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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    T'is the "season" to be cautious of blood sucking, Lyme disease bacteria transmitters are out and about the "great outdoors" this time of the year.

    Neighbor, member of our community and foto friend Robert Buelteman shares the story of his struggles with Lyme disease and how Lyme disease has altered his life to this day.

    https://patienttalk.com/video/robert-63-life-darkroom/


    Reminder to be cautious and careful of Ticks in them outdoors.


    More about Robert Buelteman:
    https://www.buelteman.com/


    Bernice
    Last edited by Bernice Loui; 11-Jun-2022 at 10:24.

  2. #2
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    I stay more to the formal trails during tick season, and avoid brushing up against chamise or chaparral, or walking through meadow ferns and tall grass. Prefer light tan pants and check them frequently. And Permethrin treated clothing can be purchased, which is allegedly effective in repelling them. My sister and her husband both got Lymes in their own yard in the Monterey area due to deer, and had visible "bullseye rash" symptoms and were promptly treated with antibiotics. When left untreated, it can be a very stubborn disease causing all kinds of terrible symptoms, including permanent mental illness. I saw that happen in the Sierra foothills before anyone in that region even knew Lyme disease existed; even doctors didn't have a clue. In this coastal area, it's primarily tiny deer ticks involved, although about 2% of the big ugly brown cattle or elk ticks sampled also carry it. But ticks potentially carry a number of other nasty pathogens, some even worse than Lymes in other parts of the country.

    A very real but neglected risk comes from running dogs in tick-infested territory, and those ticks being brought back to yards and homes in that manner. One more thing to be aware of. Likewise, remove and check your outdoor clothing immediately upon return; put it straight in the washing machine rather than in a waiting pile, and then immediately shower and inspect all your personal skin nooks and crannies. Ticks seek out the tender spots in the skin, like armpits and the groin area. It takes awhile for the disease organism itself to transmit, so even if a tick is attached after an outing, you're odds are good if it's promptly removed the same day. But those tiny tan deer ticks are easy to miss, unlike the big brown ones that swell up so much.

  3. #3

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    Nov 2010
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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    Having bush-wacked with camera for more than 40 years, I never had a real tick incident until last May when I was hospitalized with Anaplasmosis (a bacterium) from a deer tick bite. Long story it was on my back and I did not notice it until it had enlarged.

    Symptoms were not dissimilar to Covid except there were no breathing issues. My liver and kidneys were adversely affected, but with a 30+ day regimen of Doxycycline, I have rebounded without issue. The antibiotic was nasty to the digestive system so suggest probiotics to keep the intestinal tract in good order.

    The Heartland and Powassan viruses are being identified of late in the SE and Ct respectively from ticks, and warmer winters are contributing to outbreaks in Maine I have read (thousands of ticks feeding on dead and dying moose have dessimated herds there).

    Lone Star ticks are notorious as carriers, whereas the Wood ticks of the Mid-Atlantic seem less so.

  4. #4

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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    Don't forget Babesiosis.

  5. #5

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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    Haven’t tried that one.

    I recall hiking on trail in the NJ pines in June and after a while looked down at my feet and couldn’t believe hundreds of tick youngsters all over my socks and sneakers. Stuck those in kerosene and had someone double check me after a shower.

    DEET and less toxic sprays work ok but most just spray below the waist. Ticks are capable of above waist action, so there’s no quick solution.

  6. #6

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    Scarsdale, NY
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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    Lone Star ticks are also vectors of alpha-gal syndrome. The tick transmits a sugar molecule called alpha-gal. The result is an allergy to red meat.

    Charley

  7. #7
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    Strange. Around here, that particular "allergy" is termed "Vegan". Glad I don't have it. So far, none of the cats have gotten it either, despite running around in outdoor weeds.

  8. #8

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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    Well having been vegan for 32 years I guess I can cross that one off the list. Fastening though.

    For the uninitiated, tick nymphs/hatchlings are a walking tiny dot, about the size of pressing a finepoint Bic lightly on paper.
    Easily missed especially on one’s head.

  9. #9
    Alan Klein's Avatar
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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    I bought Permethrin impregnated clothes, all light-colored. I tuck the shirt into my pants and pants legs into my socks (yeah it's geeky). These clothes are good for 70 washings unlike the can spray of Permethrin which is good for 2 or 3 weeks and 2-3 washings. You can also send your nontreated clothes to the manufacturer. They will do a complete treatment of all of them with the same 70 washings treatment. I've never seen a tick on me while wearing these clothes that stayed on without falling off. There are also hats, scarves, jackets, and other camping materials treated as well.

    Insect Shield is the manufacturer. https://www.insectshield.com/collect...hoCAUkQAvD_BwE
    They provide the above mentioned services and clothese and also license other clothing lines like ExOfficio and LL Bean.

  10. #10
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: Tick Season = Lyme Disease risk

    I have never seen an Ixodes scapularis tic in real life, but CDC claims six were identified in the area but no Lyme Disease in last two decades. Either way I’m always on the lookout for one.
    We are infested with Dermacentor variabilitytics, which can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, though no cases last five years.
    I really hate them but the ones around here don’t seem to bite humans. I have found them crawling around my body in my sleep but have never been bitten.
    It is also nice my Golden Retrievers are the white variety, so it is easy to spot a tic. Frequently they are only on the fur and not feeding.
    Finding a tic on the dog is such a rare thing I don’t provide any prophylactic treatment.

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