Botfly - use DEET

[kedmondson]

We were on the Miracle for Xmas. About a week after coming home my son complained about a sharp stabbing pain in his leg- very intense. We couldn't see a lot in the area. A week or so later it became apparent that he had been bitten by something. It was very inflamed, red and sore. Took him to Dr. and he said put an antibiotic ointment on it. Anyway about 2 weeks later it began to bleed a lot and a small "head" was poking in and out. Another trip to dr. After much research they suggested the bacon method to get the larvae (worm) out. You put raw bacon over the hole to suffocate it and it begins to burrow up through the bacon- then you're suppose to grab it with tweezers. It took a few tries- the little bugger kept going back in- but we finally got it. He took the cave tubing trip and probably got bitten walking through the jungle or in the water. Lesson learned was to wear DEET- even if you don't see any bugs!

[lilmsonry]

Oooooh, poor guy. Thanks for the heads up (no pun intended!)!;)

[gwe21]

I have heard of several cases of botfly infestations in s.america. I guess the best thing is to be aware of what it is and wear deet. Also, if you do get bit, there are alot of valuable information sources on the internet about botflies, so make sure to do research!!

 

I am still going on my cave tubing trip, however, I will put on an extra layer of DEET!!

[MKC529]

I have never heard of botflies before... you're message made me curious and I just did a quick search on the web - :eek: !! Yikes!

 

I'll definitely be packing some heavy duty bug spray as my girls and I are a favorite meal for mosquitos and the idea of coming home "smuggling maggots" makes me queasy. Again - thanks for the information!

[kedmondson]

It was definitely good that my son got bitten- rather than me or my niece, who was with us. Not to be sexist, but despite being creeped out, my son thought it was kind of cool. Probably not a female reaction! For those who don't know-- the botfly deposits its eggs onto a mosquito. When the mosquito bites, it leaves the botfly eggs behind in the host. Being a teenage boy, he was too "macho" to wear deet.

[Ellya]

Well that'll learn him.

[MKC529]

It took a few tries- the little bugger kept going back in- but we finally got it.

 

You mean the doctor finally got it, right? Please don't tell me the medical professionals sent you home and told you what to do with the bacon! :eek:

 

I'm impressed! Your son must have nerves of steel. We'd have to scrape our daughters off the ceiling with a spatula. At a minimum - they'd need to be sedated so that the doctor could remove the larva. (shudder)

 

BTW, do they make water-proof bug spray? We've always used sprays that wash right off. Can you tell this story has me freaked? :o

[kedmondson]

Yes, the doctor sent us home with instructions to use the bacon. The other choice was to go to surgery. We decided to try the bacon. The little critter finally burrowed up into the bacon after about 3 hours. We didn't grab him fast enough that time but about 2 hours later he reemerged and we got him! It's pretty freaky seeing things crawling under your skin. I do however not truly appreciate the $150 dr. bill. (just kidding!) He knew nothing about it and had to get literature from an infectious disease dr- and we went home and bought our own bacon!!! This definitely seemed like a learning moment for all medical staff- they were pretty fasinated! As people travel more into the tropics, they need to be able to recognize these things. Like I said, good thing it happened to him-- I would have wanted my leg amputated!!

[cruise freak]

Botfly can also be found in the United States. My daughters dog had one last year and the vet said she could have gotten it from a rabbit's nest or a bird's nest. It burrowed in her nect. They bet tried to remove and broke it apart. The poison then spread through my daughters dog. She got very sick and was intensive care in the hospital. $6,000.00 worth of medical care in the hospital could not save her. She had to be put to sleep. We live in Indiana and my daughters house is in a neighborhood and she always was just in her backyard. Our were bug spray

[KLS22]

You guys are kind of freaking me out. We just went to Walmart and bought some Deepwoods Off, now I don't think that is good enough. How can you keep that stuff on as you tube through the caves and get wet. My wife has a hard time with mosquitoes let alone larve burrying in her skin! I guess I won't mention this post.

[Ellya]

My dog also had what they actually call a "flybot". If you really want to be grossed out just do a google search on that and check it out. These larvae are usually found in squirrels and rabbits and do come out of their own accord in most cases. However, I could not possibly tolerate waiting for that to happen. We had no idea what it even was when we discovered it. My sister squeezed the lump and a bit of it popped out. She pulled it out with a paper towel thinking it was a stick or something. You should have seen the screaming around the kitchen when she discovered it was alive! Thankfully these are not something that humans get. The kinds that humans get are in the tropics and there are lots of ugly variations. I plan to bathe in DEET. ;-)

[babsee101]

Any waterproof Deet products recommended?

