Latest news with #earinfection
News.com.au
24-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Teenager left fighting for her life after ear infection on idyllic Greek holiday
A British teenager holidaying on an idyllic Greek island has been left fighting for her life after an ear infection turned into a nightmare health battle. Millie Bayles, 19, now remains in intensive care at an Athens hospital after jetting out on a sunshine holiday to the island of Rhodes. Her family said she first noticed symptoms of an ear infection – but it turned into something much more serious. Millie, who comes from North Wales, was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis – leaving her family with a AU$82,000 bill to get her home. She was moved 480km from the island to intensive care in the Greek capital. The teenager, who is said to be out of immediate danger, remains in a semiconscious state. Mum Lauren Murphy and stepfather Pete flew out to be by her side as doctors battle to get her well. Millie unfortunately failed to take out travel insurance when she went with friends for the summer break. Her mum has now received a quote for tens of thousands of dollars to pay for her medical bills and bring her back to the UK. Lauren has been left no choice but to turn to the public for help to pay for her treatment – which includes a private medical emergency flight. The family have reached their AU$82,000 target on their appeal with more than 900 donations from family, friends and even strangers – and hope to get Millie home soon. Lauren said: 'We are now at the stage where we can look to bring Millie back to the UK. 'She is out of immediate danger, but she has a long road to recovery ahead of her.' 'She is still only semiconscious, and we have yet to see how badly this illness will have affected her brain in the long term. 'Unfortunately, due to being an invincible young person, Millie neglected to take out any holiday insurance, and so we have to fund her medical flight home privately. 'We desperately need help to get our girl back to her home country so she can continue her recovery process.' Stepfather Pete Murphy said: 'I am so overwhelmed by the immediate generosity of all of you lovely people and plenty that are certainly not on my friend list. 'Myself, Lauren and Millie are so grateful for your kind donations. Millie has got a long battle ahead but she certainly has a lot of people routing for her and we can't thank you enough for that.' Meningitis is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges). It can be very serious if not treated quickly – it can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves. Symptoms typically include a high temperature (fever), being sick, a headache, a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but a rash will not always develop), a stiff neck, a dislike of bright lights, drowsiness or unresponsiveness and seizures (fits).
The Sun
23-07-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Brit teen left fighting for her life after ear infection on idyllic Greek holiday turned into nightmare health battle
A BRIT teen holidaying on an idyllic Greek island has been left fighting for her life after an ear infection turned into a nightmare health battle. Millie Bayles, 19, now remains in intensive care at an Athens hospital after jetting out on a sunshine holiday to the island of Rhodes. 5 5 Her family said she first noticed symptoms of an ear infection - but it turned into something much more serious. Millie, who comes from North Wales, was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis - leaving her family with a £40,000 bill to get her home. She was moved 300 miles from the island to intensive care in the Greek capital. The Brit teen, who is said to be out of immediate danger, remains in a semi-conscious state. Mum Lauren Murphy and stepfather Pete flew out to be by her side as doctors battle to get her well. Millie unfortunately failed to take out travel insurance when she went with friends for the summer break. Her mum has now received a quote for tens of thousands of pounds to pay for her medical bills and bring her back to the UK. Lauren has been left no choice but to turn to the public for help to pay for her treatment - which includes a private medical emergency flight. The family have reached their £40,000 target on their appeal with more than 900 donations from family, friends and even strangers - and hope to get Millie home soon. Lauren said: "We are now at the stage where we can look to bring Millie back to the UK. I caught brain-swelling virus after snorkelling on holiday "She is out of immediate danger, but she has a long road to recovery ahead of her." "She is still only semi-conscious, and we have yet to see how badly this illness will have affected her brain in the long term. "Unfortunately, due to being an invincible young person, Millie neglected to take out any holiday insurance, and so we have to fund her medical flight home privately. "We desperately need help to get our girl back to her home country so she can continue her recovery process." Step-father Pete Murphy said: "I am so overwhelmed by the immediate generosity of all of you lovely people and plenty that are certainly not on my friend list. "Myself, Lauren and Millie are so grateful for your kind donations. Millie has got a long battle ahead but she certainly has a lot of people routing for her and we can't thank you enough for that." What is meningitis and how you can you avoid getting it? MENINGITIS is an infection of the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord (meninges). It can be very serious if not treated quickly - it can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain or nerves. Symptoms include: a high temperature (fever) being sick a headache a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but a rash will not always develop) a stiff neck a dislike of bright lights drowsiness or unresponsiveness seizures (fits) Call 999 for an ambulance or go to your nearest A&E immediately if you think you or someone you look after could have meningitis or sepsis. Meningitis is usually caused by a bacterial or viral infection. Bacterial meningitis is rarer but more serious than viral meningitis. Infections that cause meningitis can be spread through: sneezing coughing kissing Vaccinations offer some protection against certain causes of meningitis. These include the: MenB vaccine – offered to babies aged 8 weeks, followed by a second dose at 16 weeks and a booster at 1 year 6-in-1 vaccine – offered to babies at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age pneumococcal vaccine – 2 doses offered to babies at 12 weeks and 1 year, and a single dose offered to adults aged 65 or over Hib/MenC vaccine – offered to babies at 1 year of age MMR vaccine – offered to babies at 1 year and a second dose at 3 years and 4 months MenACWY vaccine – offered to teenagers, sixth formers and "fresher" students going to university for the first time Source: NHS 5 5
