Lyme disease ,tick control

22-rimfire said:
I have had that for the last 5 years or so. No cure.

The ticks keep me out of the woods at times.... sucks. Picked off about 5 ticks just the other day. None were embedded.
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I didn't know that existed outside of Australia, (just another way for the wildlife to kill us) As I understood it came from getting bit by a tick that had also fed on a bandicoot. Although I guess its totally possible that the same thing could happen after getting bit by a tick that had fed on another animal as well.
 
It was rare when I was diagnosed with it. My allergist asked me to get some blood tests done based on a suspicion and what he had read in the literature. I believe that I was the first case he identified and he treated me kind of like an experiment which I felt was humorous. Based on my reading, my actual allergy (called Alpha-Gal) is a mild red meat allergy compared to many. For many it is ALL meat. Anyway, in my particular case, I have experimented and have come to the conclusion that it is fat or grease induced. So, you classic greasy hamburger is totally out. But if I make one on the grill and over cook it... I can eat it (usually). I can eat well cooked roast beef too. It also seems to be proportion related.... small proportion of total meal versus a significant proportion of the total. But that is subjective.

Just something I have to live with. I eat a lot of chicken now. Pretty frightening allergy response when you hadn't had something like this happen in many years prior.
 
I live in tick country and I have found that unless one uses duct tape to seal the ends of clothing such as pant legs, the neck and shirt cuffs, wearing long clothing attract the critters. They like the warm damp carbon dioxide rich environments found inside shirt sleeves and long pants. My solution has been to go barefoot whenever possible wearing shorts and short sleeves. I rarely pick any up when wearing minimal clothing. Comparing the two ways to dress are based on tick counts over a lifetime, as I have made it a habit to check myself for ticks each day.
The worst one was a tick that took up residence on my belly button years ago, it was there for a short time but I got a reaction to it, the bite was crusty for over a week followed by flu like symptoms for several weeks.
 
I've gotten into the habit of running my hands over my body which will detect a small tick even under a layer of clothing .I just watched a video on the forum .As I did I felt something and sure enough it was a small tick moving on top of the fabric. One quick zap , you only need no more than on second , with my tick blaster and he was neutralized !! A Bernzomatic igniter with propane ! They say chipmunks are a big source to carry ticks and we have huge numbers of them this year ! :D
 
My wife has had chronic Lyme's disease for close to ten years now. Early on, she was misdiagnosed with everything from the flu, to Ball's Palsey, and MS (she went thru some nasty treatments for the MS diagnosis). She did a ton of research on her own, trying to figure out what was wrong with her, and doctors just didn't want to diagnose for Lyme's. Those that did, were basically shunned by the medical community. Took her a long time to get treatments that did anything for her. Been a long, uphil battle, and while she's close to normal now, she will never be 100% at this point.

I will say, it nice to see how awareness has changed in the last few years. The medical community can't just ignore it anymore. And the CDC markers have changed a bit over time, making diagnoses a bit easier.

We live in Western PA, and are avid outdoors people. It's been really bad here the last couple of years. So much so, that we even have our yard treated twice a year (lots of deer in our suburbs). We treat ourselves, our daughter, and our dog, anytime we go near the woods - or even the local parks. When we get home, it's full body tick checks for everyone (including the dog).

Stay vigilant. I can tell you from experience, chronic Lyme's is no fun, and not something you or a love one wants to go through.
 
ive seen so many flipping ticks while out walking. a few got on me, dont think i got bit, how can you tell if you did?

in anycase, ive been wearing long pants which dont do anything. but i did get some exoffice bugs away shirts. its good for up to 70 washes and so far have been keeping them off my torso and up. need to get some pants in this, but they are all pretty expensive, like over 50... i spend less than 30 on jeans... so thats a bit disappointing.
 
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I spray my clothes with Sawyer odorless PERMETHRIN insect repellent, it repels and kills ticks, chiggers, mites, and mosquitoes.

Walmart sells it in their camping section for about $10.

My dog wears a PREVENTIC collar that I buy from my vet for around $25.
 
Mo2, the craghoppers stuff is supposed to last for the life of the garment, and when I asked, they said, as long as you can wear it, it will repel bugs. But if that isn't enough, you can treat your clothing for much less using a number of permethrin products, just read the MSDS to find out the solvent, but the whiteblaze crew are pretty up on using the veterinary stuff that is available by the gallon.
 
My dog got Lymes last year during the winter. I always walk with him in the woods at night after big snow storms, he loves it. I always check him for ticks as soon as we get back. I'll find one or two but I romove them all and have other people double check for me. But he still got Lymes (even with tick preventative medication). He seems to be doing better in the past few months, he's not as sluggish as when he first had Lymes. The doctors have been managing it well.
 
I've gotten pretty lucky so far, every tick I've found on me never had enough time to dig in.

