My sister-in-law's husband started feeling bad the first day of their vacation. He went to the ER and they diagnosed it as coming down with the flu. He did not improve so they came home and he went to the doctor in Huntsville and they put him in the hospital.

They discovered a bite from something on his leg that sounded like a brown recluse at first but he's not gotten any better. They have four antibiotics going into him, he has broken out in a red rash all over and cannot stand for anybody to touch him. His joints ache, too.

They are stumped. Do any of you have any idea what it could be?

Many thanks.

Please keep Larry Speakman in your prayers.

Lyme disease?

Don't know about Lyme but I would gamble that whatever it is came from a tick.




Travis

Yeah, or something tick.

Joint pain/flu like/rash, all very tick like.

I believe we are about to move into a phase of all sorts of disturbing/unknown diseases from emerging and new species of insects.

And who the heck knows what's coming across borders now.

The first sign of anything 'really' contagious flying around, I'm quitting the bus job and staying home for 6 months.

The red rash isn't typical for a spider bite or ticks. Or bee stings. Sounds like he may be allergic to whatever it was......

Ticks around here don't fall off by themselves. So if he didn't see a tick attached, that may be iffy.

No idea, hope he gets better fast though.

Or the antibiotics they are giving him

Liberian hooker?

Prayers lifted Mickey.

I had tick fever 10 years ago And have never recovered 100 percent. That was kind of my symtoms.

Prayer sent for Larry's complete, and rapid, recovery.

Don't mean to be an alarmist, but have they done any blood work?
My sister-in-law experienced something similar, turned out to be leukemia.

Again, don't mean to cause extra concern, but something to look at.

Prayers sent for Larry.

As crazy as it might sound, I would zap the bite area with a stun gun. Google it up.

Where were they? If they were in the Caribbean there is a nasty bug down there that has those systems and if the South, it could be he was bitten by that "new" mosquito. Both have those systems. Sorry for him.

Ain't a doc, but my first guess would be something autoimmune related to a tick bite.

Brazos- wife's boss had a rash and seemed to constantly be under the weather. Leukimia. Cancer flat sucks.

Hope what ever it is runs its course and he's back to feeling well.

Regards,
Blake

Prayes for him and wisdom for his doctors.

Reaction to eating shrimp?

Prayers sent.....you guys get west nile down your way? You can get a rash from that.

Have a coworker who spent some time in the hospital recently with severe aches and joint pain. Don't recall if there was a rash present. Turned out to be an infection in his bloodstream.

Hope the docs get Larry's case figured out PDQ.

There's some kind of meat allergy that I read about. I think I remember the rash and tenderness being a part of that.

Alan

A very aggressive case of West Nile or Lyme disease - the problem with those is that the tests aren't all that accurate so insurance companies pay for them.

Mickey would you please keep us updated and informed on his progress? powdr

Mickey would you please keep us updated and informed on his progress? powdr

Mickey,

Does your / their county health dept. test for West Nile? Baldwin Co. uses sentinel chickens and 2 came up positive last week. May be worth checking out.

Rick

Doctors don't always have a clue. One time I found a tick on my upper arm and pulled it off. A few days later there was a nasty looking bulls-eye rash at that very same spot. I went to the Dr. and he told me it was a spider bite, although I had already told him about the tick. I did ask him what the odds were that a spider would bite me in the exact same place as a tick within a three or four day period. He had no answer but kept saying spider bite. The medicine he gave me worked though. miles

They went to a campground in TN called "NickaJack" or something like that but he got sick as soon as they got there. Whatever bit him did so at their home a little south of Huntsville.

I certainly will. Thank you all for your concern and prayers. Larry is a good guy. He's a stock car racer (hobby) and won a race this summer at the tender age of 68.

Rick, they've not mentioned West Nile but they did mention Lyme. They are sending some of his blood to Mayo clinic, I think. I'll pass on the suggestion of West Nile but you know that doctors get tired of laymen and their suggestions but who cares? They're human and can make mistakes like the rest of us.