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Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

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121–130 of 182 posts

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#121
post #27

I've stopped hiking and camping largely because of this. Its just not worth it any more. This page has an uncommon photo of just how small the nymph deer ticks are. https://sectionhiker.com/backpacking-lyme-disease-prevention...

Last year twice I went out in my yard for just MINUTES and came back with ticks. I assume that any tiny black dot is a tick, and I investigate with a high-power illuminated magnifying glass - the only way I can see that it's a tick.

Besides each door leaving my house is a can of "Off".

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#122

Anyone that have Lyme, please look into PEMF solutions such as Ampcoil or Ryfe. It seems to be highly effective in treating Lyme disease.

These are scams by charlatans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Rife The best treatment for Lyme disease is a course of antibiotics.

The best treatment for Lyme is a balanced immune system. Some people can be treated by a single course of Doxycycline, most relapse after 6 months and CDC incorrectly indicates that the cause is unknown. It's still Lyme. 2 of the 3 Lyme forms are resistant to antibiotics. Proper treatment will take months, or longer if coinfected, and require multiple, pulsing of antibiotics or herbals (yes, they are quite effective on me and others).

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#123
post #25
post #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…

Grandma got both. Encephalitis is definitely nastier (and can have permanent effects on brain if not caught in time). She also got bitten by the only poisonous snake we have around here. It still hasn't stopped her from hiking in the woods all the time

But at least you can get vacinated against encephalitis. Where is no vacine against the Lyme disease.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#124
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…

Encouraging a local opossum population, if they live in your area, would help. They eat a lot of ticks. Allegedly they eat 90% of the ticks that they encounter, which can be up to 5000 per opossum in a season.

>"up to 5000 per opossum in a season"

It looks like a single tick may produce 500 - 15,000 ticks per "ovipostion" (egg-laying session).

LABORATORY STUDIES ON THE OVIPOSITION, EGG-SIZES AND SHAPES AND EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF DERMACENTOR VA RIA BILlS, RHIPICEPHALUS SANGUINEUS AND AMBLYOMMA MACULATUM http://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/cbgp/acarologia/export_pdf.p...

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#125
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.

Not legal in Canada. Then again there's few ticks in Canada's north, so Canadian hikers should just explore the northern part of their provinces.

Not legal to sell, but legal to possess. I go across the border and stock up at REI in Bellingham. No problems bringing it back across. Apparently this is quite common for lower mainland residents. When I brought 4 big bottles of the stuff up to the register, the first thing they asked was if I was Canadian.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#126
post #89

Ticks were bad last year in NH, but not 5 ticks on a stick bad: https://imgur.com/a/bGdAvLD Photo taken yesterday. I bought some old farmland and it has been a completely insane year so far for ticks. I wish I could do a prescribed burn of the field but it's not well set up for that.

The good news there, is that none of those appear to be deer ticks (lyme carriers). If my amateur eye is correct, those are dog ticks.

Any tick species can carry infections (Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, etc), not just the deer tick.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#127
post #67
post #27

I've stopped hiking and camping largely because of this. Its just not worth it any more. This page has an uncommon photo of just how small the nymph deer ticks are. https://sectionhiker.com/backpacking-lyme-disease-prevention...

Something is wrong here. How did humanity survive living most of their lives outdoors for so long in the presence of these ticks? Did lyme disease really not exist until 1975? I see there is some kind of "blame everything on lyme disease" movement going on as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease_controversy

Not to be the conspiracy theorist... But have you ever heard of plum island? Specifically the Plum Island Animal Disease Center which developed bio weapons utilizing ticks as the disease vector? Operations started in 1952. There were several documented cases of poor containment practices and two likely means of transporting the disease back to the mainland (swimming deer and geese). The evidence is pretty damning. Check out the book Lab 257.

I also stopped enjoying my favorite hobby, running on deer trails and through dense forests. I check intently for ticks after ever forest excursion, but it is very disheartening when I find one. They are so incredibly small it seems impossible not to missed one. Plus it is extremely difficult to check your hair and back and I rarely have a running partner. All in all, Lyme disease, indian genocide, and invasion of Libya are my top 3 atrocities US gov has committed.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#128
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Encouraging a local opossum population, if they live in your area, would help. They eat a lot of ticks. Allegedly they eat 90% of the ticks that they encounter, which can be up to 5000 per opossum in a season.

>"up to 5000 per opossum in a season" It looks like a single tick may produce 500 - 15,000 ticks per "ovipostion" (egg-laying session). LABORATORY STUDIES ON THE OVIPOSITION, EGG-SIZES AND SHAPES AND EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT OF DERMACENTOR VA RIA BILlS, RHIPICEPHALUS SANGUINEUS AND AMBLYOMMA MACULATUM http://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/cbgp/acarologia/export_pdf.p...

We're going to need a lot of opossums then!

I'd be curious to know how long the average life span of each tick is. I wonder exactly how many opossums I would need per square foot to ensure that my yard is 99.99% tick free.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are scams by charlatans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Rife The best treatment for Lyme disease is a course of antibiotics.

The best treatment for Lyme is a balanced immune system. Some people can be treated by a single course of Doxycycline, most relapse after 6 months and CDC incorrectly indicates that the cause is unknown. It's still Lyme. 2 of the 3 Lyme forms are resistant to antibiotics. Proper treatment will take months, or longer if coinfected, and require multiple, pulsing of antibiotics or herbals (yes, they are quite effective…

Couldn't find any published scientific results on the efficacy of "herbal" treatment for lime disease or "pulsed" antibiotic treatments from websites/doctors that weren't trying to sell the treatment.

Do you have any actual scientific evidence to back up your claims or are you part of what the New Yorker has termed the lyme quackery?

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#130
I grew up in Connecticut, not far from the town of Old Lyme where the disease gets its name from! Most people who spend any amount of time outside there know the symptoms well and doctors give away doxycycline prescriptions like their going out of style. I've gone through it three separate times. If you catch it quick, the antibiotics crush it and you're on your merry way. Ignore it and you'll suffer for life.
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