Great. I may have been exposed to typhoid.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

First of all, before anybody says it, I AM GOING TO CALL MY DOCTOR FIRST THING TOMORROW.

But I thought I’d share first.

Last month I was on an excursion to Libya to see the total solar eclipse. It was great. There are no specific immunizations suggested for Libya.

After the eclipse part, my husband and I spend a couple of days in London. On the second day, I went out without enough warm clothing (Hey, it was warm in the morning. How was I supposed to know the temperature would drop so fast by midday?) and that night I felt really, really cold and feverish. I was under 2 down comforters and shivering. Also I started getting diarhhea. And a headache. All I wanted to do was sleep. Well, maybe a chill, a virus, maybe some bad pub food. The fever & chills continued for another day, and I had very little appetite. Also, of course, the runs continued for a while. But then, I am prone to bouts of lymphocytic colitis, which causes that symptom, too. So I treat myself with as much rest as I can get, occasional aspirin or ibuprofen, and Pepto Bismol. Today I’m feeling pretty good.

Then, this evening, we got email from the tour organizer. Seems one of our number has been hospitalized, diagnosed with typhoid. Guess what the symptoms are. Right. Fever, digestive upset (oh, yeah, I did throw up about 3 am the night after the eclipse) and eventually diarhhea (or however you spell that). Plus malaise and fatigue. Yeah, I did sleep a lot last weekend. The incubation period is anywhere from a few days to a week or so. Even when you’re feeling well, you can still be infected, spreading the dam thing like Typhoid Mary to your friends and family, and can have relapses later if not treated properly.

Great. Just great. On the one hand, I could have just coincidentally had a cold, or a chill, or bad pub food, or some other thing. Or I could have had (and could still have) typhoid. Yeah, I guess I’ll be calling my doctor first thing in the morning. And washing my hands a lot.

Sure was a nice eclipse, though.

2

So. Did you have typhoid?

Fascinated,
Gabriela

3

Still don’t know. Got a blood sample taken today, results will take a day or so to get back. The doctor (and all her staff) were throughly flustered by the whole idea. My doctor, to her credit, admitted she knew very little about the disease and its treatment and diagnosis, and contacted an infectious disease specialty group in the area to find out what test to do first. If it comes back positive, she’ll refer me to the experts for treatment. If it’s negative, she’ll consult with them again to see if there’s another test that should be done. She’s a family doctor, used to seeing kids with possible strep, giving shots, checking oldsters’ blood pressures, that sort of thing.

Funny part was getting through the receptionists and nurse to get the doctor’s appointment. I explained it first to the receptionist, and got "Now, what makes you think you’ve been exposed to typhoid fever? :rolleyes: " I explained. Oh. Well. Umm. Let me call you back. Got called back by the nurse. Same thing. Oh. Well. Let me talk to the doctor and call you back. Hours pass. Call back from the nurse. “There isn’t any prophylactic treatment, so if you’re feeling all right now…” I don’t want treatment. I want a test. I may or may not have had the dam disease, and I want to find out in case I’m carrying the thing and risking giving it to my family. Like Typhoid Mary. Or having a relapse. Or maybe I never did have it and I want to stop worrying about it. “Oh. Well, how about if you just come in at 4:20.” sigh

The nurse or assistant or whatever who saw me first to take my vital signs asked me the reason for the visit. Possible typhoid fever. “Oh,” she says. “Some kind of fever?” Yeah. Typhoid. Or not.

But the doctor was good, she listens, and helped out with the first step.

I’ll keep you advised.

4

Appreciate that. Not sure what the tests for typhoid are myself, but one thing I do know is I end up exposed to every god-damned disease on Earth, so my turn is coming. If I learn it from you I know I’ll remember it.

5

Apparently, there are several tests. Not sure which one(s) are being done with my blood. The CDC has a good page on the disease in general if you’re interested. There is a vaccine, but it’s apparently not entirely always effective.

