Vibrio...

[Baby Tran Cat]

Many of you know my buddy Mark...like a brother to me...we were out Saturday. He thinks he had a minor cut on his ankle but long story short by that afternoon he was feeling bad...nauseated and just exhausted. He felt tired all day Sunday and by Monday morning his wife had trouble getting up up. He was taken to the hospital Monday AM and admitted. They hit him hard with the strongest antibiotics the hospital had and then simply waited. It started going up his leg into the thigh but then it just stopped. The antibiotics worked and they got to it just in time it seems. As of today they do not think they will need any surgery. He will be there for a week they think.

He hates people knowing this crap but truthfully there is such a powerful lesson here. I typically shrug off stuff like this as I guess I still think I'm ten foot tall and bullet proof. Vibrio is the real deal. Take care of yourselves out there. If you have any open wounds it better to be safe than sorry. He did NOT leave the boat...you don't have to be wading to get it. If anyone has any tips on how to avoid this stuff I would appreciate hearing them.

Jerry...I know you'll see this. He will have his phone tomorrow but he is pretty doped up...FYI

[Ibtsoom]

Glad he's gonna be ok! Scares the crap out of me.

[coachlaw]

Yep, it's darn scary. When I was a kid, it was SOP if you got a cut to go wash it off in the bayou. The saltwater was good for the wound. I'd like to know when this stuff first showed up and where it came from. I went swimming last weekend, and before I did, I checked all over me for even a tiny scratch. Yes you jokers, it took me a while. Only when I was satisfied that my epidermis was watertight did I take the plunge. Sad we have to worry about this. I'm glad your buddy is doing better. Too many wait too long because they're tough people. Not many fishermen I know will go to the doc just because they don't feel good for a day.

[SCHU]

Glad he's going to make it!

[Robalo]

Thanks for posting this Brad. Mark is my neighbor-best neighbor anyone could have!! So thankful that he's OK. I've been out of town a lot, so haven't seen or spoke to him in awhile.

[Robalo]

BLEACH-keep bleach in your boat and pour liberally on any cuts!! August and September is 'soup' time for bacteria in the bays and surf. Back in 1993, I got finned by a red snapper 35 miles out in blue water and spent next 3 months down-some virus that attacked my lymph system and became necrotic. Had surgery after growing half a grapefruit in my groin area right where thigh and hip meet and drains in me for a month-weak as heil, constant fever-could barely walk, missed over a month of work and all of deer season-was finned on Labor day weekend and today have edema in left leg and more susceptible to infections still. There's some bad sheeet out there.

I won't wade with any cut, scratch or even a skeeter bite. The same month I got sick, 2 other guys I know got sick-one got blood poisoning in his leg from a jelly sting in the surf and the other woke in in intensive care from a virus after wading a reef in matagorda. Was a dry year that year and water was perfect for growing bugs and viruses. Stay safe!!! Check for open sores and carry bleach.

[TroutSupport]

That is if you cut it while on the water.. But they say that basically if one of those bugs gets into that cut.. it's in. I'm not saying don't put anything on it, because bleach and some of the others like povidone iodine will kill a lot of other surface colonies and I'm sure that helps.

This is a great reminder to not put off going to the doc immediately following any signs of it.. don't put it off, just go.

[plugger]

Terrible this happened but thank goodness your buddy will be ok . Were there any immunosuppressed individuals in this group ?

[kenny]

Was Mark's blood cultured to see if it was positively Vibrio? The reason that I ask is usually with vibrio, if you wait as long as he did there's a lot of necrosis and surgery involved, if not amputation.

The first case that I remember was a lady on Bolivar cleaning crabs in her kitchen. The next was a Dentist I believe from Conroe maybe that got it from, they think a seaweed scratch. Both people died. The same thing can happen with certain staff infections, like the young lady on the zip line.

[gsb]

Glad he is doing better

[smith04]

I hope Mark continues to improve. This is a good lesson to share with others. We all need to take care of ourselves. This is an important part of safety.

[westbaytroutassasin]

I personally have gotten very cautious to the point of paranoid. I constantly have hook sticks, scratches and daily work minor cuts etc Over the last 3-4 seasons I have seen a major increase in people getting sick like those of us who spend an incredible amount of time on the water and even people that went for a quick dip in the bay or gulf. I recently took Robalo and Hogies advice as well as Tobin and restocked my first aide kit onboard to have a bottle of diluted bleach water, iodine, water proof dressings, and antibiotic creams for any cuts I get out there. I never wade anymore without my full waders with boots and rayguards on. This bug really scares me and with my deep passion for fishing and lying to you guys I cant just stop doing what I love because of its existence. Does everyone on the gulf coast have this issue as bad as us or are we specifically worse in our area than others?

[westbaytroutassasin]

PS--- Im sure glad Mark is ok to.