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
British teenager is left fighting for life after ear infection spiralled into meningitis on Greek holiday as family launch desperate fundraiser to fly her home
A British teenager has been left fighting for her life in a Greek hospital after a suspected ear infection developed into meningitis during a holiday. Millie Bayles, 19, from Garth near Llangollen in North Wales, is currently in intensive care in Athens after falling seriously ill on the island of Rhodes. Her family say she initially began experiencing symptoms of an ear infection, but her condition quickly deteriorated and she was later diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. Millie, who was on holiday with her friends, was transferred more than 300 miles from the holiday island to a specialist unit in the capital, where she remains in a semi-conscious state. Her mother, Lauren Murphy, and stepfather, Pete, flew out to be by her side as doctors battled to stabilise her condition. Now, the family are working to bring Millie home to continue her treatment in the UK. Without travel insurance in place, they were quoted tens of thousands of pounds for a private medical flight and hospital costs. Lauren said: 'We are now at the stage where we can look to bring Millie back to the UK. She is out of immediate danger, but she has a long road to recovery ahead of her. 'She is still only semi-conscious, and we have yet to see how badly this illness will have affected her brain in the long term. 'Unfortunately, due to being an invincible young person, Millie neglected to take out any holiday insurance, and so we have to fund her medical flight home privately. 'We desperately need help to get our girl back to her home country so she can continue her recovery process.' More than 900 people rallied around the family and helped them to hit their £40,000 target in just days. Millie's stepfather, Pete said: 'I am so overwhelmed by the immediate generosity of all of you lovely people and plenty that are certainly not on my friend list. 'Myself, Lauren and Millie are so grateful for your kind donations. 'Millie has got a long battle ahead, but she certainly has a lot of people rooting for her, and we can't thank you enough for that.' Millie's family are now hoping she can be flown home as soon as her doctors deem it safe, where she'll begin the next stage of her recovery.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Woman, 101, details gruesome way doctors treated ear infections when she was young
A 101-year-old woman has shared the shocking ways that doctors treated ear infections when she was young - long before the introduction of antibiotics. These days, if someone gets sick they head to the doctor, get a prescription for some medicine, and usually feel better within a few days. But back in the 1920s, treatment for common ailments was very different. Anita Astor, who was born in 1924, from the UK, recently opened up about the horrific ordeal that she was put through after she developed an ear infection as a toddler. She explained in a recent TikTok video shared by her grandson, James Marsh, 42, that she had to get a procedure known as a mastoid operation that involved doctors drilling a hole into her skull to stop it from spreading to her brain. She explained in the now-viral clip, which was viewed over three million times, that she underwent the surgery, which is done to remove infected tissues from the mastoid bone located behind your ear, once at age two and again at age five. 'In those days, the infection would go into your brain and you'd be finished in a few weeks,' she said in the TikTok. 'So if they wanted to save your life, they had to make a hole - I've got a hole literally in my head.' While speaking exclusively with the Daily Mail about it, James explained that his grandmother told him that to make matters worse, the anesthetic used during surgery wasn't as strong then as it is now. 'The anesthetic was terrible, it wasn't like you went to sleep and you woke up after you had been operated on,' he shared. 'My grandma said there were lots of whizzing and banging sounds - you were part conscious during operations. 'It was a terrible thing and highly traumatic for her. But this was the norm back then.' While she was recovering in the hospital James told the Daily Mail that his grandmother said she was treated 'like dirt' because her family was poor. She recalled her parents being 'interrogated' about 'how much they earned and if they owned a house or a car' to determine how much they've have to pay. 'The pressures on poor people at the time was really intense. Her mother and father were refugees from Russia,' he continued. 'It wasn't just seeing their child sick, it was also the financial stress. If you didn't have money you couldn't get access to medical services. 'She said they treated like dirt, she wasn't treated like a human being at all, but more like a thing.' Anita told him that during her recovery, the nurses would come in every morning and change the dressing on her surgery site, and she said it was extremely painful. 'The nurses would just rip off the bandage, most didn't care and weren't very kind,' he dished to the Daily Mail. 'They'd give her their fist to bite on [to stop her from screaming] because I imagine there were no painkillers either.' Despite getting two surgeries, Anita said she spent years struggling with the effects from the ear infection. But finally, in her 20s, antibiotics became readily available, which she described as a 'miracle.' 'Antibiotics were reserved for soldiers at first, they weren't given out to the general public until the war finished,' James explained. 'Her ear was still giving her trouble in her 20s - she was two and a half when it started and in her 20s she was still having problems from her infected ear.' But when her doctor finally gave her antibiotics it 'cleared up' within days, and she 'never had any problem again.' In more TikToks, Anita spoke in detail about other things that differed during her child compared to life now. She explained that there weren't any diapers back then so they had to use cloth diapers on babies, which had to then be washed by hand every day. She said laundry machines were extremely different, and involved placing the dirty clothes into a hot boiler. The boilers left 'soot' over everything in the house, which meant they were forced to clean relentlessly. 'You had to work for everything,' she reflected. She joked that she 'couldn't get over it' when they released the first dishwasher, branding it as a true 'treasure' and 'one of the most wonderful things' on Earth. 'But I'm always worried something's going to get cracked in there,' she joked.