 

EEK:eek: Makes me want to stay on the ship!

[WellesleyIslander]

OMG-the more I read about Belize, the more I want to just stay on the ship! I was just going to pack the Off skintastic stuff-guess I'll have to get some DEET based products!

[hlfdzn]

I bought some 100% Deet in a very small bottle in the camping section of my local walmart. It Is called deep woods off for sportsman and it is in a pretty small bottle. It says 100 % deet right on it. I guess I will be spraying this on me and reapplying it over and over while I cave tube. They don't have creeping nemotodes in Belize waters do they?

[KristyM79]

Just came back from the Lamanai tour. Our tour guide highly recommended the necessity for bug spray. Since I did my research ahead of time my husband and I came prepared and put on Deep Woods Off prior to getting off the boat. It is not the most pleasant thing to put on your skin especially when you've been sweating from the hea, but trust me it is worth the slimy sticky uncomfort. You may want to wear long pants to protect yourself, but we were okay in shorts as long as we covered ourselves with the deet. Deep Woods Off was very effective in which I left with just one small mosquito bite on my foot in a spot where I didn't rub the spray in. Make sure that you purchase 100% Deet and spray it on your hands and then rub it in your skin like a lotion! I saw a couple of people who sprayed some regular bug spray in a haphazard way and their legs were eaten alive within a couple of minutes. I've never seen anything like it! Also, make sure you rub the Deet on your face because during the jungle walk I kept feeling and hearing the mosquitoes around my face.

 

Don't worry, the excursion is great, but just come prepared.

[ladyw]

I keep hearing that you should not use DEET on kids (9 year old). We are going to Belize in Dec and taking the Lamani tour. Any suggestions?

[Ellya]

Although it is recommended to be cautious using DEET with children, it is only children under 2 that cannot use it. Since this is a one day event rather than an ongoing situation, I would use the DEET. Put some on the outside of the clothing, hair etc. which won't absorb into the skin. Use more sparingly on the skin and avoid mouth etc.

[Eliot Ness]

This website has a lot of good info (and pictures) on the botfly:

 

http://www.ambergriscaye.com/pages/town/botfly.html

 

I don't think I'll show this to the wife before our cave tubing trip, but I will make sure she is covered with deet!

 

John

[we3k9]

All the poor natives that live in this infested place have to put up with this on a daily basis. How lucky am I to not have to deal with this. Im staying on the ship:) you wont find me on fear factor or Belize. :eek:

[susibell2]

My sister is so paranoid about all of the biting buds so I called our health dept and spoke to the froeign travel nurse. She said they recomend a product called Ultrathon found in the camping section of walmart. She did stress to use wipes or a cream product so it doesn't get into your mouth eyes or nose.Besides botfly she said dengy fever is a problem and there isn't a vaccine you can get for it,but to make sure you use good insect control.So fellow cruisers let's slather it on!!!!

[SF]

If we're not going cave tubing or touring in the jungle or visiting the ruins but just shopping at the tender pier or maybe taking a city tour do we still need to use a bug spray with DEET if we'll only be there during mid day?

[Mekamax]

I'd spray period! By the way you need it in Roatan too for the sand fleas which you won't feel biting but leave you with red marks all over - always interesting on a cruise to see the people get those red marks all over them and walk around the cruise - you know you have been to Roatan!

 

One more thing to scare you - we did a Shark Ray Alley tour with the mom, daughters and grand mother of a family. The father and young son went on a tour into BElize. The son became extremely sick when they got home and nobody knew what was going on - I recommended a sports doctor to her - they know about the dengy fever and other things scuba divers are prone too in these foreign countries... Anyway I didn't ever hear what happened but I know she was very scared for him. When I emailed asking about him she didnt' answer - always leave me wondering what happened.... Cover them with DEET for the day! Debbie

[GarageTwoThree]

actually if you are using 100% DEET product you don't have to reapply as often. 100% DEET product is no better than a 25% DEET product. The only differance is the frequency of RE-application. Hope this helps someone going crazy trying to find only 100% DEET product.

[ehogan]

I checked on the health travel site today, and along with the problems the other posts mentioned, all of Belize except for the city are under a malaria warning. It looks like DEET is an essential