countryman Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 I know there are people on here from all walks of life so here goes, a friend of mine has been out in Africa for 6 months, he’s been perfectly fine heath wise until one morning he woke up with double vision and very unsteady on his legs, he said it’s like being drunk, at first they thought it was a stroke but that was ruled out, he has now returned to the Uk and is in and out of Hospital each day having various tests but nothing is showing up, he can’t see of feel if he’s been bitten any where, he can’t drive because of his eyesight and walking is difficult, he’s not got any worse but no better. Any thoughts from anyone who may have seen these symptoms and been in Africa. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisjpainter Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 Can of worms alert - possibly literally. There are legion of things it could be, sadly. Just because he's not found a bite mark, doesn't mean he hasn't got one. Hidden in hair or in places that are hard too inspect. It could be a waterborne bacterial infection he's picked up that's still lurking, or a virus. Or it could be something like a parasitic worm. Or...or...or...unfortunately those symptoms crop up in too many illnesses for a PW diagnosis to be possible There's an England Women's cricketer called Kate Cross. She's had to have round after round of antibiotics for a tropical parasitic infection she picked up months ago. As someone who's been there with tropical nasties from travelling extensively in Africa, the only advice I can give is to make sure he's keeping a record of all the things he's being tested for, so if he gets punted on to a new specialist or clinic, he can tell them it's not this...this...this...and not rely on them reading the notes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 has he been taking his malaria pills on an empty stomach ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrepin Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 Meniere's ? 43 minutes ago, countryman said: he woke up with double vision and very unsteady on his legs, he said it’s like being drunk, Sounds like me when I had a very minor stroke. Took over 12 months for a full diagnosis and 6 years on I still wobble sometimes and can't walk far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 1 hour ago, countryman said: he woke up with double vision and very unsteady on his legs, I woke up one morning in Africa with those exact symptoms. I could barely remember the wedding the day before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 4 hours ago, countryman said: I know there are people on here from all walks of life so here goes, a friend of mine has been out in Africa for 6 months, he’s been perfectly fine heath wise until one morning he woke up with double vision and very unsteady on his legs, he said it’s like being drunk, at first they thought it was a stroke but that was ruled out, he has now returned to the Uk and is in and out of Hospital each day having various tests but nothing is showing up, he can’t see of feel if he’s been bitten any where, he can’t drive because of his eyesight and walking is difficult, he’s not got any worse but no better. Any thoughts from anyone who may have seen these symptoms and been in Africa. Thanks Needs referring to the Tropical Disease Team asap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbob Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 As above they need to up the stakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted June 14, 2023 Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 The school of tropical medicine is the place to go for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryman Posted June 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2023 I think he was having a lumbar puncture to day, they are still investigating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted June 16, 2023 Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 (edited) On 14/06/2023 at 14:49, London Best said: I woke up one morning in Africa with those exact symptoms. I could barely remember the wedding the day before. I woke up many mornings with those symptoms when i was in Africa but that was a different story. Seriously, there are so many nasty illnesses you can get in Africa that I would ask to be referred to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. Edited June 16, 2023 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fargo Posted June 16, 2023 Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 Being sick abroad isn’t fun. Made me realise how good the U.K. healthcare can be. I had numerous doctors telling me what was wrong and soon as I was discharged after 2.5 weeks of hell I took a taxi straight to the airport and spent a year dealing with the consequences here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted June 16, 2023 Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 (edited) Outside of Africa there's only two nations with the expertise in tropical diseases of sub-Saharan Africa IMHO that's the UK and France. In fact given their more recent and current direct involvement on the continent I'd say France trumps the UK. Edited June 16, 2023 by enfieldspares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 17, 2023 Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 I’d be getting to Liverpool and tropical Medicine school my friend had various test for over a yea and normal hospitals couldn’t figure it. Got referee there two visits and they knew what it was Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 17, 2023 Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 10 hours ago, chilly1981 said: I’d be getting to Liverpool and tropical Medicine school my friend had various test for over a yea and normal hospitals couldn’t figure it. Got referee there two visits and they knew what it was good advice...or the Cambridge branch.......... i was fairly lucky ..as all the years i spent going back and forth to central africa .....apart from getting mined..shot at...bombed...mortared..................all i got was a dose of Dobi itch....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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