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Holidaymaker's warning after venomous spider bite ruined trip to paradise island beloved by Britons... and nearly destroyed her EAR
When Halle Hizer developed a sore ear two days into her week-long holiday, she put it down to wearing earphones on the flight. But the student had actually been bitten by a venomous spider, and her idyllic Greek getaway rapidly turned into a 'horror show' that nearly cost the 20-year-old her ear. Ms Hizer and her grandmother flew from their homes in Enfield, North London, to the island of Rhodes for seven days of sun soaked R&R. Just two days into the trip, Ms Hizer woke up with a swollen left ear but assumed it was from wearing her air pods during the flight. She said: 'I woke up and my ear was really swollen. At the time I didn't think anything of it. 'I just thought it was a case of when you wear your air pods for too long and it was rubbing on my ear when it can hurt sometimes. 'The next day it kept getting bigger and bigger and pus started coming out of it and I didn't think at the time that I needed to go see a doctor or to the hospital. 'I thought maybe I had an ear infection.' Ms Hizer, now suspecting she had been bitten by a mosquito, went to the local pharmacist who gave her some antibiotic cream. However, it failed to reduce the pain or swelling—the musical theatre student says her ear doubled in size and began to resemble a 'cauliflower'. After several days with no improvement, and on the insistence of her grandmother, she sought the advice of a doctor. She continued: 'He just took one look over and said "you've got a bad infection in your ear" and that's it. 'He gave me antibiotics and I was taking them but my ear wasn't getting any better. It was getting worse.' After flying back home on 6 June, Ms Hizer became 'scared she'd lose her ear' after it began leaking pus and she started experienced 'stabbing' pains. Fearing it was about to turn septic, she went straight to hospital where she was 'shocked' to be told the antibiotics she was given in Greece hadn't been used in medicine for years and had led to the infection. Days later she had surgery to remove the abscess in her ear and doctors revealed she had been bitten by a spider, not a mosquito as she had initially suspected. She said: 'When I had surgery that's when they realised I was bitten by a spider. [The doctor] said 'what antibiotics you were on' and I showed him the packet and he said "that's so strange. We haven't used this antibiotic for years in medicine because it's been proven it doesn't work anymore". 'I was quite shocked because I spent £155 on a private doctor [in Greece] and he gave me antibiotics that weren't even used in medicine anymore. 'Because I wasn't given the right antibiotics my ear ended up getting so infected to the point pus was coming out that was basically poison. 'Every five minutes my ear would be leaking. The doctors told me I would need surgery to remove the abscess. 'That's when they realised from testing it that it wasn't a mosquito but it was a spider. You could see from the back the bite marks.' Ms Hizer isn't sure what spider bit her, but it might have been a Mediterranean recluse spider, also known as a violin spider, which are responsible for some very similar—and equally nasty—bites. The spiders are relatively small, with bodies less than 1cm long, and have long spindly legs and venom which can cause redness and in extreme cases, necrosis. She continued: 'It was swollen from the back and the front which I didn't realise at the time. 'If I was put on the right antibiotics to begin with it would've just got rid of the infection straight away but it just kept getting worse and worse.' The student was on antibiotics for two weeks and had a bandage around her head but the swelling has since gone down. She now urges other holidaymakers to use insect repellent and to read the cleanliness reviews of hotels as she believes that could've played a part. Ms Hizer said: 'My ear has gone back to normal and it's not huge anymore. A lot of the scabbing is gone now and have fallen off. It's still a little bit tender but granted because they did cut my ear open. 'I have a new fear of spiders but I'm hoping because we're in the UK I'm not going to come across any spider of that nature but who knows because I didn't think I was going to come across that in Greece. 'Make sure you have the repellent with you and make sure the hotel is clean because I feel like that played a big factor in it. Me and my grandma regret not reading the reviews. Just do your research before you go to places so you're not disappointed. 'We went for a week just to relax and it ended up becoming a horror show. I wasn't expecting to find spiders like that in Greece.'