My dog, on the hand, I've had to pull quite a few out over the years until I found a good tick and flee collar. I use Seresto(I think that's how it's spelled) and it works really well. I've found at least 20 ticks on him this year alone, but they never bit into the skin. They were just crawling on his face and his legs and I was able to pick em' off and crush them underneath a bic lighter.
 
When I see these experiences, I have a hard time relating them to my geography ... where I live, people have a hard time accepting that Lyme is a threat. Yet, I know it is real now and encroaching more every minute.

It would be so helpful to know the posters geography, especially with the geographical spread of this disease. Posters who volunteer their state\province make it much easier to see the serious threat and its widening boundaries.

The new (and most appreciated :thumbsup:) improvements to BF have taken the 'location' from our posts ... to me this means a great deal.

I will say that the CBC public radio here in Canada is regularly citing the dangers of ticks carrying Lyme disease and that improvements to diagnosis are required and is helping greatly with public awareness.

Still, for me, knowing where the experience with ticks and Lyme is occurring is so helpful.
 
Lyme was first ID in Lyme CT. NY, PA, and NJ have been hotspots but now PA has the distinction of being #1 for ticks and Lyme. North central is also a hot area MN, WI .
It travelled fast PA => OH => IN .Indiana was the " tick free state" until recently.
The medical establishment should be run out of town !!! It also depends on the state. NY is not the best for dealing with medical problems ! It has changed so fast it's hard to follow. Our situation here in the NY/NJ/PA area is I'm seeing more chipmunks this year than I ever have in my life !
Research now shows the various diseases ticks carry are expanding .Rocky Mtn Spotted fever is NOT any longer limited to that area for example ,it's been in the east for some years !
 
this year even more ticks are being counted. my local forest preserve dragged some clothing for some distance and found over 300 ticks while in the past it was far less.

they also said we didn't have many dear ticks until now.

they are the worst in the north east and north central but pretty much everywhere.

just went into the forest picking infectious weeds like mustard, and lucky for me didn't have a problem. wore my permathin laced shirt with long jeans sprayed with permathin and some 100% deet. not sure if anyone else got bit but I shared my bug spray with them all.
 
The latest is said that the tick has to be on you for 24 hours to infect you . Do a careful check at least once per day ! I find it easiest to do a check when I come in from outside , pre bedtime , wake up time . After my last post I found one during my pre bedtime check !!
 
There is now a sad case of a young child who has died from Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever -- in Indiana !!
 
I see your mention of the disease early on in this thread ... and of it's spread. Thanks for your efforts to educate and warn.
 
mete said:
The latest is said that the tick has to be on you for 24 hours to infect you . Do a careful check at least once per day ! I find it easiest to do a check when I come in from outside , pre bedtime , wake up time . After my last post I found one during my pre bedtime check !!
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I, too, appreciate your efforts mete. The following comes from another discussion forum and I cannot vouch for its accuracy but it is something to consider:


Originally Posted by funkja

Man that sucks! Early detection and antibiotics is definitely a plus for recovery. My guess is you had Lyme's before this bite, as I was always under the impression that the tick had to be actively feeding for a number of hours before being able to pass on the infectious organism. Luckily I have yet to be bitten by a deer tick, but I have had plenty of dog ticks stuck to me.


(from UptoDate.com)

Borrelia burgdorferi, lies dormant in the inner aspect of the tick's midgut. The organism becomes active only after exposure to the warm blood meal entering the tick's gut. Once active, the organism enters the tick's salivary glands. As the tick feeds, it must get rid of excess water through the salivary glands. Thus, the tick will literally salivate organisms into the wound, thereby passing the infection to the host.


The only problem with this model is that it totally ignores that ticks that begin feeding can become detached, thereby leaving the Borrelia live in the salivary glands ready for the next bite. As far as "salivating" goes, these aren't Pavlov's dogs. These are blood particulate filters. Ticks need protein-rich blood to have the needed building blocks to grow and/or lay eggs. The function that the salivary glands perform is that of a filtration system.


If ticks just drank blood, they'd fill up with water very quickly and be full. As such, the salivary glands function as a filter system and separate the blood solids from the liquids and then pump the liquids back into the host. It's at this point where the Borrelia can be injected, long before the midgut becomes full and regurgitation of the stomach contents occurs. So there are opportunities for disease transmission to occur. So the claims that they "need to feed for 24 hours before transmission are based on lab data that don't mimic the real world.


WWO, I'd be curious to know what the basis of your diagnosis was (ELISA, Western Blot, etc.), what protein bands you were positive for (and if it was IgM or IgG) and what meds they have you on and for how long. That is, if you are willing to share. Feel free to take it to PM if it is too private. Also feel free to say "No". Having run up against physicians who are unfamiliar with the current knowledge brought out the inner science dork in me and I follow this closely for myself and my coworkers.


Hope you feel well soon. Your symptoms match my one coworker's exactly. (Unquote)

And taldesta, I feel your pain. Check out canlyme.com

Doc
 
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