Have you gotten a disease or been poisoned while cruising?

[richardhc]

I'm doing an article about staying healthy while cruising for noonsite and am looking for stories from sailors who have gotten malaria, dengue (or some other mossie borne disease), Ciguatera or other food poisoning, a badly infected coral cut. Especially if this happened in a very remote area and totally messed up your cruising for a long time.
The objective is to make cruisers realize these are serious issues and, frankly, scare them into taking the necessary steps to prevent sharing the experience.
Your story can be completely anonymous if you wish.
Reply on this thread or message me to get in contact.
I'm doing the article for free as part of a noonsite series on cruising kindly.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by richardhc

The objective is to make cruisers realize these are serious issues and, frankly, scare them into taking the necessary steps to prevent sharing the experience.

Geez...yes, let's scare cruisers some more!
Between the "Common Objects Aboard that Can Be Used to Defend Yourself" and the "How to De-Mast" and "How Can We Defend Ourselves from Pirates" and today's "The Sinking of the Morning Dew", yes, let's throw in a thread about horrible diseases as well!

No, I never did get any diseases during my months of cruising across the South Pacific. I had my immunizations before departing and then talked to the locals and did what they did to avoid contacting mosquito-bourne diseases and cigatuera...

LittleWing77

[bobnlesley]

I'm with little wing, why not highlight that the overwhelming majority get here there and everywhere without major issues beyond the occasional hangover.

[atoll]

my daughter and wife spent 4 days in hospital with malaria in tanzania,lucky we had health insurance,the total bill was $150 which the insurance paid without question...

[Hudson Force]

We still refer to "Chicken Quarantine" recalling the lunch in Eleuthra when I commented about the unusual tangy sauce. After crossing over to the Exumas I was the sickest I've ever been, but I was given great care at a clinic in Georgetown.

[Benz]

I have been stricken with Dengue in Cartagena. Spent days near death with a high fever. We have also suffered pink eye, prickly heat, rashes, mild fevers of unknown cause. DM me if you want more details.
While these events are not highlights, they are realities of cruising, and everyone who would cruise should know that these are risks you must take, and also that the risk is worth the reward. Giving people a healthy expectation of what cruising entails is not a bad thing at all.

[double u]

the lady got malaria in the Red Sea, I had dengue in the societies
(very sensible reasoning, LittleWing77. Saves you the expense of all this emergency gear like liferaft, flares, Epirb,...)

[keepondancin]

Dengue Fever in the BVI's, in the early-mid 80's. Almost one week the sickest I have ever been, then about 2-3 weeks before I was strong enough to function fully.

[Nibiruwayne]

There is new affordable tech for any boaters which can insure health safety onboard and at a slip. Those of us who have sailed know that a crew can quickly become sick with stomach and nausea problems due to cross contamination on every service onboard or brought in with provisioning.
I’ve got equipment onboard that produces aqueous ozone on demand and where you need it anytime. All you need is tap water and small dc current from a built in rechargeable battery . In less than 2 minutes you’re armed with a sprayer that
Will kill and destroy all bacteria , viruses, prions, yeasts, molds, fungi’s, to 99.999
Kill rate in a matter of seconds. No chemicals, no toxins, you can safely drink water that was not potable before you sanitized with AO3.
I’m a dentist and we have portable and centrally installed units in our office for sanitization and disinfection, decontamination.
In the galley we can spray raw foods and veggies and eliminate any surface organisms- so example= no risk of salmonella on chicken, utensils.
We have a bottle in each head for pre-use surface and post use surface disinfection.
If you want to discuss further send a reply so we do t gobble up forum space.

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by bobnlesley

I'm with little wing, why not highlight that the overwhelming majority get here there and everywhere without major issues beyond the occasional hangover.

A principle trait of so-called 'higher animals' is the capacity to learn from others...the "smart people learn from their mistakes, smarter people learn from other peoples' mistakes" thing. Learning from the trials that others have gone through, particularly in relatively austere environments, is what helps us to be better prepared.

I'm glad the OP is making the effort and kudos to those willing to share their accounts (not that getting sick is a mistake)...it will benefit others (Nervous Nelly types can simply look away).

[tstano]

Originally Posted by richardhc

I'm doing an article about staying healthy while cruising for noonsite and am looking for stories from sailors who have gotten malaria, dengue (or some other mossie borne disease), Ciguatera or other food poisoning, a badly infected coral cut. Especially if this happened in a very remote area and totally messed up your cruising for a long time.
The objective is to make cruisers realize these are serious issues and, frankly, scare them into taking the necessary steps to prevent sharing the experience.
Your story can be completely anonymous if you wish.
Reply on this thread or message me to get in contact.
I'm doing the article for free as part of a noonsite series on cruising kindly.

It’s Halloween so I’d like to hear from some pirates that died while cruising. Wait a minute for my fog machine to get going.

[Chalifour]

I had an eye problem which occurred in a matter of minutes, on Symi, Greece and which needed immediate attention. I got a clinic appointment the same day and was encouraged by the physician to consult a specialist ASAP. As we had to move out of Greece to Turkey the next day, I managed to get an appointment the day following our check-in in Marmaris. An ophthalmologist did an in depth exam and suggested I undergo a laser operation. He further contacted a friend surgeon who accepted to see me the following day. After performing yet another in-depth exam, he concluded that I didn’t need the surgery for the time being and gave me his personal cellular number in case my condition would evolve. The consultation in Greece was free, the ophthalmologist charges me 800 Turkish lira (+/- 140 CAD) and the surgeon 200 TL (+/- 40 CAD). All in all 4 days including our entry in Turkey!

[RobertoD]

It is a worthwhile project - but not only for "Cruisers". All travelers - particularly those who stray from the beaten path, face these problems - as do those who don't: ie street food in India, or Honduras.
Physical injuries are also a problem when sailing/cruising. More important is how one combatted the problem, then just listing all the "bad events". Those come naturally, how to cope with them is the important information.

[rfkneller]

Once got a case of crabs in Annapolis.

[captmikem]

I picked up Dengue in Tonga in the mid 90's. Spent a week in my bunk dealing with it. When I got to NZ I went to see a Dr. as I was having trouble speaking loud and could only get out four ore five words before running out of breath. She told me one of my vocal chords was paralyzed, most likely from Dengue.

Things happen, no reason to stop enjoying life. Adventure is worth the risks.

M