter with you-let her use her insurance and then send her to the islands to recuperate-keep her out of "bugs way'

I suspect Botless flies. Much worse than sand fleas, and very common in that area. I've had the problem myself. Not much you can do. It goes away after a week or so. Not fun...but you can live with it.

I suspect botless flys, as well. Just in from SP tonight. I take benadryl with me, and give myself a 50mg injection with immediate relief. Then the pussy, gaping holes dry up & peel off.
We went to Journey's End one night & I got acosted on the beach, and the bug bites were bad, too.

http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/botfly.html

Not likely to be Botfly as they don't bite just lay eggs that develop into larvae that live in the host body. I've witnessed several cases and the symptoms are very different.

Chiggers were the scourge of many an archeological field student out at Lamanai, all survived. The infection usually occurs due to scratching the affected areas.

"Is there such a thing as a human bot fly? Yes, we're sorry to say there is. Called the torsalo, Dermatobia hominis, occurs in Mexico and Central America. Fortunately, getting one is an extremely unlikely occurrence for the average visitor.


2nd instar torsalo larva, note the hooks to hold it in place! One of the really cool things about this insect is that it lays its eggs on a mosquito and the eggs hatch when the mosquito feeds on a host.


A torsalo warble
While the maggot feeds on its host (you) it has to have a hole in the skin so it can continue to breath. It takes about 6 weeks to complete development on its host. There are stories of entomologists rearing torsalos on themselves in order to get a good specimen of an adult (which are rarely captured), but we regard this as taking your profession a little too far." (I have friends who have done this by the way.)

thanks for all your advice. I will tell her to get to the southern Regional Hospital in Dangiga to see a doctor today, if she can. I am also going to call the emergency numbers given to us before she left.
She has been taking benedryl since monday but was going to continue to take it. She took baby oil with her and i will suggest that she put some on, along with her sunblock and Deet..She had one big dose of antibiotics given to her at our travel clinic (for trav. diah) so i told her to take that last night. Thanks again.

Dare I ask...what on earth is a Chigger?

Chiggers or red bugs, are the tiny (1/120 - 1/150 inch) larvae of mites in the genus Eutrombicula. Their bite causes intense itching and small reddish welts on the skin. Chiggers most frequently attach themselves at hair follicles in areas where clothing is tight fitting such as the ankles, waist and armpits. Chiggers feed on digested skin cells, not blood. Itching is usually not felt for 3 to 6 hours after attachment and may persist for up to 2 weeks. Scratching often removes the mite but can result in secondary infection. Lathering and rinsing several times in a hot shower is the best way to remove any remaining chiggers. Prompt removal can lessen the duration and intensity of the itching. Topical creams or ointments (containing benzocaine, calamine or hydrocortisone) can be applied to provide temporary relief from itching. Chiggers are not known to transmit any infectious diseases in the United States.

Life Cycle:
The life cycle of Chigger mites consists of several stages: egg, deutovum, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, tritonymph and adult. Only the larval stage bites humans. Adults overwinter in the soil. Eggs are laid in damp soil during the first warm spring weather. After hatching, the larvae crawl on the soil or up grass blades in search of a host. After attaching to the host, the larvae feed for up to 3 days. The engorged larvae then drop to the soil to complete development to nymph, then adult. The nymph and adult stages feed on arthropods.

Management:
To reduce the incidence of chigger bites, use insect repellents and wear protective clothing when you are in chigger habitat. Long sleeved shirts and long pants, tied at the ankles, are recommended. Chiggers are most often found in vegetation transition zones such as along the junction of forest and grass, along margins of swamps, brush thickets and even home lawns.

Wow. Those things sound a lot like what was causing my welts while in Belize.

Every morning I would wake up with my wrists itching, and I would scratch it really quickly & tons of little welts would pop up instantly.

It would go away within about 2 hours.

I figured it was bed mites...might have been, although maybe it was the Chiggers?

batlass & botfly are 2 different things.

The batlass cause those terrible bites where you get fever, swell up, incredibly itchy.

Looks like you have the right advice above.

there are too many insect problems to think about. My daughter said that her swelling is not any worse today, after taking the antibiotics that she had with her. The program people will take her to Dangriga in the morning if she is not better. I hope it is just a bad reaction to the no-see-ums and not one of these other gross things!
thanks for the help.

Drinking lots of water helped my swelling considerably, it's important to stay hydrated.

"Fortunately, getting one is an extremely unlikely occurrence for the average visitor."

Oh, Simon - how I wish we weren't in that 'rare' category!! We returned on 12/26 from our 9 days in Belize and just yesterday I took my 20 yr old to the dermatologist for a 'cyst' on his back that just wasn't cooperating with hot compresses. When he mentioned to the doctor that we'd been in Belize and suspected the possibility of a botfly, the doctor actually got quite excited! Said he'd only seen it in med school and immediately went to work on my son! Seems my hot compresses killed the larvae so he probably would have had a nasty infection in a short time anyway, but after opening him up, there it was! The entire office staff had to take a look - probably the most fun they've had in along time! He ended up with 4 inside stitches and 4 outside - quite the memento! Truth be told.....he's gonna use that story for a loooong time - it's a guy thing - and it sure wouldn't keep us from doing it all over again.!

Amanda, do you have any info on the Batlass, I can't find anything out there. I assumed that that the others were spelling botfly incorrectly.

The other fly that is NOT one of my favourites as I don't react well to them is the Doctor Fly http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/livestock/yellow_fly.htm usually putting ice on the bite stops the reaction to that one. I remember once being bitten on the thumb by one and you could literally see the red line creeping up my arm as the toxin moved up through my blood stream.

From GOOGLE SEARCH for BOTLASS FLY:
Bit like the BOTLASS FLY, the USA doctors do not know to treat the larva in short term visiting tourists who got infected by a mosquito while on holiday and find they have an itchy growing lump under their skin. Tobacco poultice will suck the larva out, by cutting off it's airhole. Almost anything will work, but tourists that have $3000 operations in the USA are a joke!

the welts from the botlass fly last for days but are not really harmful. Ticks of course and scorpions, but the worst is the beefworm. It is the larva of the botfly and it is carried by the mosquito. It comes in with the bite and lives within your flesh while it grows, grabbing hold of your skin with pincers and burrowing in. Nasty little parasite, that. The whole area blows up and is quite painful, there is a burning sensation, but you mustn't pull it, oh no. Then you will definitely get an infection. Instead you must cover the area with glue and tape and suffocate it. The worm squirms underneath for awhile before it dies and that is considered painful by some, but the next morning you can just squeeze the carcass out like toothpaste from a tube."

After reading all of the above maybe you should get your daughter out of that environment. I have to agree with Pedro1 on this. Thanks to everyone for responding to this on-going problem.

SimonB---Thanks for the info and taking the time to educate. Your participation and input is so very much appreciated by locals and tourists alike.

Print this----or save this info. Many have died from allergic reactions to insect bites and many have been saved knowing the right thing to do!!!