caving question..

[anonymous]

hey all, I'm a healthy cf patient from south africa. I recently went cave exploring with a group of friends & only, while I was down there did I found out about the fungus (Histoplasma capsulatum) that grows on bat droppings. It can cause a condition called histoplasmosis. This fungus causes flu-like symptoms & can be fatal to individuals with weakened immune systems (which alot of us cf patients have due to all the antibiotics..). Had i know about the risk of this kind of infection I would not have gone.I would like to know if anyone has been in this kind of situation & if anyone knows the best course of action to take to prevent getting seriously ill if i have caught this.. thanks in advance!james, 21, SA

 

[Mockingbird]

Hello James. I would talk to a doctor and get tested as soon as possible. Hopefully there is some kind of medication to treat it. If there is, I'm sure the sooner you start taking it, the better off you will be. I really hope it turns out you did not catch anything at all. =-) Also, i guess there are foods that boost immune systems. Ummmm, fruits with vitamin C, tomatoes... I'm sure there are more...Jarod22 with Cf

 

[anonymous]

thanks for the reply. I did speak to my doc. you would just get prescribed some sort of antifungal medication if there is an infection. she said that if it goes untreated then it could become a problem, but if i do get any symptoms, ( which is highly unlikely) it can be treated, so thats cool. still, if anyone else has any input, it would be much appreciated! appart from that little issue, caving rocks! A very dirty pass-time though.. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">james, 21, SA