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How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

news.harvard.edu

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Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#21

Post by keepamovin »

huytersd wrote: post #7

Just go to your PCP and get your one time course of 2 doxycycline pills as soon as you get bitten. I also spray my hiking/yardwork pants and boots with permethrin. DEET is pretty useless, I’ve seen them walk right over DEET sprayed boots onto my pants. They make it about 5 steps through permethrin. I’m surprised advise from Harvard is getting this wrong. If you want even more protection, you can buy stocking like sla…

Ah faithful doxycycline, a legitimate cureall. Well tolerated, cheap, with few side effects when used sparingly.

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#22

Post by keepamovin »

A Lyme disease vaccine from Pfizer and Valneva is in a Phase 3 trial right now. We’re hopeful that the vaccine will be ready in 2025. The UMass Chan Medical School is also studying another potential therapy to prevent Lyme disease that is in clinical trials. This prevention is not a vaccine but a monoclonal antibody that kills the Lyme bacteria in the tick’s gut.

This is good news. I like the idea of the monoclonal antibody. What potential side effects for humans?

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#23

Post by komatsu »

huytersd wrote: post #7

Just go to your PCP and get your one time course of 2 doxycycline pills as soon as you get bitten. I also spray my hiking/yardwork pants and boots with permethrin. DEET is pretty useless, I’ve seen them walk right over DEET sprayed boots onto my pants. They make it about 5 steps through permethrin. I’m surprised advise from Harvard is getting this wrong. If you want even more protection, you can buy stocking like sla…

Taking antibiotics after every random bite is overkill. Antibiotics overuse is a serious issue for your body and for the general antibiotics resistance as well.

When the tick is attached less than 24 hours it won't transmit Lyme disease according to the CDC. I check myself every evening after outdoor activities, remove 10-20 ticks every year and knock-knock never had Lyme disease yet.

I wasn't aware of the permethrin effectiveness though. Thanks for letting us know.

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#24

Post by rapjr9 »

There was a fungus that you could apply to your yard which killed ticks. It was called Met52, made by Novozymes. They appear to have sold the rights to it to Lallemand:

https://www.lallemandplantcare.com/en/usa/products/product-d...

https://www.lallemandplantcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/0...

https://www.lallemandplantcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/0...

https://www.lallemandplantcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/0...

The above specimen sheet does mention use against ticks. Also if you look up the old Novozymes safety sheet it mentions use for tick suppression (pages 4 and 5):

https://evenspray.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Met52_EC_la...

I had Met52 applied to my yard just before it went off the market for use against ticks and haven't seen a tick since. Possibly the fungus has taken up residence in the soil, though I still take precautions since Met52 protection was not supposed to last forever and required periodic reapplication. You can still buy Met52 and Lallemand's version:

https://www.evergreengrowers.com/m52-lalguard.html

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/met52-ec/

I have not been able to find any information about why it is no longer advertised for use against ticks. The pesticide specialist I hired to do my yard says Met52 was discontinued because no one was buying it (not enough profit). It's still widely used against a variety of agricultural pests in greenhouses and on farms. It's supposed to be very safe, it is not a poison and it targets only specific pests, though the application instructions say the applicator should wear a high quality pesticide style respirator when applying it (breathing lots of spores does seem like a risk and maybe the liquid the spores are in is toxic).

I am NOT recommending anyone try applying it themselves. Talk to a licensed pesticide specialist if you want to make inquiries about it. It could be an option for some people. It appears to be available in most of the USA.

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#25

Post by eurleif »

hedora wrote: post #11
acheron wrote: post #6

It says to use DEET? No. Use permethrin (on clothes) and picaridin (on self).

Why not use DEET?

Picaridin and DEET are roughly equal in effectiveness, but picaridin is safer for pets, and doesn't have a nasty habit of destroying synthetic fabrics.

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#26

Post by [deleted] »

komatsu wrote: post #23
huytersd wrote: post #7

Just go to your PCP and get your one time course of 2 doxycycline pills as soon as you get bitten. I also spray my hiking/yardwork pants and boots with permethrin. DEET is pretty useless, I’ve seen them walk right over DEET sprayed boots onto my pants. They make it about 5 steps through permethrin. I’m surprised advise from Harvard is getting this wrong. If you want even more protection, you can buy stocking like sla…

Taking antibiotics after every random bite is overkill. Antibiotics overuse is a serious issue for your body and for the general antibiotics resistance as well. When the tick is attached less than 24 hours it won't transmit Lyme disease according to the CDC. I check myself every evening after outdoor activities, remove 10-20 ticks every year and knock-knock never had Lyme disease yet. I wasn't aware of the permethrin…

[deleted]

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#27

Post by rapjr9 »

reify wrote: post #15

How to prevent Lyme disease this summer? Not been out since covid. Looking a bit like skeletor but thats OK. I mean, is there anywhere safe these days. You could catch anything out there. All those viruses and germs in the air and people breathing on you. Now I can catch lyme disease off of those sneaky sneaky Ticks living in the long grass. Thank heaven I dont go out. I wont catch that bugger! The new staying in! Do…

A neighbor caught a tick borne disease (not Lyme) even though she took precautions. The tick came off a tree onto her head and she didn't notice it there. So consider all attack angles.

Watch out for West Nile also!

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#28

Post by huytersd »

komatsu wrote: post #23
huytersd wrote: post #7

Just go to your PCP and get your one time course of 2 doxycycline pills as soon as you get bitten. I also spray my hiking/yardwork pants and boots with permethrin. DEET is pretty useless, I’ve seen them walk right over DEET sprayed boots onto my pants. They make it about 5 steps through permethrin. I’m surprised advise from Harvard is getting this wrong. If you want even more protection, you can buy stocking like sla…

Taking antibiotics after every random bite is overkill. Antibiotics overuse is a serious issue for your body and for the general antibiotics resistance as well. When the tick is attached less than 24 hours it won't transmit Lyme disease according to the CDC. I check myself every evening after outdoor activities, remove 10-20 ticks every year and knock-knock never had Lyme disease yet. I wasn't aware of the permethrin…

If you take precautions, you might get bitten once a season. Taking antibiotics once or twice a year isn’t all that insane.

Why not just use permethrin or anti tick clothing if you’re regularly pulling off 10-20 ticks. It’s disgusting and you can get some other serious diseases besides Lyme like Rocky mountain fever, alpha gal or encephalitis that are harder to treat or have no cures.

I’ve always heard the 24-36 hour thing is a statistical probability figure. You most probably won’t but you could get it as soon as the tick attaches as well. Also if you squeeze the body of an engorged tick as you’re pulling it out, you force all the contents of its stomach (where the Lyme bacteria lives), into your bloodstream. Always use tweezers and go for the head.

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#29

Post by leobg »

rapjr9 wrote: post #20

There is a new way to treat your property: https://lymeshield.com/ It uses the original Lyme vaccine (which worked but which was withdrawn because nobody was buying it) to treat mice. You put out a bait station and the mice eat the vaccine laden bait and it kills Lyme in the mice. Ticks overwinter on mice, so if the mice are immune the ticks also get immunized. It's not perfect but they claim a 75% reduction in Lyme…

In DE, we have “Zeckenrollen”. [1] They are filled with cotton material that mice will carry to their nest. And it’s treated with some tick killing substance.

[1] https://zeckenrollen.de

Re: How to prevent Lyme disease this summer

#30

Post by rpmisms »

I'm incredibly fortunate to have never had a tick bite, but my wife has and got Lyme. Don't fuck around, go get the antibiotics immediately. If your doctor doesn't believe you, write a formal complaint to their board after finding another doctor.
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