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mazzystr
Oct 12, 2008, 6:38 PM
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Any know anything about mysterious bacterial infections in yosemite?
We were in the valley for the last 11 days. last week monday my buddy complained about feeling like his arm was badly bruised or broke. We had just climbed Nutcracker and he got the Pitch2 5.7 offwidth pitch. We all shrugged it off thinking well maybe he did some kind of wierd offwidth move that tweeked his elbow and arm. A couple days went by and he complained more and more and we postulated tendon or muscle tweak, microfracture, etc. By weds he was feverish and migraine headachy. He couldn't stand the pain so he went to the Yosemite hospital. His arm was swollen and puffy from mid upper arm down to his hand. his elbow was black and appeared bruised. The nurses said his elbow was full of fluid. They put him on a 24hr antibiotic. 24hrs later he was in worse shape. The infection expanded about an inch and a half beyond the previous infected area. They put him on a different antibiotic administered through IV. He went through two treatments before we had to leave yesterday morning.
We arrived back in NC last night 11pm and he went to the local hospital ER. They admitted him immediately. His infection has spread another inch beyond the marked region despite heavy duty antibiotics. His whole arm is now swollen to twice the size of a regular arm.
I can think of a few scenarios that he could have gotten an infection like this...
1 - he got chewed up a bit on the Nutcracker offwidth. Someone pissed or shat down the crack from the p2 belay platform.
2 - he got chewed up a bit on the Nutcracker offwidth and he put his arms on the nasty picnic table at Camp4 and picked something up there.
3 - he got chewed up a bit on the Nutcracker offwidth and we went to the curry showerhouse and he picked up a bug up there. I know the showerhouses are gross but are they that gross? but who knows what goes on behind curtain...
4 - he got a bug bite? but he would notice right away if it was a spider or snake bite, right? like "F**K! what the F**K was that???" kind of noticing.
possibly 5 - hes into tatoo's and he picked something up before going to the valley and it exploded while we were out there.
Has anyone heard of a similiar case? any advice? I know I know amputation is always the cure but this is my buddy and climbing partner. I'm getting worried for him that he my loose the arm and I don't want that to happen to my friend and climbing partner.
Thanks,
/Chris C
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mazzystr
Oct 12, 2008, 7:17 PM
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the nurses called is cellulitis. its been a week and his symptoms are swelling, redness and soreness in his arm and fever and nausea. if it was a brown recluse bite then the surrounding tissue would be decomposed and it'd be all gross.
he has had three doses of amoxicillin administered through IV. I don't know what he's on right now but the mox was supposed to be the "Mother of all Bombs" when it comes to infections.
i'll keep you guys updated on his condition.
/chris c
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abe_ascends
Oct 12, 2008, 7:59 PM
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Chris,
I can't imagine what it could be, but I hope your buddy feels better.
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milesenoell
Oct 12, 2008, 9:03 PM
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mazzystr wrote: the nurses called is cellulitis. its been a week and his symptoms are swelling, redness and soreness in his arm and fever and nausea. if it was a brown recluse bite then the surrounding tissue would be decomposed and it'd be all gross. he has had three doses of amoxicillin administered through IV. I don't know what he's on right now but the mox was supposed to be the "Mother of all Bombs" when it comes to infections. i'll keep you guys updated on his condition. /chris c
The chances of it being what I think it might be are very very low, but I just have to throw this out there. Cellulitis (as mentioned) is typically caused by a strep or staph infection, but also typically responds quickly to antibiotics. While amoxicillin is the big gun of antibiotics for tricky infections it is sometimes teamed up with others, to create a cocktail that is even more effective (ie:Augmentin). If your friend was being treated with IV antibiotics and the infection still spread, one (admittedly very unlikely) possibility is necrotizing fasciitis aka flesh eating bacteria. You really hope that isn't it because that shit is nasty. 70% mortality nasty. The chances of it being that are really low, but early diagnosis is key. There are only something like a thousand cases a year in the US, and its probably just something to get scared about for no reason since it takes a deep tissue biopsy to check, and that means cutting a big chunk out of your friends arm just to find out.
Again, I really doubt that this is what your friend has, but it might be worth asking the doc about.
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mazzystr
Oct 12, 2008, 9:10 PM
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yea i saw that infection on wiki myself. i cringed when i saw it...
i'm going to link everyone over to supertopo.com so there is only one thread to follow and update.
here is the link...
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=695982&tn=0#msg696060
Thanks,
/Chris
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Chappy76
Oct 12, 2008, 9:32 PM
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Surprised they haven't given him Rocephin via IV or even oral Levaquin.
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jono
Oct 12, 2008, 10:52 PM
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amoxil is not the mother of all antibiotics. should probably try something that the bacteria hasnt grown to resist. guess ive never worried about infections like that outdoors, but gyms scare the crap out of me..slimy holds. ill take care of my climbing wounds better from now on, let us know how this turns out.
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moose_droppings
Oct 12, 2008, 11:37 PM
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A spider bite seems likely.
You don't necessarily know right away when your bitten by a spider.
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asiaclimber
Oct 12, 2008, 11:48 PM
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see if they can test him for gram negative bacteria's. They are hard to find with normal testing but are the Narcotizing type. http://www.serratia-marcescens.org/treatment.cfm
thats the nasty bug i got that ate away most of my lower leg befor they figured it out.
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Chappy76
Oct 13, 2008, 4:22 AM
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Could be a brown recluse (sp?) bite.
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