Posted on 07/30/2016 2:56:09 PM PDT by BenLurkin
About a week after the Rindone family returned from their tropical summer vacation, 7-year-old Andrew started complaining about a bump on his head.
"It did hurt a little," Andrew said. "And, it did itch."
The boy's pediatrician thought he had an infection and prescribed antibiotics.
But the bump just kept getting bigger, and a small pinhole began to appear.
Then one day, Andrew was on the couch when his mother saw something that horrified her.
"We kind of noticed something peek out of the hole," Jennifer Rindone said. The small opening was apparently a breathing hole for the larvae growing under Andrew's scalp.
...
Andrew's mother said she screamed when she saw what was living under her son's scalp. The doctor admitted he had never seen anything like it.
Andrew said suddenly he was very popular at the hospital.
"About six to eight doctors came into the room ... and partied with the botfly, looking at the botfly, taking pictures," Andrew said.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
Poor little guy. Lucky for this boy, his mom was attentive and decisive, once she saw what was happening. Read the short article, and see how resilient and tough some children can be. He’s kind of enjoying the attention and notoriety now. Calls himself “Bot-Man” since removal of the Bot Fly.
Huge Botfly Maggot Removed from Head
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7Iw0-7EMUo
There are hundreds of these videos on Youtube.
The family still recommends Costa Rica as a vacation destination but warns travelers to use insect repellent and to cover up from head to toe
and maybe take a shower and wash your head after being out in the Jungle,
Or do a salt water beach only vaca
The Great American Songwriter Irving Berlin wrote his first ballad hit, “When I Lost You”, in his grief over the death of his first wife, Dorothy Goetz. She had died of typhoid, contracted on her honeymoon, just four months after their marriage in 1912. (The Honeymoon was in South America).
Now i know that Costa Rica is in CENTRAL America, but this story reminded me of this little bit of American Lore about tropical vacations.
Years ago I found one on our dog. He had never been out of Kansas. Gross.
I can’t imagine them EVER wanting to go back there!
or any other region that is home to these flys......Magots on your head,I don’t think so!
Dial anti bio soap after day trips may be in order
I
We used to remove them from our horses and cattle with a half gallon milk bottle and a wad of burning paper
Pops them right out
I do my best to stay clear of jungles.
Oh, and I hate monkeys.
Our barn cat had one. Normally, she wouldn’t let us get near her. But that time, she let us know that she needed help.
What did you do with the Milk?
We had horses. They were everywhere. Not necessarily the larvae, but the flies and the eggs they laid. We were forever cleaning them off the horses’ legs.
Nasty little bug. A friend got one once. They used the bacon trick to get rid of it.
There is no safe place. Caribou on Alaska’s North Slope are infested with fly larvae burrowing into their coats during the few weeks of summer. Not sure if they are Bot flies. There is no jungle at 70*N latitude.
Interesting combination. Exactly what was the technique?
Typhoid Mary lived in New York City at that time. She could have just as easily caught typhoid there.
Typhoid is not a tropical disease.
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