Cryptosporidium - a word of warning ⚠️

[WalkedUp]

About 3 years ago I picked up a pretty serious cryptosporidium infection, I was in bed for over three weeks and lost a couple of stone. The environmental health agency called me up and after reviewing my movements thought it was most likely I had caught the infection on the farm, from the sheep. My shoot day hygiene has always been laddishly lax, I quietly laughed at men who used hand sanitizer and wet wipes to get the blood and mud off their hands before 11s. Or the guns who refuse to handle shot birds in ungloved hand.

The first bout of crypto was awful, I went for a few drinks after work on a Friday but as I was driving at 6am to the shoot the next morning I was sensibleand didn’t drink to excess. Nonetheless I woke up at 3am being very sick with a violently upset stomach at the same time. Sat on the toilet I was filling the wash hand basin to the side. I wretched and convulsed until exhausted and bleeding. My wife sent me a text message to say how annoyed she was that I had clearly got so blind drunk. 15 minutes later I had the strength to climb off the bathroom floor and stumble to my bed, I told her I wished I had been drunk as it would have taken the edge off that awful experience. Then 30 mins later the run to the bathroom again, a cycle that didn’t abate until it was time to get dressed to go shooting. 

We were walked up shooting woodcock over fell on the Llyn Peninsular. As I was taking two dogs if I had dropped out the trip would have been a disaster. My friend kindly drove the 2 hours instead of me. He is a good driver but despite the pit stops it was one of the worst journeys of my life. We walked a huge distance over the day, and I was exhausted, white as a sheet and passing blood. Still managed to shoot three woodcock. On the journey back I still couldn’t eat and felt awful, barely able to speak. Once home I didn’t properly awake for two days and then didn’t get out of my bedroom/en-suite for three weeks except after 14 days to go to the doctor to give a sample. The pain was incredible, constant ache to kidneys, abdomen and joints. I have walked and cycled to hospital with broken bones on different occasions but this chronic type pain was just constant day and night, co-codamol was a god send. Eventually it cleared up and I regained my fighting weight. 

The infection (I think) must have caused some permanent damage as every 6 or so months my intestines seem to flare up and I have the same symptoms for a few days. My wife found me in a hedge covered in sick and worse at the end of our front garden when I had tried to get home once and collapsed out of the car just short.

I am currently in a bout now but have become blasé. We had booked a trip away with the children, I wasn’t being sick just the belly, fever and aches - as I didn’t want to disappoint them still took them away. Somehow between feverish bouts, 30-40trips to the bathroom a day, aching joins and crippling abdominal spasms I managed to take them rock pooling, rock climbing, play French cricket and swim in the sea. They loved it but since then I have spent the last two days unable to eat or get out of bed / bathroom, making myself much worse than I was before the trip. I probably should see the doctor again to find out what is going on but imagine they have enough on their plate with the pandemic.

Anyway, moral of the story is - if you have spent the day picking up birds from fields or yards covered in sheep or cow muck, ducks from unknown ponds etc then make sure you clean, wash and sanitise your hands before tucking into your sandwiches. There is nothing manly about messing up your bowels. 

[JDog]

I am sorry to read of your problems.

That organism is a real problem. I caught it from infected water in Africa during the last few days of a year long round the world trip thirty years ago. My symptoms lasted for five years.

[Farmboy91]

Sorry to hear your suffering like that but equally thank you for sharing.

I'd always been one for washing my hands after touching something, and used to get a bit of stick for it but I'm glad it's an ingrained habit especially after reading this. 

[Walker570]

I always carry a bottle of veterinary hand wash in my Landie and some water and paper towels  for any incident where I may have handled deer, fox etc etc., takes just two minutes.

That particular problem is fortunately rare but still no reason to take precautions. 

Handling pheasants by the legs is also likely to pass on some nasties but how often do you see it?  They can carry some similar nasty bugs.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Walker570

[JTaylor91]

I am ashamed to say that I was one that wouldn’t sanitise/wash hands after handling dead birds. Now with everything going on I find myself sanitising my hands as more of a habit which carries over to the rare occasion I get to handle a dead bird.

[ClemFandango]

Crikey that's awful. 

Sorry you have had to and continue to endure that. 

I never realised it could be that horrific.

I hope that your residual symptoms clear up for good as soon as possible and you can live free of it. 

[WalkedUp]

Thanks for the messages, but don’t worry about me. I’m young and will cope. Plenty of people on here dealing with much worse. Just want to make sure people take precautions in the field. 

Interesting that JDog has had similar and it took 5 years, if similar hopefully I’m over half way.

[Mice!]

2 hours ago, WalkedUp said:

I probably should see the doctor again to find out what is going on but imagine they have enough on their plate with the pandemic.

The doctors have probably never been as quiet, get on the phone and get back in.

[Cosmicblue]

Thanks for sharing, that is indeed a sobering read first thing in the morning.

[WalkedUp]

🤣