Seal Finger / Bear Finger....A Cautionary Tale.

[adventure907]

Crazy! Glad you are doing better. I deal with a lot of pigs, and they are filthy like bears. Good warning.

Now please! Do your gut a favor and get on a regular regimen of probiotics. Eat Greek yogurt. All of those hard-core antibiotics had to have taken a toll on your beneficial gut flora. I have had a C diff infection after antibiotics killing off all the good gut bacteria and it was terrifying. Can be fatal.
Take care of your gut, you need it!

Thank you for that advice, you make a great point. I was taking probiotics for a while after I took all those antibiotics. The tetracycline definitely messed with my gut and I felt like crap the whole time I was on it. The greek yogurt though, I think I will incorporate that into my diet. Thanks!

 

[SDHNTR]

Thank you for that advice, you make a great point. I was taking probiotics for a while after I took all those antibiotics. The tetracycline definitely messed with my gut and I felt like crap the whole time I was on it. The greek yogurt though, I think I will incorporate that into my diet. Thanks!

Hippy crap like Kombucha, kefir, raw apple cider vinegar, all good for the gut too.

 

[Sourdough]

Sam Fejjus (sp) or his brother lost three fingers to the same thing, from skinning a Brown Bear. This was roughly 40'ish years ago.

 

[SDHNTR]

Is this a phenomenon occurring in black bears too? Or only browns because they more typically feed on dead seals?

 

[adventure907]

Is this a phenomenon occurring in black bears too? Or only browns because they more typically feed on dead seals?

That I couldn't tell you. I've only really heard of it associated with brown bears, but thats not to say a black bear couldn't find himself a washed up seal and carry this bacteria as well. I just know it is real, it sucks, and I hope nobody else has to go through it.

 

[adventure907]

Sam Fejjus (sp) or his brother lost three fingers to the same thing, from skinning a Brown Bear. This was roughly 40'ish years ago.

I think Sam still has all of his fingers, but very well could have been his brother.

 

[rocinantetc]

Thanks for sharing, glad you're ok!

 

[Sourdough]

I think Sam still has all of his fingers, but very well could have been his brother.

Most likely. It happened near Yakutat. I never knew Sam's brother.

 

[SDHNTR]

I’ve met Sam Fejes and at least his handshaking hand still seemed to possess all fingers.

 

[yfarm]

You don’t know what you don’t know. Good thing you pursued this. Hand surgeon would not be my choice of referral for a non responsive soft tissue infection. ID Ist 2nd and 3rd choices. Somebody has to be curious, take a detailed history and literature search. Had a old GI doc tell me one time 80% of his diagnoses were made before he touched the patient, just by talking to the patient.

 

[Ron.C]

Thanks for sharing your story, really glad it appears to be on the mend.

 

[adventure907]

You don’t know what you don’t know. Good thing you pursued this. Hand surgeon would not be my choice of referral for a non responsive soft tissue infection. ID Ist 2nd and 3rd choices. Somebody has to be curious, take a detailed history and literature search. Had a old GI doc tell me one time 80% of his diagnoses were made before he touched the patient, just by talking to the patient.

I agree with that for sure. The recommendation to see the hand specialist was when the thought was that the infection needed to be cleaned out. It was definitely a learning lesson for many and hopefully my experience can help someone down the road if it happens to happen to them.

 

[7Bartman]

Interesting case. What it comes down to is whatever bacteria you were infected with from your knife. I could certainly see bears having a broad array of bacteria especially in their pads/claws. Keflex isn't the best against all gram negatives live mycoplasma (if that's what you were infected with). Did they try and culture anything from your wound? Admittedly, infectious disease isn't my strong point, but this seems like what they would try and do (albeit some bacteria like mycoplasma can be difficult to culture). I'm glad the tetracycline worked for you. Like others have said, it can be hard on the gut. The data on the probiotics are somewhat mixed on it being beneficial, but it isn't likely to harm you. Glad you are recovering.
I used to work with fish that were intentionally infected with mycobacteria (think fish tuberculosis). Mycobacteria always scare me b/c they are quite resistant as a species and need multiple antibiotics for long periods. Vibrio is equally or more scary as well, so I'm glad it wasn't those (the paper lists those as potential possibilities).

 

[yfarm]

Mycoplasma Ovi which is found in domestic sheep and goats as well as aoudad are a cause of death from pneumonia in Bighorns. Is a factor in reestablishing bighorn populations in west Tx and I assume elsewhere where the populations come in contact. Aoudads supposedly are resistant. Wonder if there is any risk of transmission when field dressing sheep. All you want to know

Impact of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae on juvenile bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) survival in the northern Basin and Range ecosystem - PMC

Determining the demographic impacts of wildlife disease is complex because extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of survival, reproduction, body condition, and other factors that may interact with disease vary widely. Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae infection ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[fwafwow]

Thank you for sharing. I have read the same (or similar) thread about whether to wear gloves when working on an animal, and if I remember correctly, there were some who scoffed at the idea of wearing gloves. (Sort of like "man up" and "just rub some dirt on it!" kind of responses.) IMHO this is a good reminder to consider gloves - and for a klutz like me, including a cut-proof glove on my non-knife hand.

I am extremely disappointed that the beer in picture number 2 didn't help.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

My buddy had to have his finger cut open and cleaned after he got some bear gunk in his joint. He was lucky they didn't have to cut it off.

Good argument for gloves.

 

[keller]

I am starting to agree with the argument of wearing gloves when field dressing skinning animals. But also do it away from anyone else and distraction to avoid problems

 

[Read1t48]

Crazy story! Thanks a lot for taking the time to share it. Perhaps it will save somebody from the same issue. I always put a pair of gloves in my kill kit but don’t always wear them. I certainly will from now on.

 

[Ecampbell25]

Josh,

I’m so sorry that happened to you man. Happy to hear you are doing better.

Thanks a bunch for sharing this story with us. This is crazy!

Ill have to make sure to be extra careful when dealing with these critters and start wearing gloves for added protection.

 

[adventure907]

Josh,

I’m so sorry that happened to you man. Happy to hear you are doing better.

Thanks a bunch for sharing this story with us. This is crazy!

Ill have to make sure to be extra careful when dealing with these critters and start wearing gloves for added protection.

No problem. I am happy to share any experiences I have that I think may help someone down the road.

Josh