For you wet waders out there

[rrt]

At last week's TU meeting, Bill Anderson of the LJRA told us to be sure to wear waders when fishing. One of his friends was wet wading and has a small cut on his leg. It became infected. It did not respond to treatment, and Anderson's friend had to have the leg amputated at the knee. I just thought you guys might want to know this. (Bill also wrote about it on the LJRA website.)

 

[afishinado]

rrt wrote:
At last week's TU meeting, Bill Anderson of the LJRA told us to be sure to wear waders when fishing. One of his friends was wet wading and has a small cut on his leg. It became infected. It did not respond to treatment, and Anderson's friend had to have the leg amputated at the knee. I just thought you guys might want to know this. (Bill also wrote about it on the LJRA website.)

Wow Rich, thanks for the info. I had the same thing happen to me a few months ago because of wet wading. The first antibiotic prescribed by the doctor did not work and the infection spread. My leg was swollen from mid thigh to mid calf (elephant man!!! :-o). Finally the infection responded to the second antibiotic prescribed. The doctor wanted to hospitalize me, but I got an IV at the hospital and was treated as a out-patient. Scary stuff.

 

[PatrickC]

As a guy whom does a few amputations, I would say be particularly careful if you are at risk for infections. Diabetics and folks with chronic swelling (venous insufficiency & lymphedema) are at the greatest risk. The problem with these infections is that they often have bacterial species that are not expected (due to the water exposure) and the antibiotics they are normally placed on for Staph sp. may not cover Aeromonas or Vibrio sp. I recently had a triathlete that was training in a pond (and cut his foot on a stick while swimming) with a severe cellulitis and abscess (he was 27). No amp in his case, but it really set his training back because I had to incise and drain the abcess and pack it open for a few days. If you get a nick or cut that gets red and has purulence that is not responding to dressings with Neosporin over a day or 2...SEE YOUR DOCTOR!

That being said, I wet wade during the summer months every year :-D

 

[jdaddy]

JayL will be contributing in 3 . . . . . 2 . . . . .1 . . . . .

In his case it was Valley and he WAS wearing waders. Guess the point is treatment of wounds exposed to river water versus waders v. no waders.

 

[bam]

Yeah... That's crazy stuff. I couldn't believe it when I read that. I wet wade all summer, but might start re-thinking things.

I believe they actually cancelled the cleanup on the J because of that incident. Stay safe fellas

 

[PatrickC]

jdaddy wrote:
In his case it was Valley and he WAS wearing waders. Guess the point is treatment of wounds exposed to river water versus waders v. no waders.

You hit it on the nose. And again, if you are at high risk for infection with this type of exposure....protect yourself.

 

[JackM]

I'm not sure how I will cast, but I'm leaning toward using one of these instead of waders:

 

[Rolf]

Count me in too. I was wet wading the Saucon last month but ended up with an infection in my hand/arm. Same story, small cut. Fished Saturday, Sunday woke up with a stiff thumb. Monday it became swollen, red and traveled up my arm. Tuesday I couldn’t move it and finally saw the doc. He outlined the red with a pen, gave me two antibiotics and told me to return the next day saying if it grows out of the outline, I’m off to the hospital. No change for Wednesday and when I saw him again Thursday, the swelling was going down. A week on the meds and I was fine. Kinda crazy out there sometimes and yes, I still wet wade. Go figure……

 

[Slate_Drake_9]

I haven't wet waded since I was able to afford waders. This is yet another reason not to.

 

[Slate_Drake_9]

JackM wrote:

NICE STRIKE INDICATOR!

 

[wsender]

I understand that this has been brought up time and time again, but I'd have to argue that it's no more dangerous than swimming. I think hygiene is probably the most important factor when it comes to preventing infection. If you get a cut, clean it out and tend to it regularly. Use common sense as well. If you're cut is icky looking and you feel like you're getting sick/have a fever, go to the doctor.

When I weigh the dangers of fly fishing, wet wading is very low on my list.

 

[RLeep2]

As long as we're all saying the same things we said the last time this came up, I'll do likewise..

Risk of infection from a small cut is only one of the reasons that wet wading is/can be risky behavior.

Any unfortunately positioned stick, sharp rock or other similar junk (loose chunks of barbed wire from farm fences for example are not uncommon in the streams I fish in Midwest) that is tripped over in just the right way is a potential arterial gash waiting to happen. And if you gash the right artery, the amount of time you have to do something about it is measured in minutes, not hours or days and there's no waiting to see if the redness spreads beyond the red pen marks.

Do it when you're fishing alone some distance from the road or your car and you may have just got in line to meet the Great Cashier.

Ka-Ching...

