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Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

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Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#151

Post by rb808 »

notadoc wrote: post #150
nonbel wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"I find most people are naive of the problem especially in the west coast states, unless they spend a lot of time outdoors either recreationally, or landscaping, gardening, ranching, farming, hunting, etc." Right but those different groups of people would have also existed 15 years ago so this is not really relevant. I'm just asking if the group that does care about it is more vigilant and careful than before, and i…

Correct my anecdote is an anecdote. The dramatic growth of deer and rodent population, as well as ticks, is well studied however. Since you seem interested in this topic here are a few relevant links: http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/fact_... https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs141p2_0... http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6835501/ns/us_news-environment/t/d... https://www.npr.org/section…

Wow that first link has number of deer in Connecticut at nearly zero a hundred years ago.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#152

Post by cpncrunch »

jaequery wrote: post #132
cpncrunch wrote: post #120

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.

it is for people where the antibiotic havent been effective, which accounts for almost a third of all lyme cases.

Reference?

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#153

Post by baud147258 »

baud147258 wrote: post #57
stevehawk wrote: post #22

Just FYI - when I lived in Northern Virginia I discovered that in my area the main transmission method of Lyme disease was actually mice. So make sure if you find them in your house that you do something about it. Also be careful when you remove via tweezers. If you squeeze their body you're likely to cause them to regurgitate into you which almost guarantees an infection. I use a tick removal tool (actually used it…

A long time ago, I tried to remove a tick with tweezers. I failed horribly and left the head in my upper skin layer, having removed only the body. So I had to use a a rather sharp pen knife to remove the rest. Two year later, while camping, I had to remove a handfull of ticks and a tick removal tool (shaped like a crowbar) was very usefull.

Of course I would recommend everyone to use proper tools to deal with ticks, if that's not clear from my comment. There's less risk to leave pieces behind.

All over, I must have remove a dozen of ticks, but luckily I've never caught anything.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#154

Post by jammur »

Tiktaalik wrote: post #142
jammur wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Ah yeah that's a good distinction that I should have made. I think I read somewhere that it's used by the Canadian Forces as well, but not made available to civilians.

I wonder why you can't sell it here. They even recommend it on the government's travel site:

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/insect-bite

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#155

Post by jammur »

notadoc wrote: post #92
nonbel wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see. Do you (anecdotaly, in your opinion) rule out that people are more concerned about ticks these days, so they are checking more carefully and/or often?

I find most people are naive of the problem especially in the west coast states, unless they spend a lot of time outdoors either recreationally, or landscaping, gardening, ranching, farming, hunting, etc. You certainly want to check yourself after going out, but for dogs and animals the difference is just very outwardly obvious as you will see them crawling on their fur, on their beds, or you feel the lumps on their…

> I find most people are naive of the problem especially in the west coast states, unless they spend a lot of time outdoors either recreationally, or landscaping, gardening, ranching, farming, hunting, etc.

I find that most people who spend a lot of time outdoors are also naive about Lyme. I can't count the number of people here in BC who've told me that Lyme doesn't exist here (medical doctors included). The employees at REI asked me why I was buying permethrin just to use in BC. They said Lyme isn't a concern here.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#156

Post by MycroftJones »

mnctvanj wrote: post #45
stevehawk wrote: post #22

Just FYI - when I lived in Northern Virginia I discovered that in my area the main transmission method of Lyme disease was actually mice. So make sure if you find them in your house that you do something about it. Also be careful when you remove via tweezers. If you squeeze their body you're likely to cause them to regurgitate into you which almost guarantees an infection. I use a tick removal tool (actually used it…

You can deploy "tick-tubes" to use the mouse-based-transmission to mass-murder ticks in an area. Soak cotton balls in permethrin concentrate (you can get it on amazon) and when dry, put them in empty toilet paper tubes. Put the tubes around your yard in the spring. Mice will feather their nests with the cotton balls and the ticks will die in droves. Also - After finding an attached tick on myself this weekend (hiking…

This video shows an even better way to remove ticks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82n9-eAoLjE

You take a q-tip. Soak in alcohol. Use it to gently rotate/spin the tick around its axis. After a few 360 degree turns, it will release its jaws and pop out all by itself, leaving nothing behind.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#157

Post by mlok »

trumped wrote: post #118
marmottus wrote: post #83

Got bitten in 2010 while camping in Czechia, we failed to remove the tick properly and the head stayed in my skin so we had to butcher me a bit more and it left a tiny wound. Two days later I got the famous painful rash that I had no clue about, red circle, swollen and painful. I went to the doctor who immediately told me "you might have Lyme disease", I had never heard of this before but I understood that it require…

I got 3 ticks in the past but luckily no lime disease... it's crazy how you don't feel them get in your skin.

(It is written "Lyme" like the town in Connecticut where the disease was first described back in 1975, not "lime" like the fruit)

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#158

Post by phaedrus441 »

astura wrote: post #138
mmjaa wrote: post #119

I have been suffering with this for the last year. I have to say, its really a heinous condition. First, I didn't think much of ticks - I thought they were a nuisance, but nothing serious. So, after I got particularly attacked one warm summer evening, I didn't really care much for it. 3 ticks in one day - okay, not ideal, but I wasn't going to freak (I've been stung by jellyfish, bitten by snakes, hundreds of spider…

>Get yourself tested within days of a tick bite Lyme Disease is very serious, but this is bad advice. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/what-to-do-after-a-tick-bi... >There are many different types of ticks in the United States, some of which are capable of transmitting infections. The risk of developing these infections depends upon the geographic location, season of the year, type of tick, and, for Lyme disease, ho…

Thought I'd reply with another great resource I've used with patients: Tickborne Diseases of the United States from the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/resources/TickborneDiseases.pdf). Great PDF to keep on hand (and in fact, UpToDate references it).

Coincidentally, I am in northern Virginia, went for a run and found a small tick on me tonight (for the first time ever).

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#159

Post by adsfqwop »

lymeeducator wrote: post #110
dbbolton wrote: post #65

Here are some links to the CDC's statistics and maps on Lyme disease for those interested: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/graphs.html https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/maps.html https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/tables.html As an aside, it's tricky interpreting certain stats regarding epidemiology. The incidence is the number of new cases in the population in a given time frame, and prevalence is the total number of people…

The CDC is actually harmful with the misinformation and test suggestions they provide. I have Lyme, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, at least from 1 tick bite. Western medicine does a horrible job at analyzing the symptoms, testing, educating and treating their patients. The labs are pretty unreliable as are the antibody requirements for + test. 1) It's very common to get more than 1 infection from a single tick bite (CDC say…

You should format your post. I think many people auto-downvote such a wall of text.

Other than that, I think it's information worth considering. Lyme has become a huge political disease, which is really unfortunate for the chronically ill patients who are left in the middle of this battle.

Re: Lyme Disease Is on the Rise Again

#160

Post by cody8295 »

I live in Connecticut, where Lyme disease was discovered. I go hiking a lot and it's a big concern for many including me. I don't use sprays or anything I just wear light colored clothing and when possible (spring and fall) long pants. Wearing lighter colored clothing allows you to notice ticks before they get to your skin. And post hike, full body tick checks are mandatory. it's a good thing most don't bite until you've stopped moving and stay still for a while. I've pulled dozens of ticks off of my body, luckily only a few that dug in
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