skin disease post python bite

[mikey_mike]

Hi all,
I'm clutching at straws here but I've somehow managed to acquire an unusual granulomatous skin infection. No organisms isolated yet.
Just wondering if anyone has ever heard of any similair weird skin diseases post python bites?

Please no one tell me to go to a vet.
Also if any med students out there could refrain from offering me their diagnoses I'd appreciate it. I'm just wondering if anyone is aware of isolated cases that haven't made it into the medical literature yet.

Cheers

 

[paultheo]

I copped a bite from a friends python that had a respiratory illness, no skin problems but two days later I was in the intensive care unit at the royal adelaide hospital with a severe case of pneumonia and a major infection in my blood and bowel, i was in quarantine for a month and they pumped so many antibiotics through me that they were running out of options, it took me another six months to recover enough to go back to work but i am still feeling the effects of the lung infection and now have severe asthma which i never had before.

 

[butters]

Do you keep a freshwater fish tank by chance?

- - - Updated - - -

And of so what species of fish do you have?

 

[junglepython2]

I copped a bite from a friends python that had a respiratory illness, no skin problems but two days later I was in the intensive care unit at the royal adelaide hospital with a severe case of pneumonia and a major infection in my blood and bowel, i was in quarantine for a month and they pumped so many antibiotics through me that they were running out of options, it took me another six months to recover enough to go back to work but i am still feeling the effects of the lung infection and now have severe asthma which i never had before.

Did the doctors think it was related to the snake bite?

 

[Lawra]

I copped a bite from a friends python that had a respiratory illness, no skin problems but two days later I was in the intensive care unit at the royal adelaide hospital with a severe case of pneumonia and a major infection in my blood and bowel, i was in quarantine for a month and they pumped so many antibiotics through me that they were running out of options, it took me another six months to recover enough to go back to work but i am still feeling the effects of the lung infection and now have severe asthma which i never had before.

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!

Are the two related???

 

[paultheo]

they said that there was no way to prove the infection came from the bite.. but that there was a good possibility that the bacteria was introduced into my blood when i was bitten. I was as healthy as could be before it and in hospital two days later, the snake had cheese in its mouth when i had a look, and he got me good, so even though i cant prove it im still pretty damn sure thats what started the whole thing. oh and my mates snake made a full recovery after several doses of Baytril.

 

[mikey_mike]

Paultheo, hope the asthma settles down soon. If you're not feeling better in a few months keep bothering your physician. Good luck.

No fish tank. I presume you were thinking of mycobacterium marinarum. Good news for me - one of my cultures finally grew something. Sporotrichosis - contracted from gardening, not from python bites . Lots of weird bugs out there.

 

[bigg_bunny]

Sporotrichosis in reptiles

Paultheo, hope the asthma settles down soon. If you're not feeling better in a few months keep bothering your physician. Good luck.

No fish tank. I presume you were thinking of mycobacterium marinarum. Good news for me - one of my cultures finally grew something. Sporotrichosis - contracted from gardening, not from python bites . Lots of weird bugs out there.

Cutaneous granulomatous lesions can be characteristic of fungal pathogens but they are extremely rare in reptiles. Culture requires specialised growth media and occurs over an extended period. It is a common contaminant however and I would be very wary of a diagnosis based on a superficial swab no matter how carefully it was collected. If it is the causative agent then parenteral antifungals would be indicated but they tend to be of limited effect and generally fairly toxic at reptilian doses. If the lesion is superficial and limited in size then consider excision as an option.

 

[mikey_mike]

Hi Bigbunny,

Thanks for the input. I have some expertise in this area and am happy to say the diagnosis is certain & the treatment is clear & underway. Also, the patient is myself - not a reptile. All's good for me now. Cheers.