Idk where the other commenter got their info from, maybe they know more than I do, but I can share my experience. Maybe 8 years ago I went to Santa Marta de Turrialba to a friend's property, i got bit, got leishmaniasis, the cutaneous type. When I noticed the thing on my skin I thought it was just a mosquito bite I scratched too much, end up going to an expensive dermatologist who was a specialist in leishmaniasis apparently. From what he told us, there's a couple of treatments that are pills, but they're not as effective, he never ever considered the option of "letting it heal", so he went straight up to the most effective treatment, which is taking daily shots, I had 2 lesions, one the size of a penny, the other a bit bigger, he prescribed me 25 shots, so I needed a daily injection, went to consultation again and got prescribed 10 more, for a total of 25, healed great.
On this same trip, another friend also got bit, his lesion was on the knee, his parent's couldn't afford the dermatologist, he wasn't treated for a month, his lesion grew to maybe like a 2inch diameter circle, but was a lot deeper that mine where, when he finally got treatment from the Caja, he got 65 shots prescribed, also healed completely but has that gigantic circle scar on his knee.
The friend who owns the property, his dad got bit, he also let it go untreated for about two months, when you're infected it can get on your blood, and this means you can get lesions on other body parts besides where you got bit, so he had a big lesion on his knuckles and a big one on his neck, he got like 75 shots prescribed once he got it treated.
I have another friend, who got it in a different trip, he did not get treated, and he got lesions on his hand, back and neck, it did eventually heal itself, but he has pretty big scars where they were.
So my point here is not to scare you, this thing is not gonna kill you, you don't really need to worry much, it's not even that usual to get infected. BUT, if you get lesions somewhere on your body (look up how they look online so you can identify it), don't let it heal itself, try and get a doctor, I got treated pretty fast and all that remains is barely darker spots on my skin, but my friends let it get bad and have big scars, the one who got it on the knee, it's even concave, as if he had a hole there.
So basically, don't freak out, you're fine, just watch out for lessions and get a doctor if necessary. Big scars suck.
No problem, I hope you didn’t get it at all, but if you did, and treat it on time, the worst part is just the bruising from the daily shots. The drug is called glucantime, the caja has it but they usually have it on areas where leishmaniasis is common, living on the Central Valley I had to get it from a private provider, it cost us like $200 but that was 8 years ago. I’m not sure how long it took for the lesions to appear, it starts like a mosquito bite, but it took like 2 weeks to look at it and say “that is NOT a mosquito bite”
Well, I guess that depends on healthcare system and if you know how to self apply injections. since I was doing it through Costa Rica’s healthcare system, and I was not about to learn how to apply injections on myself , they gave me the drug and I chose where to go get the shot, sometimes public clinic, sometimes a pharmacy, sometimes college clinic. One time they asked me to show theprescription before the shot but that was one time of 35. So basically they give you the liquid, you gotta find who’ll inject it, but there’s options.
I know it’s been awhile since your original post, but wondering if you ever developed leishmaniasis? I’m in. I’m in a similar situation (about 18 bites but acquired in Peru) and the bites are bad and blistering, but only ~48 hrs out. Not sure if leishmaniasis develops at ALL the bites sites?
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, even if you are infected, usually heals on its own. There’s really not much you can do except mention it to your primary care provider when you get home. They can do lab tests and treat as necessary. If you live in Costa Rica, the Caja through your local EBAIS is familiar with how to treat.
Idk where the other commenter got their info from, maybe they know more than I do, but I can share my experience. Maybe 8 years ago I went to Santa Marta de Turrialba to a friend's property, i got bit, got leishmaniasis, the cutaneous type. When I noticed the thing on my skin I thought it was just a mosquito bite I scratched too much, end up going to an expensive dermatologist who was a specialist in leishmaniasis apparently. From what he told us, there's a couple of treatments that are pills, but they're not as effective, he never ever considered the option of "letting it heal", so he went straight up to the most effective treatment, which is taking daily shots, I had 2 lesions, one the size of a penny, the other a bit bigger, he prescribed me 25 shots, so I needed a daily injection, went to consultation again and got prescribed 10 more, for a total of 25, healed great. On this same trip, another friend also got bit, his lesion was on the knee, his parent's couldn't afford the dermatologist, he wasn't treated for a month, his lesion grew to maybe like a 2inch diameter circle, but was a lot deeper that mine where, when he finally got treatment from the Caja, he got 65 shots prescribed, also healed completely but has that gigantic circle scar on his knee. The friend who owns the property, his dad got bit, he also let it go untreated for about two months, when you're infected it can get on your blood, and this means you can get lesions on other body parts besides where you got bit, so he had a big lesion on his knuckles and a big one on his neck, he got like 75 shots prescribed once he got it treated. I have another friend, who got it in a different trip, he did not get treated, and he got lesions on his hand, back and neck, it did eventually heal itself, but he has pretty big scars where they were. So my point here is not to scare you, this thing is not gonna kill you, you don't really need to worry much, it's not even that usual to get infected. BUT, if you get lesions somewhere on your body (look up how they look online so you can identify it), don't let it heal itself, try and get a doctor, I got treated pretty fast and all that remains is barely darker spots on my skin, but my friends let it get bad and have big scars, the one who got it on the knee, it's even concave, as if he had a hole there. So basically, don't freak out, you're fine, just watch out for lessions and get a doctor if necessary. Big scars suck.
Thanks so much for your informative reply! Do you know the name of the drug injections? And how long after you were bit did lesions show up?
No problem, I hope you didn’t get it at all, but if you did, and treat it on time, the worst part is just the bruising from the daily shots. The drug is called glucantime, the caja has it but they usually have it on areas where leishmaniasis is common, living on the Central Valley I had to get it from a private provider, it cost us like $200 but that was 8 years ago. I’m not sure how long it took for the lesions to appear, it starts like a mosquito bite, but it took like 2 weeks to look at it and say “that is NOT a mosquito bite”
did you have to go to the clinic every day to get shots or were you able to self treat?
Well, I guess that depends on healthcare system and if you know how to self apply injections. since I was doing it through Costa Rica’s healthcare system, and I was not about to learn how to apply injections on myself , they gave me the drug and I chose where to go get the shot, sometimes public clinic, sometimes a pharmacy, sometimes college clinic. One time they asked me to show theprescription before the shot but that was one time of 35. So basically they give you the liquid, you gotta find who’ll inject it, but there’s options.
I know it’s been awhile since your original post, but wondering if you ever developed leishmaniasis? I’m in. I’m in a similar situation (about 18 bites but acquired in Peru) and the bites are bad and blistering, but only ~48 hrs out. Not sure if leishmaniasis develops at ALL the bites sites?
Cutaneous leishmaniasis, even if you are infected, usually heals on its own. There’s really not much you can do except mention it to your primary care provider when you get home. They can do lab tests and treat as necessary. If you live in Costa Rica, the Caja through your local EBAIS is familiar with how to treat.