Medical Question

[wiyofa]

I recently returned from the most wonderful first safari to South Africa I could’ve hoped for. 4/16-4/28. I started a post on it to detail my hunt and I haven’t been able to add to it yet. I have been very ill since arriving back and am at my wits end trying to figure it out. I’m hoping someone on this page can shed some light.

We hunted around Bela Bela in Limpopo and the entire trip I only had two confirmed tick bites. I had one more I suspect was a tick but I scraped it off and didn’t think anything else of it. No real issues at the site of the bite but on my return flight 4/29 I started noticing ear ache symptoms. I started on antibiotics when I arrived back in DFW. The rest of that week I experienced fevers, intense ear pain, extreme lethargy. 5/2 I went to the ER for blood work and more antibiotics. I have been tested for Lyme and other things that have come back negative. More testing is currently ongoing. 5/5 I began to show signs of Bells Palsy such as facial paralysis. More intense ear pain and dizziness. Back to the ER that night for IV antibiotics and more blood work. 5/6 I had a MRI that was pretty inconclusive other than identifying some fluid in my inner ear. After the IV antibiotics on 5/5 the pain has thankfully subsided to a tolerable level and I am no longer as tired as I was but my dizziness still persists and is preventing me from driving. I have been taking augmentin and Doxycycline plus a few others.

Has anyone experienced symptoms like this upon return from a Safari and what was the diagnosis.

Not looking to take medical advice from a forum as saudi medical report check scripture just trying to narrow this down so I can move forward.

Thank you all.

I haven’t had this personally, but your symptoms after safari + tick exposure are concerning for a few possibilities doctors usually consider together: Tick-borne infections (like African rickettsial diseases) can cause fever, fatigue, and sometimes neurological symptoms, and they won’t always show on standard Lyme tests. Inner ear infection or vestibular neuritis also fits well with the severe ear pain, fluid seen on MRI, and ongoing dizziness. Bell’s palsy can happen secondary to viral or inflammatory issues affecting the facial nerve, sometimes triggered by infections. Since you’ve already had antibiotics, imaging, and negative Lyme tests, the next step is usually continued workup with infectious disease and ENT specialists who can look specifically at travel-related pathogens and inner ear/nerve causes.

 

[Andrew62]

I recently returned from the most wonderful first safari to South Africa I could’ve hoped for. 4/16-4/28. I started a post on it to detail my hunt and I haven’t been able to add to it yet. I have been very ill since arriving back and am at my wits end trying to figure it out. I’m hoping someone on this page can shed some light.

We hunted around Bela Bela in Limpopo and the entire trip I only had two confirmed tick bites. I had one more I suspect was a tick but I scraped it off and didn’t think anything else of it. No real issues at the site of the bite but on my return flight 4/29 I started noticing ear ache symptoms. I started on antibiotics when I arrived back in DFW. The rest of that week I experienced fevers, intense ear pain, extreme lethargy. 5/2 I went to the ER for blood work and more antibiotics. I have been tested for Lyme and other things that have come back negative. More testing is currently ongoing. 5/5 I began to show signs of Bells Palsy such as facial paralysis. More intense ear pain and dizziness. Back to the ER that night for IV antibiotics and more blood work. 5/6 I had a MRI that was pretty inconclusive other than identifying some fluid in my inner ear. After the IV antibiotics on 5/5 the pain has thankfully subsided to a tolerable level and I am no longer as tired as I was but my dizziness still persists and is preventing me from driving. I have been taking augmentin and Doxycycline plus a few others.

Has anyone experienced symptoms like this upon return from a Safari and what was the diagnosis.

Not looking to take medical advice from a forum as scripture just trying to narrow this down so I can move forward.

Thank you all.

My dad had ‘African tick bite fever’ after one of his trips. He spent 7 days in WVU medical hospital then 9 days in the sub acute unit in our local home town hospital. The bulk of the reasoning he was in the hospital 16 days was to get IV antibiotics. Scary stuff, I pray you’ll have a full recovery!

 

[Pheroze]

Doxycycline is your friend in these situations

 

[RedTag]

This thread is now close to two years old. I wonder if the op will update with what/how the diagnosis and treatment turned out. This is interesting.

 

[sgt_zim]

Doxycycline is your friend in these situations

Unfortunately for me, it is the only thing in the world for which I have an allergy. I guess if I really needed to take it, I could dose with Benadryl or one of the stronger H1 receptor antagonists about 15 or 20 minutes before each dose of Doxy.