It's true that waders won't stop every one of these, but they will lessen the impact of the majority.

I don't wet wade. Period.

If I want to feel wild, free and adventuresome, I have a pin hole in my waist highs just above the place where I come to a point. I can always wade in deep enough to let a little water in there and get my cheap thrill for the day.

 

[afishinado]

Any minor break in the skin that you have or happens on the stream can go unnoticed when wet wading, and soaking it all day in bacteria laden water is a problem. If you notice a cut, by all means apply an antiseptic to it, but likely the wound closed with leaving the bacteria under the skin to do its nasty work. Anyway, still kayak and wet wade, but you never know what's lurking out there....:-o

 

[jdaddy]

but I'd have to argue that it's no more dangerous than swimming.

You walk through briers, fall over sharp rocks and boulders and swim in sewage system output? Bacteria in pools and rivers/lakes are not even close. Chlorine/Bromine kills all that stuff.
I agree in general that wading in streams/lakes is not ultra hazardous from a bacterial stand point and with proper precautions it is pretty safe.

 

[troutbert]

PatrickC wrote:
As a guy whom does a few amputations, I would say be particularly careful if you are at risk for infections. Diabetics and folks with chronic swelling (venous insufficiency & lymphedema) are at the greatest risk. The problem with these infections is that they often have bacterial species that are not expected (due to the water exposure) and the antibiotics they are normally placed on for Staph sp. may not cover Aeromonas or Vibrio sp. I recently had a triathlete that was training in a pond (and cut his foot on a stick while swimming) with a severe cellulitis and abscess (he was 27). No amp in his case, but it really set his training back because I had to incise and drain the abcess and pack it open for a few days. If you get a nick or cut that gets red and has purulence that is not responding to dressings with Neosporin over a day or 2...SEE YOUR DOCTOR!

That being said, I wet wade during the summer months every year :-D

Are there specific antiobiotics available for these bacteria?

 

[jayL]

I am not a doctor, but:

Treatments

Aeromonas hydrophila can be eliminated using one percent sodium hypochlorite solution and two percent calcium hypochlorite solution.

Antibiotic agents such as chloramphenicol, florenicol, tetracycline, sulfonamide, nitrofuran derivatives, and pyrodinecarboxylic acids are used to eliminate and control the infection of Aeromonas hydrophila.

Terramycin is placed in fish food during hatchery operations as another chemotherapeutic agent in preventing Aeromonas hydrophila.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeromonas_hydrophila


My infection has long been suspected to have been mycobacterial. Probably marinum. I had to cycle through a few antibiotics before they found something that worked. I have been on clarithromycin and doxycyclene for almost a year now.

 

[JakesLeakyWaders]

I wet waded the Yellow Breeches today, the Susquehanna River worries me the most, I had a scratch on my finger this year while wet wading/kayaking the river all day. My whole finger swelled up within a few days. It was painful, and I was sick and for a week.

 

[sandfly]

try being a heart patient and diabetic. always getting scratches on the chicken wire. have to use neosporin all the time. Never go without the waders for sure.

 

[Fishidiot]

PatrickC wrote:
As a guy whom does a few amputations, I would say be particularly careful if you are at risk for infections. Diabetics and folks with chronic swelling (venous insufficiency & lymphedema) are at the greatest risk. The problem with these infections is that they often have bacterial species that are not expected (due to the water exposure) and the antibiotics they are normally placed on for Staph sp. may not cover Aeromonas or Vibrio sp. I recently had a triathlete that was training in a pond (and cut his foot on a stick while swimming) with a severe cellulitis and abscess (he was 27). No amp in his case, but it really set his training back because I had to incise and drain the abcess and pack it open for a few days. If you get a nick or cut that gets red and has purulence that is not responding to dressings with Neosporin over a day or 2...SEE YOUR DOCTOR!

That being said, I wet wade during the summer months every year :-D

Wise counsel from the Good Doctor. Thanks.

 

[PatrickC]

troutbert wrote:
Are there specific antiobiotics available for these bacteria?

Aeromonas sp. are usually suscepatble to fluoroquinolones (Levaquin, Cipro)
.
Vibrio sp. are generally susceptable to doxycycline (Vibramycin).

You would be more likely to be infected with Aeromonas in our freshwater fisheries. That is certainly what I have seen.

Vibrio species are always mentioned on board questions with stepping on the spines of saltwater catfish or being hooked during a saltwater fishing adventure. I have not seen a Vibrio infection related to any local freshwater exposure.

JayL: Not sure I would depend on wikipedia for sound medical advice The article you are refering to is concerning controling Aeromonas in aquaculture and in the cleaning of aquariums and holding tanks.