Cutaneous Larva Migrans

Just back from a trip in November, I picked up hookworm from walking on the beach. It is usually found in the tropics where people walk barefoot. It was on the top of my foot coming from between the toes, and looks like a raised red line running a burrow under the skin. Feet and butt are most common areas.

This version of it is the result of stepping in sand or soil contaminated with dog or cat feces.It doesn't matter if you don't have open cuts they can burrow it to the skin.

I've never had any problems in our 20+ trips to Negril. I am concerned for the locals because the(Albenza/ Albendazole) medicine, I had to wait a couple of days for in to come in, no one stocks it, their cost at Kaiser was $4000 for a weeks treatment, 28 tablets.
IS this becoming an issue? Anyone hear of anyone else getting this?

I didn't see anymore dogs or cats then usual.

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We have 50+ trips in 25 years. Probably 100 friends traveled with us over the years. 17 or 18 years ago 2 guys on the same trip got it. They both had been walking on a grassy sandy area near the beach. They were the only ones in that area so we figured that's where they picked it up. They got treatment when they returned home.

I definitely heard of it yet luckily in near 30 trips, have never personally experienced it. Several years ago I recall a visitor having that problem but was treated in Negril. Trust mi, the cost of the medication was nothing near that! It was after that, I wrote down the name of the medication. That is one medical issue that I would get treatment for in Negril if it occurred to me while there. The docs there are much more in tune with CLM than here in the states IMHO.

BTW, hope you get better soon! I'm making sure now that I have the meds for this written down in my notes. I leave Sunday and I am a big dog person! I give treats to each one I can and love them to death. Plus, I am a country gal at heart and I am barefoot half the time in Negril. LOL

Update....I just got up and checked my notes from last time. The drug that was given in Negril was Mintezol. Glad you posted or I would have forgotten to add this name to my updated list! Always best to be prepared, just in case. Or maybe help out a fellow traveler if needed. A retired RN never quits trying to help when possible. :)

Yep got on trip about a decade ago, treated very quickly with ivermectin pills, dr prescribed 9 days worth , pharmacy only had 5 , was more than enough to wipe them out.

Normal co-pay, no big deal , still go barefoot all the time. Pills are pricey but not near the amount you are mentioning.

Jamb

Was that 4000 us or j ?

I am assuming if it was through Kaiser, it was US. But, this is only an assumption.

Been there, done that and it's not a pleasant thing to have. Walked in grass barefoot. Sunny sand isn't a problem at all. Fortunately I had heard about it on this board and went to the doctor with the name of the proper medication but its was a long time ago and I don't remember what it was. I remember it being the same type medication you give a dog for worms. Just a couple of pills a day for a couple of days. The doctor thought it was so interesting that he brought in the other two doctors at the clinic to see it. The parasites leave a trail where they have been, up one toe down another. Itches like hell. Wasn't a costly fix, not $4,000 US. It did take a day to get it because it isn't stocked in most parts of the country. The doctor researched it and you can get the same parasite in the most tropical parts of the US, mainly Florida. We never wear or carry shoes while on the beach so we don't go into extremely shady or any grassy areas barefoot. It only happened to me one time in 26 years.

Welcome to the Board sherman7!

Sorry to hear about your experience, but glad to hear all is now well. Since hookworm is more common in the tropics (although it can be caught in other regions as well) - a quick trip to any pharmacist here on the island would have let you know a short treatment with Mintezol would have handled the whole thing very quickly. Children are the most common effected and they are treated without incident. There is even a brand of treatment marketed to parents here in colorful little boxes with a very cartoonish spelling of WORMS right on the label.

Doctors who are unfamiliar with the ailment can misdiagnose it. But it is easily treatable and it is certainly not us$4000 but much closer to j$4000, which is about us$35.

