# Bacteria



## susky river runner (Jul 28, 2011)

Hey guy's I just wanted to share a little story with y'all. I was reading a forum on another site and I figured I would tell you about it. A guy said him and his buddy were going crabbing and while launching their boat his buddy just happened to have a small scratch on his leg, so to make a long story short, the guy ended up losing half his leg from a flesh eating bacteria. The water was real warm (a great place for bacteria to form). It must have gotten in the wound and spread. So after about a year later the guy is still dealing w/ issues from this. I just wanted to give everyone a little friendly reminder as the summer goes along and the water warms up this is a breeding ground for bacteria. So check youself for any "open wounds" or scratches prior to wading or whatever. Also I was out on the lake w/ my father - in - law and he saw me bite the tail end of my fishing line after I had tied the knot (like I always do) anyway he told me of one of his friends got some type of nasty bacteria from this (biting the tail end of the Knot) b/c algae or something was on the line and he must have ingested it. So maybe think about using pliers or fingernail clippers instead. With that being said just take a couple of extra seconds to make sure you don't have any cuts scrapes or scratches. We all want to catch a nice fish but a few minutes of your time and these simple precautions could help ensure your return to the water. Hope this helps. Happy fishing everyone!! :beer:


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## nomowork (Jul 29, 2011)

Thanks for the reminder. That flesh eating bacteria thing was a big thing here a few years ago.


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## Butthead (Aug 8, 2011)

For my job I sometimes have to go to infectious diseases conferences...now I'm a germaphobe.


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## freetofish (Aug 8, 2011)

several years ago I too had a real bad infection in a leg from stream fishing. we usually do lots of wading while we float. wound up in a hospital for 3 days while they drained and drained that site... fine now but was scary for a while.
I had not thought of the biting off the tag end of a new knot.... I won't do that again thanks for the warning.


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## nomowork (Aug 8, 2011)

Butthead said:


> For my job I sometimes have to go to infectious diseases conferences...now I'm a germaphobe.



During my working career, I worked in just about any type of business you could imagine. The worst were the medical "centers" where I could just feel the germs attacking me!


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## Hanr3 (Aug 8, 2011)

I always have an open wound. Tends to happen when you work in a manufacturing environment, and work with your hands during your free time. 

I had a staff infection 8 or so years ago. No idea where it started. However I went to the doctor because everyone at worked asked me if I was OK. I looked a little off color, and I had a bit of stiffness in my back. Doc looked me over, prescriped something and sent me home, that was Friday. Sunday morning I hurt so bad I couldn't move without being in pain. Wife took me to teh Emergency room, called the Doc. They drew blood, and admitted me to the Kidney floor. I spent the next week sleeping in a recliner, bed hurt the kidneys too much. I was peeing blood, yes blood. At some point my body went septic. Means all my organs were shutting down. I remember a blue room and white light, answering a question I never heard asked. 3 days later I was discharged. 

Spent a week in pain at home, went back to ER. This time I had Plurasy, lining of teh lungs was infected. They pumped my full of anti-byotics and made me walk up and downt he halls to mix it with teh infection. The next 3 days a ton of crap drained out of tube they stuck in my side. Once that stopped tehy sent me home again.

Spent another week at home, still not feeling right and still having pain in my back. CAT, MRI, etc,etc, etc, finally had a bone scan. TEchnician told me it takes a week to get the results. Halfway through the scan he left, and came back with a Doctor who specialises in the bone scan. They finished the scan, and sent me home. 2 minutes after I walked in teh door, my Doc called and sent me back tot eh hospital. I got a port installed. The port wes placed in my chest, the tube ended at my heart. Every night for 6 months I was on Vancomyacin (sp). It comes only in liquid form and must be introveniously injected. Once per week a nurse came to my house to draw blood for testing. They were monitoring my infection levels, and making adjustments to teh medication on a weekly basis. I had to take a pill each day too. All I know about the pill is it turned my urine bright orange. The staff infection had settled in two vertibrea in my back, hence the 6 months of treatment.

Fortunately for me, my doctor is the local infectious disease specialist in the area. He literally saved my life with the right medication. That and the good lord decided it wasn't my time. He must still have plans for me. I hope I meet his expectaitons.

YES, I live life differently. You never know when your time is up. Prior to Friday of my first doctor visit, I was healthy as an ox. I know it infections dont happen overnight, however it sure seemed that way. It took me almost a year to fully recover. Sure put a lot of things into perspective for me. 

Like I said, I always have an open wound. In fact, right now I have one on my back, right side, and one on my right leg. However I treat them with a little more care these days. Peroxide, alcohol, and maybe neosporin and a bandaid if they are too big. Heck, 5 weeks ago I had shoulder surgery, month before that was a naval hurnia repair. Getting the body fixed for the next round of kids, grandkids. :mrgreen: 

Great thread!


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## richg99 (Aug 8, 2011)

In South Texas, wade fishing is king. Hot, shallow, soupy salt water bays seem to hold a lot of the flesh eating bacteria. Just about every year, we hear of someone losing a limb or dying from it. 

I used to wade "wet"..i.e. just a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Now, when I wade ( which, at my age isn't often) I always wear a pair of light-weight waders, even thought the hot water temperatures do not require any covering at all. 

