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Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

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Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#31

Post by robolange »

My father nearly died of [what we believe to be] Lyme disease. A few years ago he started getting awful bouts of pain all over his body. He couldn't eat, was losing weight, was losing muscle mass fast. It got the the point where he was using a walker (he was less than 60 years old at the time) and could barely lift a 5 pound weight. He went to a bunch of different doctors, had all kinds of scans run, and only kept getting worse. At one point my mother noticed that every test any doctor gave for Lyme disease came back "inconclusive". She pointed out to one of the doctors, who said that it didn't mean anything as apparently the test is not very reliable. Finally, they found a doctor who prescribed medication to treat Lyme disease without a definitive test because apparently there was a low risk of side effects. Within a couple of weeks of starting the medication, my father was visibly better, within a few months he was basically back to normal, and is basically fully recovered now. (Sorry folks, I don't know any of the specific drugs or medical terminology.)

We have no idea how or when he got infected. As far as he knows, he never had a bullseye rash, although apparently that doesn't always happen. Now I slather myself in DEET whenever I go into a an even semi-woodsy environment.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#32

Post by ceejayoz »

morley wrote: post #28
kaycebasques wrote: post #17

I remember standing in line at a coffee shop, after walking some dogs on a nature trail. I felt a sharp pain on my hip flexor and knew right away it was a tick bite, even though I had never had one before. I rushed into the bathroom and lo and behold, it was a tick. In a panic I asked all the women in the coffee shop if they had tweezers. They must have thought I had a screw loose. None of them did so I rushed home t…

I was told that if you find a tick on you, you should keep the bug in case you need to have it tested for Lyme.

I did that, and was told by the doc there's minimal chance of transfer unless the tick is attached for 24h.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#33

Post by nicolaslem »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #22
kaycebasques wrote: post #17

I remember standing in line at a coffee shop, after walking some dogs on a nature trail. I felt a sharp pain on my hip flexor and knew right away it was a tick bite, even though I had never had one before. I rushed into the bathroom and lo and behold, it was a tick. In a panic I asked all the women in the coffee shop if they had tweezers. They must have thought I had a screw loose. None of them did so I rushed home t…

I had dozens of ticks as a kid. Lyme disease hadn't spread to Canada yet, so it wasn't a big deal. I never once felt them bite; they produce an anesthetic so you don't feel it. Sometimes you could feel them crawling on you, but most of the time you didn't even feel that. And you didn't hear the jaws snap when you pulled it off, you heard the mouth parts tearing. You have to be careful pulling a tick off or the mouth…

You should avoid pulling, instead hold it with a tool and turn it. After about two or three turns it usually comes right off.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#34

Post by llamataboot »

I may or may not have had chronic lyme disease. I definitely had many many ticks. (Never cared about em, just pulled them off). And I definitely was sick for over a decade. And I definitely tested positive on the Western Blot multiple times. (And chronic lyme is definitely a bit of a catch-all diagnosis for a host of auto-immune stuff we don't quite understand yet)

It was awful, something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

If you do get a deer tick (they are the small ones, not the giant gross ones) save it, there are a number of places you can send it for peace of mind that it was not infected.

Also consider brief antibiotic prophylaxis: 1-3 doses of doxycycline are often recommended. I'm not in favor of anti-biotic overuse, but if lyme can turn into chronic lyme and that was indeed what I dealt with for 10 years of pain and crushing fatigue, then you want to avoid it.

(edit: typos)

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#35

Post by pmoriarty »

nouveaux wrote: post #4

I've recently gotten into backpacking and learned that the most effective way of dealing with mosquitoes and ticks in nature is Permetherin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin . It is intended for clothing and not the skin. The best way to apply it is to soak your clothes and let it dry. Spray on applicators are also available. Once it is dry, it is very stable and safe. It does breakdown with UV and washes, so…

Ticks can drop out of trees on your head, or attach to your hair when your head brushes past some leaves on a tree. Also, if your bare skin is not covered in insect repellent, that could also be a route that they get to the rest of your body.