6

Leave it to the boards to inform me of diseases I thought went out around the same time as prohibition.

Seriously, I had no idea anyone still got typhoid, scarlet fever, cholera, or any of those other things I tend to associate with stock market crashes and the dust bowl.

7

It’s not uncommon in developing countries. I suffered from a bout of typhoid fever last summer; it took me a few months to fully recover. It seemed pretty retro to me too.

8

Apparently there are a few hundred cases annually in the U.S.; something like 70 or 80% are in people who have been overseas to developing countries.

Today I’m inclined to think I never had it. I think I’d have been a lot sicker and would not have recovered in just a few days. Of course, last night I was sure that I did have it, and had just dodged a bullet by having a mild case. But of course I have no idea if there is such a thing as a mild case of typhoid.

I should hear something by Monday.

9

There might be. But I know that when I had it I was as sick as a m&%@#$&!#r.

10

Here is The Crime Library’s entry about Typhoid Mary, it explains a good deal. Do pursue this, you might be a carrier, if I am understanding correctly. (I don’t know why they opened the story they way they did myself, I think an account about Typhoid Mary should stand alone.) I am glad you are looking into this. I hope you aren’t and it was just the water or something you ate. I am sending you and your family my best wishes.

11

Acc. to MSN Encarta, the incubation period for the fever is usually a week to 2 months. Were you in Libya a week before the fever hit?

Honestly the symptoms you had sound a lot like the flu that I had a few months back. It seems to me that if you had typhoid, you’d have been in a lot more distress than you were. I know two people who had salmonella poisoning and their symptoms were so severe that they had to be hospitalized.

12

Bump You ok MLS?

13

So far, yes. I have to call the doctor again on Monday to see if any results are in. I feel fine (well, except for spring allergies).

Thanks for asking!

14

I’ve read that, too. Some other sources say that the incubation period can be as short as 3 days. We arrived in Libya on March 24. The person who was definitely diagnosed started being ill on March 29. I started with the fever on April 4. So either scenario is possible. This site says:

Most of the time, I think you’re right, and that all I had was a flu. Of course, I’d rather have any tests the experts recommend and find out it was a lot of fuss over nothing than to assume all is well and then find out I’m risking not only my own health but that of my friends and family! OTOH, if I find out I’m still contagious, I can think of just a few people I’d like to make some potato salad for right after using the toilet, without washing my hands… :smiley:

15

This link says you should have been immunized against Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid, Rabies, Tetanus, Diptheria, and Polio.

16

Yeah, probably should have. Not required, though. We checked the State Department site last year. Of course, most of those I already have (except the rabies one, and of course one’s risk of that is only a problem if you get bitten by a mammal that carries it. Since there are few of those in the desert, not much problem.

One of the reasons I tend to think I did NOT have it is that I was *very * careful about what I ate and drank. I ate no salads, no unpeeled fruit, no fruit juice. Only hot, cooked food, bottled water or soda. I saw others chowing down on the tomato and cucumber salads, though, which I thought was kind of asking for at least a minimal digestive disorder. It’s entirely possible, of course, that some Typhoid carrier handled cooked food and transmitted it that way. BTW, the vaccines for typhoid are only about 50 to 80% effective.

17

No real helpful input, but this just seem to be the right thread to mention that I had to be immunized today against Typhoid, which I am NOT happy about.

It was in the process of an AF deployment exercise, and I specifically asked the immunizations NCOIC on WEDNESDAY if I needed shots, so as not to have to do it during the exercise, and was told NO, I didn’t need any shots, when lo and behold, in the deployment line today, I was informed I DID need a typhoid immunization.

SO, my arm is wicked sore, and I am going to kick Sgt. *****'s ass tomorrow.

18

Have you received the results yet? I hope everything is ok.

19

Now see…I think statements like that are best delivered face-to-face.

20

Let’s all hope MLS is just not at the computer rather than in the hospital being poked and prodded.