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Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

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11–20 of 182 posts

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#11

Fingers crossed there will be a vaccine back in production within a couple years.

Given that there are 16+ tickborne illnesses, the impact would be limited. If you get bitten by a tick then you should probably just go on antibiotics anyway, since there is no comprehensive test for tickborne illnesses.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#12
post #2

If you're a hiker, permethrin. Spray down your socks, pants, shirts. Let it dry. You're good to go for a dozen outings. Non toxic to humans, and orderless.

according to wikipedia permethrin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin kills bees...

Sure but how many bees are you rubbing up against on a hike?

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#13
post #2

If you're a hiker, permethrin. Spray down your socks, pants, shirts. Let it dry. You're good to go for a dozen outings. Non toxic to humans, and orderless.

according to wikipedia permethrin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin kills bees...

I'm pretty sure it kills all insects, but the bees would have to land on your treated clothing to be affected.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#14
post #3

I wonder how widespread Lyme Disease has to get before the economic incentives to develop a new vaccine reach a tipping point. There used to be a vaccine but it was discontinued because of insufficient demand. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease-v... "In April 2002, GSK announced that even with the incidence of Lyme disease continuing to rise, sales for LYMErix declined from about 1.5 million d…

I took the first two doses of LYMErix and started to get knee pain. I wasn't the only one. I'm pretty sure the reason they took it off the market is because is was causing issues.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#15
post #2

If you're a hiker, permethrin. Spray down your socks, pants, shirts. Let it dry. You're good to go for a dozen outings. Non toxic to humans, and orderless.

according to wikipedia permethrin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin kills bees...

I think it only kills on contact with clothing, so as long as the bees don't run into you they're good.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#16
As an American that moved to Europe, I was already aware of the Lyme disease risks of ticks here. What I didn't realize - and am in the 1 year process of getting vaccinated against - is that ticks here carry a virus that induces encephalitis. Tick borne encephalitis is not in the Western Hemisphere as far as I am aware, so it wasn't until this spring that I found out about it. The vaccine is not available in the USA and requires a year to complete, which makes me wonder how hikers or visitors spending only a few months in Europe fare.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#17
I got lyme disease after my first and only (as far as I know) tick bite. A round of antibiotics seems to have killed it, though I am still noticeably more tired than before the infection (anacdata, could just be because I'm getting older and under a lot of stress).

I reported where and when the infection took place on a local website which tracks these things. I informed the city council (considering this happened in a very busy public park) and I was pretty much told that nothing would be done. More green spaces would help. Keeping certain animals (like chickens) might also help. Killing the fuckers outright is another possibility, but I have to admit to being relucant about spraying toxic crap in public parks.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#18
People around here (Niagara Falls area, NY) get it all the time too. Last year was horrible for ticks. I have 3 German Shepherds and some days i was pulling 10 or more ticks off them of multiple species. Reading this post makes me feel more confident for this year because i just got myself more than 30 chickens, but already this year my oldest brought home a tick. Hopefully they aren't as bad this summer.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#19
post #17

I got lyme disease after my first and only (as far as I know) tick bite. A round of antibiotics seems to have killed it, though I am still noticeably more tired than before the infection (anacdata, could just be because I'm getting older and under a lot of stress). I reported where and when the infection took place on a local website which tracks these things. I informed the city council (considering this happened in…

I really hope you beat it. I know a couple different people that got it and it can be miserable. If you get it under control it's expensive, and if you cant afford it it's pretty much torture. Good luck!

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#20
In my neck of the woods you're more likely to be bitten by the lone star tick, which seems not to be able to communicate Lyme disease, but sometimes its bite can leave you with an allergy to red meat:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_allergy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amblyomma_americanum

Parasites suck.

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