The most effective method of not getting bitten is not to go in to the woods at all.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#36

Post by zaroth »

pmoriarty wrote: post #35
nouveaux wrote: post #4

I've recently gotten into backpacking and learned that the most effective way of dealing with mosquitoes and ticks in nature is Permetherin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin . It is intended for clothing and not the skin. The best way to apply it is to soak your clothes and let it dry. Spray on applicators are also available. Once it is dry, it is very stable and safe. It does breakdown with UV and washes, so…

Ticks can drop out of trees on your head, or attach to your hair when your head brushes past some leaves on a tree. Also, if your bare skin is not covered in insect repellent, that could also be a route that they get to the rest of your body. The most effective method of not getting bitten is not to go in to the woods at all.

> The most effective method of not getting bitten is not to go in to the woods at all.

Better to just not go outside, right?

Avoidance is not particularly useful advice, but effective long lasting protection that you don’t need to think about putting on is.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#37

Post by learc83 »

joyjoyjoy wrote: post #11
acheron wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, this. Also from what I've read just applying it to your shoes is hugely effective on its own vs ticks, with socks adding another large percentage, as the majority of ticks will jump onto your feet and climb up your legs. The rest of your clothes are worth treating too certainly, but even if it's just your feet it will be a major help.

"Also from what I've read just applying it to your shoes is hugely effective on its own vs ticks, with socks adding another large percentage, as the majority of ticks will jump onto your feet and climb up your legs." This is very interesting advise. I always thought ticks drop from trees? no? I actually wear a hat sometimes in the forrest because of this. Am I stupid?

Ticks do not drop from trees. They almost always climb up your legs. They are generally below waist height.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#38

Post by w8rbt »

thorwasdfasdf wrote: post #5

I read about this issue in a runners World article. Most people assume that the tics jump from trees down onto people. But that's not how they said it goes. They said that the tics which spread Lyme disease get spread onto runners from Tall Grass that people run through as you make contact with the grass they get onto you.

I had a friend who was in the Marines and he told me once that they wore panty hose when training in areas with ticks. He said the only downside was that they can be hot in the summer time.

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#39

Post by kaycebasques »

narag wrote: post #19
kaycebasques wrote: post #17

I remember standing in line at a coffee shop, after walking some dogs on a nature trail. I felt a sharp pain on my hip flexor and knew right away it was a tick bite, even though I had never had one before. I rushed into the bathroom and lo and behold, it was a tick. In a panic I asked all the women in the coffee shop if they had tweezers. They must have thought I had a screw loose. None of them did so I rushed home t…

Oil. Edit: I had a scary experience. After rain I was hunting in the woods with bushes a metre tall, shotgut over the head to avoid accidents. Then a snake hiss ahead, tried to turn right, another snake hiss that way, same to left and... same back. I panicked and got out of the bushes as fast as I could, I was panting. Then I noticed I was covered by hundreds of ticks. I shouted and my father came alarmed. He managed…

So you just rub olive oil on it?

Re: Lyme Disease Cases Are Exploding

#40

Post by not_a_cop75 »

nouveaux wrote: post #4

I've recently gotten into backpacking and learned that the most effective way of dealing with mosquitoes and ticks in nature is Permetherin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin . It is intended for clothing and not the skin. The best way to apply it is to soak your clothes and let it dry. Spray on applicators are also available. Once it is dry, it is very stable and safe. It does breakdown with UV and washes, so…

Meh. The military pre-treats jackets with Permethrin so in general you can assume that small quantities of well diluted product on the skin are okay. Probably 2%, but do your reading and consult a doctor. That being said, there is much to be said for simply eating healthy in order to prevent certain bug bites.

If you want really safe external repellant, you could probably go back to sulfur powder. It stinks like eggs, but it seems to work okay. Maybe that's why all the bigger campgrounds seem to have sulfur-water.

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