I've heard that most of the people who were severely stricken had low immune system issues....i.e. cold; flu; or bad kidneys etc. I don't know. Better to be safe than sorry.
Rich


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## BassGeek54 (Aug 8, 2011)

This is a good thread. Thank you all for sharing. This is a lot I did not know. I am glad to hear that you guys that have been through these things are OK. Some really scary stuff. Everyone be careful...I look forward to "talkin" to all ou guys.


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## SVOMike86 (Aug 8, 2011)

Not a fishing related story, but when I was 16, I worked at a car dealership in the parts dept. One of the other guys I worked with opened a heavy box that had those big staples holding it closed (hope you know which ones I'm talking about). Anyways, one scratched him and he didn't clean it or get it looked at. He got gangrene from it, and had to get his middle, ring, and pinky finger along with half the palm of his hand amputated. Gross. On another note- Hanr- my best friends wife has Lupus. It attacks the joints, and in her case, its one of the worst recorded cases of it. By the time she was 21 she had both hips, knees and ankles replaced, and they are talking about shoulders next year. When she got her right ankle replaced, they made a cut from knee to ankle. she got a staph infection in it that turned into a hole the size of an index card. She had to wear a wound vac which was slung over her shoulder and constantly sucked out the gunk for 6 months. It just closed up 3 weeks ago after being open for 3 years. Staph infections are no good. Glad to hear you are doing better from it...


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## Ranchero50 (Aug 9, 2011)

https://www.herald-mail.com/news/hm-activities-shut-down-at-cowans-cap-state-park-20110809,0,6553504.story?track=rss


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## brmurray (Aug 12, 2011)

work in the medical field and any kind of infection is bad but with guys generally worse do to our procrastination in going to the doctor. Just a reminder, showers and bathrooms are the most common source for staff infections. Stay safe!


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## ejones1961 (Sep 21, 2011)

I work at a wastewater plant. Main part of my job is keeping the bacteria happy. It is for a food processing plant, no sanitary sewage involved so the bacteria we deal with is not as dangerous but you still need to be careful.


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## LOWEBIGJON (Sep 21, 2011)

well here is my story: a friend of mine at work took a bad spill on his jet ski and he wound up with meningitis, the water had infected his sinus. He was found walking down a dark road about 2:00 am, the cops picked him up, thought he was drunk. He was out of his mind, he did recover.


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## Specknreds (Sep 21, 2011)

richg99 said:


> In South Texas, wade fishing is king. Hot, shallow, soupy salt water bays seem to hold a lot of the flesh eating bacteria. Just about every year, we hear of someone losing a limb or dying from it.
> 
> I used to wade "wet"..i.e. just a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Now, when I wade ( which, at my age isn't often) I always wear a pair of light-weight waders, even thought the hot water temperatures do not require any covering at all.
> 
> ...




Same over here.

Grand Isle had a bunch of cases this year from wading. 

My dad always referred to this as the dog days of summer and stay away from shallow stagnant water. We grew up on the water and dad wouldn't let us swim in the lake for the last few weeks in August every year. It would make us so mad but now I see why. He said that he got boils from swimming in the dog days when he was a kid. I wonder if that was the same thing as staff?


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## Deadmeat (Sep 22, 2011)

I used to work in a morgue and laid my hand open a couple of times with a scalpel while working on a decomposed body. Actually, though, there is a lot less you can catch from working on a decomposed body than on a fresh one. I never had a problem from either incident.


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## wasilvers (Sep 22, 2011)

My dad had that flesh eating bacteria in his hand. He caught it in texas at a smalltown beach in late summer. Fortunately, as soon as it started, he got treated him right away. He didn't loose any digits, but was in pain for a good while. I never remember him sticking his hands in the water again.


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## nomowork (Sep 23, 2011)

Deadmeat said:


> I used to work in a morgue and laid my hand open a couple of times with a scalpel while working on a decomposed body. Actually, though, there is a lot less you can catch from working on a decomposed body than on a fresh one. I never had a problem from either incident.



TOO MUCH INFORMATION!


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## Deadmeat (Sep 23, 2011)

Nah, not really. Just goes to show that often the things we think are the most dangerous aren't and the things we think aren't, such as wade fishing or using your teeth to tie a line, are.


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## HOUSE (Nov 1, 2011)

I lost my best fishing buddy to a really bad infection last year 

We went out to our local fishing hole here in Ohio last year and caught quite a few good fish that afternoon. One of the fish he caught was a 4 pound flathead. While he was trying to remove the hook, the catfish's dorsal spine punctured his hand enough to draw blood and make him say a few bad words. The next day his hand was pretty sore but he thought nothing of it. On day number 3, he got a fever and called me up to tell me he wasn't coming in to work so that he could go to the doctor. They put him on antibiotics and the infection went away, but he was so mad about everything that he swore he'd never go fishing with me ever again.


...And that is how I lost my best fishing buddy to a really bad infection last year.

#-o


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## Captain Ahab (Nov 2, 2011)

HOUSE said:


> I lost my best fishing buddy to a really bad infection last year
> 
> We went out to our local fishing hole here in Ohio last year and caught quite a few good fish that afternoon. One of the fish he caught was a 4 pound flathead. While he was trying to remove the hook, the catfish's dorsal spine punctured his hand enough to draw blood and make him say a few bad words. The next day his hand was pretty sore but he thought nothing of it. On day number 3, he got a fever and called me up to tell me he wasn't coming in to work so that he could go to the doctor. They put him on antibiotics and the infection went away, but he was so mad about everything that he swore he'd never go fishing with me ever again.
> 
> ...




WaterWings has a glove he could use :mrgreen:


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