Hi there,
I just got back from the 5-mile St. Croix Coral Reef Swim--a terrific race for anyone considering it. I've done this 4 times, and despite what I am going to ask about, I highly recommend the race. I saw tons of turtles, rays, and had a great 5 days in the sun.
Given all of that, during last year's race, I was stung by a man-of-war, and "sea lice." The man-of-war sting was extreme, and required a hospital visit as I developed a systemic reaction. (This kind of sting is almost unheard of in St. Croix so don't let it put you off the race!)
This year, I seem to have been attacked by sea lice again. The last two days, in addition to the bumps and itching, I have had a headache, felt feverish, had the chills, and generally felt like I have light flu symptoms. I am also sleeping really badly. I've been up since 4, totally unable to get back to sleep. I didn't equate the other symptoms with the reaction until I did some reading. Now, I'm pretty certain they're related.
Has anyone confronted this? My concern, based on looking at some things online, is that now that I've started these kind of reactions, they will continue to get worse the more times I encounter the little beasties. I hesitate to use the prednisone I have leftover from last year's man-of-war sting, but I'm feeling pretty lousy. (No pun intended!)
What have you done in the past? And have you tried Safe Sea, the supposed prevention lotion? I love the sport, but I'm paying for it dearly in terms of how I feel!
Thanks for any advice.
Donna,
I am so happy to hear I am not crazy! The fever is still here--getting higher and lower throughout the day, and certainly, as with fevers, spiking at night. Miserable.
Did you do steroids at all? I have a prednisone prescription from my doctor, after I called yesterday and explained the entire situation to them. It's always strange when you have to educate your medical practioner. Needless to say, between last year and this year, I have had a lot to teach! They had no idea what these were, other than the fact that someone in the office had suffered once, but did not have any reaction beyond itching. I had to convince the woman giving the prescription that this really was a side-effect.
When you were hospitalized, what did they do? I'm not sure what course of action to take right now because last year, when I had the combination of man-of-war/sea lice, they did immediate steroid treatment at the St. Croix Emergency room--which also took my insurance, by the way.
With this, I'm sort of more interested in waiting it out, but between the headache, the wierd migraine like eye pain, and the fever, I feel terrible. Last night, I was at almost 102, which is definitely high for me, and shivered my way to sleep. Today, my highest has been 101.6 and I have moments where I feel pretty good, and then descend into a cold, sweating mess. Yuck!
I would think it was the flu, but both my husband and son are totally fine--no spots, no fever, feeling great--and with the amount of time we spend in close proximity, I don't think there's any way they would be okay if this was the flu. My son even crawled into bed with me last night, slept with my husband and I for much of the night, and was still ready for action all day today.
Strangely, despite the spots, which are also on my arm in a place the suit couldn't have caught them, my itching hasn't been as bad as last year. I wonder if that's because last year was so extreme in terms of the level of pain, this just seems like not much comparatively. The burning, swelling sting from last year made these seem more like an irritation--except for the times when, I agree with you, it feels as if they are boring their way right into your nerve endings!
I'm glad to hear the Safe Sea actually works. I had asked about it at a dive shop in St. Croix and they looked at me like I was completely crazy. One woman just laughed and told me it sounded like somebody trying to make a buck. After this, they will make several bucks from me!!
It's available online at buysafesea.com
I will definitely be stocking up. I'm so glad to hear that you've had success with it.
I also realize that I may have been hit with it in the Bahamas two years ago. At that time, the doctor told me I had something called felliculitis and put me on 10 days of antibiotics. Of course, now I realize that the spots were only where my suit was and that I'd been swimming a few hours a day. They said it was a bacterial infection due to cruise ships bilging waste into that part of the water. Lovely!
Why do we do this sport again??? (And how sick am I--all I can think is that this is costing me training time in the pool!) I am, however, revising some vacation plans that included time in the Mexican Rivera--apparently the world's best place to catch sea lice!
Thanks again,
Sydne
Donna,
I am so happy to hear I am not crazy! The fever is still here--getting higher and lower throughout the day, and certainly, as with fevers, spiking at night. Miserable.
Did you do steroids at all? I have a prednisone prescription from my doctor, after I called yesterday and explained the entire situation to them. It's always strange when you have to educate your medical practioner. Needless to say, between last year and this year, I have had a lot to teach! They had no idea what these were, other than the fact that someone in the office had suffered once, but did not have any reaction beyond itching. I had to convince the woman giving the prescription that this really was a side-effect.
When you were hospitalized, what did they do? I'm not sure what course of action to take right now because last year, when I had the combination of man-of-war/sea lice, they did immediate steroid treatment at the St. Croix Emergency room--which also took my insurance, by the way.
With this, I'm sort of more interested in waiting it out, but between the headache, the wierd migraine like eye pain, and the fever, I feel terrible. Last night, I was at almost 102, which is definitely high for me, and shivered my way to sleep. Today, my highest has been 101.6 and I have moments where I feel pretty good, and then descend into a cold, sweating mess. Yuck!
I would think it was the flu, but both my husband and son are totally fine--no spots, no fever, feeling great--and with the amount of time we spend in close proximity, I don't think there's any way they would be okay if this was the flu. My son even crawled into bed with me last night, slept with my husband and I for much of the night, and was still ready for action all day today.
Strangely, despite the spots, which are also on my arm in a place the suit couldn't have caught them, my itching hasn't been as bad as last year. I wonder if that's because last year was so extreme in terms of the level of pain, this just seems like not much comparatively. The burning, swelling sting from last year made these seem more like an irritation--except for the times when, I agree with you, it feels as if they are boring their way right into your nerve endings!
I'm glad to hear the Safe Sea actually works. I had asked about it at a dive shop in St. Croix and they looked at me like I was completely crazy. One woman just laughed and told me it sounded like somebody trying to make a buck. After this, they will make several bucks from me!!
It's available online at buysafesea.com
I will definitely be stocking up. I'm so glad to hear that you've had success with it.
I also realize that I may have been hit with it in the Bahamas two years ago. At that time, the doctor told me I had something called felliculitis and put me on 10 days of antibiotics. Of course, now I realize that the spots were only where my suit was and that I'd been swimming a few hours a day. They said it was a bacterial infection due to cruise ships bilging waste into that part of the water. Lovely!
Why do we do this sport again??? (And how sick am I--all I can think is that this is costing me training time in the pool!) I am, however, revising some vacation plans that included time in the Mexican Rivera--apparently the world's best place to catch sea lice!
Thanks again,
Sydne