Here is a link to the exact same topic discussed here from January of 2013.

http://negril.com/forum/showthread.p...-Larva-Migrans

Never had CLM, but a few days after returning from my first trip to Negril a rash began to form on my mid-back. The rash worsened until large blisters or pimples began to form and it was uncomfortable and itchy when I leaned back. I immediately ran to the walk-in clinic at my local CVS Pharmacy. The Physicians Assistant at the clinic couldn't say exactly what it was, but he was pretty sure that it was some type of fungal infection that I picked up in Jamaica. I most likely caught it by sitting shirtless on some random lounger on the beach, without properly placing a towel on it. The PE prescribed me a topical cream that cleared it up in a week's time. I don't remember the name of the prescription, but I did have to go to another CVS to pick it up, as its not something that is normally carried at some pharmacies.

The lesson here - always put a towel on a beach lounger before you lay in it.

I've learned about this several years ago when my husband got it. To this day I never go barefoot when at the beach. You just never know.

There's nothing dangerous about walking barefoot on the beach along the waterline. Anything involving shaded paths and grass areas for me involves footware. I can speak from experience after picking the parasite up in 2012.

Yeah, I learned the hard way. Back in the 80's, I contracted hookworm on a cruise ship (no idea which island) and it was misdiagnosed when I got back to Ohio. Luckily enough, on my second visit to the doctor a second doctor happened to stop in and countered the useless and possibly harmful treatment I was receiving by the first doctor. A short treatment with the appropriate treatment quickly solved my problem.

We both still go barefoot on the hot sunny sand, even on the shoreline - no real risk there, it is not a breeding environment. It is in those shady, moist areas that pose the most risk. Use sandals in those places for sure!

Thank you for the post, very good to be aware of. Barefoot on the beach or not? Well, what fun is life without a little risk;) But, just to be an the safe side, I may think about wearing my fin socks:eek:

I was just thinking the same thing Badgergirl! :)

Barefoot on the beach for sure is OK especially in non-shaded areas. You wouldn't want to miss out on the benefits of earthing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=Z4F8mterVGE

most Negril resorts rake/clean their sand daily and security is quick to move any dogs on their way and clean up any mess if there is any.... Most dogs in Negril, know not to go on beach or face trouble...

Noticing a lot less dogs this week .My buddy the beach security who always seems to be in the know said they rounded up a lot of strays

Sorry to bump up an icky topic everyone...but someone asked privately about this info and I thought it would be useful for others as well...

My daughter got this a couple years back, the Pharmacy in Negril had stacks of the liquid cure with the cartoon like Worms on the box. It worked quick. When she was brought to the doctor here they didn't even know what hookworm was.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by farmer

Noticing a lot less dogs this week .My buddy the beach security who always seems to be in the know said they rounded up a lot of strays

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We try to avoid establishments where there are dogs or cats running around. No dogs or cats = no hookworms. Never had an issue in 37 years.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bnewb

Sorry to bump up an icky topic everyone...but someone asked privately about this info and I thought it would be useful for others as well...

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I believe this might have been for my benefit? I was unfortunate enough to get hook worm in both of my feet on Negril Beach in early Nov. 2015. We are booked to go back to Negril in April 2016 so I am glad to hear that I can buy Al-Bendazole in Jamaica over the counter. This is what I finally took to rid my last batch but in Canada it is not FDA approved so it took me two full weeks before I received treatment here in Canada. I appreciate that forums like this one are so full of information to help travelers like myself, keep the information coming :)

I picked up some sort of infection in my foot my holiday winters of 2013 and 2014. Now I always wear sandals when walking the beach as the treatment kept me out of the water for ten days each time. Lots of pooping and peeing happening on the beach.

I also picked this up in Feb 2013 on the beach and so did my daughter's friend, I am assuming we got it by Rooms (Sunny Side bar) there where a lot of dogs and cats there. I got treated in Negril while I was there and it went away in a few days. My daughters friend went home a week before me and the Doctors in Canada that she saw where not certain how to treat it, I sent her the name of the medication but its not sold in Canada. We where back to rooms this past Nov. and this time my daughter got it. Unfortunately she didn't develop any systems until she returned home. She is still dealing with it. Again we stayed at Rooms and there were a lot of puppies next door at Sunny Side bar and cats. We are going back in Feb to Rooms but I think I will keep my sandals on.