I am sure I have mentioned the dreaded Mango Fly before but now we have our own personal story to tell.
Mango Flies are ordinary looking flies that can lay their eggs in your clothes if you leave them hanging out to dry. It is the reason we iron ALL the clothes that come off the clothing line. If you don't the eggs get embedded into your skin and then a maggot will grow INSIDE you!! It is most common around seams or waistbands since they are the hardest to dry.
If you get a mango fly you need to cover it with Vaseline so that it suffocates, then you open the wound and remove it. Seriously YUK!! I am not sure what happens if you don't go in and get it.
So last Friday Theo had a suspicious spot between his smallest toes. Amina couldn't identify it. Since Theo never wears socks it never crossed my mind that it could be a mango fly egg.
By Saturday it was deep red and the area around it was swollen, but not bulging like you would expect to find for a mango fly. We were at a Birthday party and it was diagnosed just about everyone as a chigger. This I was going to have to dig out with a needle.
By Sunday it was slowly getting worse and starting to hurt. I tried going in with a needle but coulnd't find anything. I eventually gave up.
That night he had trouble sleeping and by the next morning he was limping. So off to the doctor we went.
Nurse Eva also dug in with a needle. Theo was SO brave!! She was also ready to give up, she couldn't find anything. Until at the last moment she thought she saw something way down deep. She dug this maggot out from deep in his skin... the fact that it was so deep explains why there was no pronounced bulge.
He was about 1cm long and utterly disgusting. Theo immediately felt better. He started smiling and laughing again within minutes. Eva was still unsure about calling it a Mango Fly so I took it to have it analyzed by everyone who I could convince to look at it. Everyone agrees... Mango Fly maggot.
Here is the hole it came out of about an hour after the extraction. Amazing that it is so small. It has healed up nicely since then. We are still totally befuddled as to how he got it. Just glad it is better.
Kaia made a thank you card for Eva.
Oh, and on his way out Theo said 'thank you' to Nurse Eva. Such a brave AND polite boy!!
Oh, and on his way out Theo said 'thank you' to Nurse Eva. Such a brave AND polite boy!!
ALL I CAN SAY IS YUCK!
ReplyDeleteAND HAPPY AS EVERYONE ELSE TO HEAR IT WAS REMOVED.
I HEAR YOU WERE A BRAVE BOY THEO....WELL DONE!
Oh no!!! A mango fly! No longer a "mzungu myth." Poor Theo! I'm so glad it's out and he has healed!
ReplyDeleteHello, I m a a yr or 2 later but to respond to your question,"How did the mango larvae get into your son subcuetaneous layer of skin"? Well in Africa we know it is a tropical climate continent, this is paradise for parasites. The mango fly lay its eggs in grass, dirt, wet clothes,anywhere its eggs can burrow into a mammal. I ve seen on You Tube a vet in Gambia, treat so many dogs/cats for the same thing. Its an epidemic infestation over there. I assume WHO,world health organization, have not investigated these worms, because supposedly they re harmless. But it should be an insecticide that can minimize these flies. Even the bot flies. I ve seen video after pictures after video, where many humans had bot fly larvae in their head, maggots in their nose, there was one lil boy from India,tropical country, who had maggots in his lil ears. Most likely,the dr said the home may have had a large housefly infestation and dropped eggs in his ear while sleeping. The most vunerable time for everyone. I do know flies are drawn to tissue that has infection & the lil boy may have had an ear infection. anyway please forgive my ramblings. I am in USA and so far we do not have anything here like that except the deer nasal bot fly. So keep you babies out of the dirt & grass unless they have a repellent & always keep shoes on their feet when in the grass. You cant feel the larvae burrowing into your feet or body because its so small. Just be very aware. Good luck!!!
ReplyDeleteHello, I m a a yr or 2 later but to respond to your question,"How did the mango larvae get into your son subcuetaneous layer of skin"? Well in Africa we know it is a tropical climate continent, this is paradise for parasites. The mango fly lay its eggs in grass, dirt, wet clothes,anywhere its eggs can burrow into a mammal. I ve seen on You Tube a vet in Gambia, treat so many dogs/cats for the same thing. Its an epidemic infestation over there. I assume WHO,world health organization, have not investigated these worms, because supposedly they re harmless. But it should be an insecticide that can minimize these flies. Even the bot flies. I ve seen video after pictures after video, where many humans had bot fly larvae in their head, maggots in their nose, there was one lil boy from India,tropical country, who had maggots in his lil ears. Most likely,the dr said the home may have had a large housefly infestation and dropped eggs in his ear while sleeping. The most vunerable time for everyone. I do know flies are drawn to tissue that has infection & the lil boy may have had an ear infection. anyway please forgive my ramblings. I am in USA and so far we do not have anything here like that except the deer nasal bot fly. So keep you babies out of the dirt & grass unless they have a repellent & always keep shoes on their feet when in the grass. You cant feel the larvae burrowing into your feet or body because its so small. Just be very aware. Good luck!!!
ReplyDelete