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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

#171

Post by poszlem »

cogman10 wrote: post #137
poszlem wrote: post #126

"LymeAlert seeks to help people avoid the cost and the wait of going to the emergency room after being bitten by a tick" I might be mistaken, but I don't think you should go to the emergency room with a tick bite..? Do people really do that?

Do you need to? Probably not. However it is somewhat area specific and Massachusetts is a hotbed when it comes to lyme disease carrying ticks. Lyme really should be treated right away. I think urgent care wouldn't really be out of the question for a tick bite there. Telehealth is also something that likely could work here. It should be a 5 minute "Hey, got a tick bite, here's the picture of the tick, can I get a pres…

Again, I don't think you should be given antibiotics for a tick bite, unless you start showing symptoms, namely the infamous erythema migrans? Most ticks don't carry lyme.

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

#172

Post by cogman10 »

poszlem wrote: post #171
cogman10 wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you need to? Probably not. However it is somewhat area specific and Massachusetts is a hotbed when it comes to lyme disease carrying ticks. Lyme really should be treated right away. I think urgent care wouldn't really be out of the question for a tick bite there. Telehealth is also something that likely could work here. It should be a 5 minute "Hey, got a tick bite, here's the picture of the tick, can I get a pres…

Again, I don't think you should be given antibiotics for a tick bite, unless you start showing symptoms, namely the infamous erythema migrans? Most ticks don't carry lyme.

It's region dependent and most people aren't commonly getting ticks in the first place.

The reason to bias towards earlier treatment is because lyme disease can potentially result in nerve damage. For something that's already uncommon (a tick bite) throwing antibiotics at it isn't a terrible thing. Especially because that's also the general treatment for a number of tick born illnesses which don't have the obvious "bullseye".

I get the "we shouldn't needlessly take antibiotics" wisdom. But that's more about common ailments and situations where they aren't needed and don't help. Like, if you have a sore throat you shouldn't immediately get antibiotics.

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

#173

Post by nchmy »

scotty79 wrote: post #116
nchmy wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my immediate thought. Very small amounts of daily coffee have caused me significant problems with fatigue etc... Takes 1-2 months to get back to feeling good. Strongly urge anyone who feels tired, lack of focus etc to stop all caffeine intake. As with any drug, you're just chasing the initial boost, and really only getting yourself back to baseline.

Yeah. I asked because I had my own heap of problems with caffeine and even with decaf coffee. This thing is a pile of random bioactive substances that are mostly fine for most people until they aren't. What you could get away with in your twenties doesn't go unpunished once you're around thirty. And what you could get away with around thirty doesn't go unpunished once you're around forty.

yeah, my caffeine issues started around 30. Im nearly 40 and other problems are, indeed, presenting themselves. Young people should, but never will, heed the warnings of old people.

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

#174

Post by nchmy »

mattbruv wrote: post #114
nchmy wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You need more than weeks of abstinence, friend. Ive generally noticed 1-2 months are necessary to recover from all of the awful side effects of caffeine (from drinking a tiny amount of coffee per day - my body is just very sensitive to it). I urge you to try it.

> all of the awful side effects of caffeine If I may ask as a coffee addict, what were some of these that affected you specifically?

for me, mostly just poor sleep and focus/clarity. It creeps up on you slowly, til you realize youre just in a haze. Once you detox, life is much better.

And, yet, as an addict, i keep convincing myself that I can handle a little bit (like, 6-10 grams daily - which is nothing) and will re-addict myself every few months.

I should say that i have been actually handling 10 grams vastly better lately than i could even 6 grams a few years ago. Not sure what to attribute that to.

I really like coffee - i roast, grind and brew it at home. I should treat it as i do alcohol - only 1 drink, once in a while - but i'll probably remain like this for life...

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

#175

Post by zzzeek »

viccis wrote: post #19
zzzeek wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and the rabbits and chipmunks and mice and squirrels, as well as that you have to kill basically all deer to the point of about 8 deer per square mile, since one deer can carry 2000-3000 new ticks. which is basically impossible on mainland because new deer just wander over.

I wasn't making a scientific statement about whether depopulating the deer will help; the governor of Massachusetts already did. I'm saying that it's pathetic to blame it all on deer and then not eliminate the pointlessly onerous burden on culling their population. But since you're being needlessly snarky about it (it's not productive to suggest killing "the rabbits and chipmunks and mice and squirrels"), here: https…

As I said - on mainland. That study was done on a peninsula community surrounded by water, except on the north side, which was mostly a nature preserve where a 6 foot high fence on that side prevented new deer from entering.

So yes "kill all the deer" (like nearly ALL deer) works if you're in a small community that is 95% sealed off.

Realistically, "we have no solution to tick borne disease except for hiring tens of thousands of full time hunters continuously shooting animals in residential areas to keep the deer population on the brink of extinction" is not a sufficient solution for me.

And I live in a town where we have lots of those guys. It's fine. But scaling them up to the point that we don't need to spray for ticks anymore, you'd have them falling out of trees in playgrounds.

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