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15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

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Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#41

Post by beaker52 »

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease.

I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change.

Sometimes, I've believed that it impacts my performance at work. Sometimes I feel like I should be retiring, but I’m not even 40 yet. Sometimes, it's not so bad.

I saw a video on controlled hypothermia the other day, which seems like snake oil. I guess that’s next on my list to try. I feel desperate, but I’m just having to get used to the feeling of desperation, because there appears to be no answer or solution.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#42

Post by stevenjgarner »

beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

That's rough. Same symptoms of low testosterone, which a blood test can measure. This can be caused (even in younger men) through daily exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like BPA and phthalates, heavy metals, and pesticides. Poor lifestyle exposures such as chronic stress, lack of sleep, and high ambient air pollution also significantly suppress hormone production.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#43

Post by SyneRyder »

JimBlackwood wrote: post #22
mgerdts wrote: post #3

https://lymealert.com/how-it-works/ I’m not optimistic this will be all that helpful. Just because the tick you found is negative, that tells you nothing about those you did not find. Just because a tick is positive, that does not mean that it has infected whoever it was attached to. My understanding is that the ticks only transmit disease after they have been attached long enough to become engorged. None of the tick…

According to the dutch public health institute, the longer the tick is in the body, the bigger the chance of transmission. Early removal also does not prevent lyme, it just reduces the chances. Next to that, in The Netherlands we have a site to report tick bites and if they had lyme disease or not. It’s good to know if you should be extra vigilant after a bite from a certain area. I think the self-test could be very…

Upstate New York has a site for testing and reporting / tracking. Costs are $80 USD for a comprehensive test though. It looks like they'll test just for Lyme for $20, but if you found a tick on you I imagine you'll want to know all the diseases it has potentially given you. At least I did.

https://nyticks.org/

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#44

Post by nkrisc »

Fomite wrote: post #24
mgerdts wrote: post #3

https://lymealert.com/how-it-works/ I’m not optimistic this will be all that helpful. Just because the tick you found is negative, that tells you nothing about those you did not find. Just because a tick is positive, that does not mean that it has infected whoever it was attached to. My understanding is that the ticks only transmit disease after they have been attached long enough to become engorged. None of the tick…

This is one of the things that is oft repeated by my vector disease colleagues -- your infection may not be caused by the tick you found, but by the tick you didn't.

Do ticks commonly detach on their own before being noticed? Because from what I’ve seen of fully engorged ticks I don’t think I would fail to discover that. Or maybe an earlier stage where they’re smaller?

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#45

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #21
mgerdts wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you squeeze their contents through their mouths Whenever someone recommends removal using tweezers, I wonder if the person offering this advice has ever removed a well attached tick. I’ve found tools like a Tick Tornado work better, but are still problematic with smaller ticks. https://www.zenpetusa.com/tick-tornado

We always covered them with coal-tar ointment (ichthyol / ichthammal) for a few minutes. They detached without a problem after that, with nothing more than a subtle hint from the tweezers. Just breaking out the tweezers and yanking away was most emphatically not recommended. It can leave the mouth parts behind, if nothing else.

In my experience it works the same way by simply using a drop of dishwashing detergent on them. After 30 seconds max they want to get out with wriggling legs. Works on me after jogging, on my cats, at the back of their neck. Any other place they can take care by themselves, and do.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#46

Post by nkrisc »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #11
daemonologist wrote: post #10

I like that it involves grinding up the tick. Just deserts.

I don't mind there being some selection pressure against biting humans.

At the same time no tick that I’ve ever removed from a person survived, even without testing it for anything.

I don’t think anyone removes a tick and sets it on its merry way.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#47

Post by LargoLasskhyfv »

aorloff wrote: post #23
CamperBob2 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We always covered them with coal-tar ointment (ichthyol / ichthammal) for a few minutes. They detached without a problem after that, with nothing more than a subtle hint from the tweezers. Just breaking out the tweezers and yanking away was most emphatically not recommended. It can leave the mouth parts behind, if nothing else.

On dogs my friend likes to strike a match, touch the extinguished tip to the back of the tick, and then pull it out with tweezers. Seems to work

Now that you say it...

Makes me wonder of what would happen when you'd use the tips of two blank wires connected to a 1.5V battery?

ZAP!

Could be made into a small USB-gadget, to have it always available? Zaptastick!

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#48

Post by thebruce87m »

beaker52 wrote: post #41

I didn’t discover that ticks were a problem until I was in my mid 20s, and had been rolling around in deer-filled brush for years. Either I got very lucky, or have a chronic tick-borne disease. I’ve been battling unexplained anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and cognitive decline throughout my 30s. I’ve had every blood test under the sun, numerous sleep studies and tried every vitamin. I’ve had no answers and no change. S…

The poor sleep might be the root cause. I’ve got some of the symptoms that you describe but I’ve always had nasal issues that I think are wrecking my sleep through snoring. That’s my theory anyway so I’m pursuing that.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#49

Post by yread »

kaikai wrote: post #5
mgerdts wrote: post #3

https://lymealert.com/how-it-works/ I’m not optimistic this will be all that helpful. Just because the tick you found is negative, that tells you nothing about those you did not find. Just because a tick is positive, that does not mean that it has infected whoever it was attached to. My understanding is that the ticks only transmit disease after they have been attached long enough to become engorged. None of the tick…

> My understanding is that the ticks only transmit disease after they have been attached long enough to become engorged. None of the ticks shown were engorged. I’ve hear stats as long as 24 hours and as short as 30 seconds. One nurse told me that removing ticks by grasping and pulling means they transmit immediately, because you squeeze their contents through their mouths. I no longer believe any of the stats; seems…

I've removed several hundred ticks using soap on a wet cloth and doing one counter-clockwise rotation on the tick. No lyme, tick-borne encephalitis so far. Key thing is to check after every hike, keep checking their favorite places (where the skin gets thinner and softer) and check before you scratch something that itches.

Having an easy to use method which doesn't need special tools also helps by being able to immediately remove them.

Re: 15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test

#50

Post by zxexz »

nkrisc wrote: post #44
Fomite wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the things that is oft repeated by my vector disease colleagues -- your infection may not be caused by the tick you found, but by the tick you didn't.

Do ticks commonly detach on their own before being noticed? Because from what I’ve seen of fully engorged ticks I don’t think I would fail to discover that. Or maybe an earlier stage where they’re smaller?

I always thought that too. I spend a lot of time outside and check rigorously. Very often I find a recently attached tick. Found a fully-engorged deer tick half-detached not too long ago - pulled it off jaw-intact. In treatment for early-mid stage disseminated Lyme again, for the third time. Certainly a hidden tax one pays living in New England...I've recently put a lot more effort into things like permethrin.

From what I understand, you're spot on with your last note. Larval stage can be extremely hard to see even when fully engorged. Adult-stage ticks (at least Deer Ticks) are the size of a large grain of cooked brown rice. I've seen fully engorged nymph-stage that rival the size of a grape...

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