Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

[Dawnrazor]

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, for anyone who walks, hikes, camps or takes the dog for a walk in the countryside, please make yourself aware of the signs of a tick bite, if you think you've been bitten by an infected Tick, got to the Doctors ASAP.

I've a good mate that has been suffering from it for a few years now and it's a horrible thing to have to live with.

https://www.lymedisease.org/get-involved/take-action/lyme-awareness-month/

[superjack]

25 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, for anyone who walks, hikes, camps or takes the dog for a walk in the countryside, please make yourself aware of the signs of a tick bite, if you think you've been bitten by an infected Tick, got to the Doctors ASAP.

I've a good mate that has been suffering from it for a few years now and it's a horrible thing to have to live with.

https://www.lymedisease.org/get-involved/take-action/lyme-awareness-month/

Looks like another tick box exercise.

[hughesie27]

Absolutely destroyed the rapper Ren's life for years before he was even diagnosed.

[Tazio]

22 minutes ago, hughesie27 said:

Absolutely destroyed the rapper Ren's life for years before he was even diagnosed.

I’m not sure how it is now but a lot of doctors were wary of diagnosing it. A guy I used to cycle off-road with down in Yorkshire struggled to get a diagnosis by which time he’d had to give up work due to chronic fatigue. It took him a long time to get fit again to live a normal life never mind everything he did before as a very fit guy in his 40’s. 

[redjambo]

You can get a tick remover for under a fiver. Well worth it.

[Lone Striker]

12 minutes ago, redjambo said:

You can get a tick remover for under a fiver. Well worth it.

Indeed.  EVeryone heading into the countryside for a holiday should carry one, although it has to be said that you really need a 2nd person to remove a tick from your skin properly.   

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

If you put a very small amount of methylated spirit onto the tick first it will release it's grip and make removing it easier. I also imagine it will kill any virus it might be putting into your skin. Wash it off right away though.

That's what I was told when I started outdoor sports as a youngster and it seems to work. If you use a Trangia stove for camping then you will have the stuff with you anyway!

[CF11JamTart]

11 hours ago, Dawnrazor said:

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, for anyone who walks, hikes, camps or takes the dog for a walk in the countryside, please make yourself aware of the signs of a tick bite, if you think you've been bitten by an infected Tick, got to the Doctors ASAP.

I've a good mate that has been suffering from it for a few years now and it's a horrible thing to have to live with.

https://www.lymedisease.org/get-involved/take-action/lyme-awareness-month/

Thanks for flagging this. 

 

A mate of mine got it and it pretty much ruined his life.

 

Tick removal device is invaluable 

[CF11JamTart]

8 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Indeed.  EVeryone heading into the countryside for a holiday should carry one, although it has to be said that you really need a 2nd person to remove a tick from your skin properly.   

My wife and daughter were at some organised camping thing in Devon a few years ago. 

 

A massive concern about ticks on site arose, so people were encouraged to find a "tick buddy" to inspect their more intimate areas... To find and remove ticks. 

 

No-one needs that drama in their life. 

[davemclaren]

32 minutes ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

If you put a very small amount of methylated spirit onto the tick first it will release it's grip and make removing it easier. I also imagine it will kill any virus it might be putting into your skin. Wash it off right away though.

That's what I was told when I started outdoor sports as a youngster and it seems to work. If you use a Trangia stove for camping then you will have the stuff with you anyway!

The virus goes into your blood. Once it's in there any methylated spirit in your skin isn't going to impact it. 

[Dawnrazor]

2 hours ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

If you put a very small amount of methylated spirit onto the tick first it will release it's grip and make removing it easier. I also imagine it will kill any virus it might be putting into your skin. Wash it off right away though.

That's what I was told when I started outdoor sports as a youngster and it seems to work. If you use a Trangia stove for camping then you will have the stuff with you anyway!

I'd not apply anything to the tick, just get it out quick and as soon as you see it, putting white spirit or vaseline makes it more likely that the Tick will regurgitate the blood back into your bloodstream. It's noting the only about 40ish percent of infected Tick bite react with the typical "Bullseye" mark.

Get to the Dr or A&E and demand a course of strong antibiotics, don't take no for an answer.

[Dawnrazor]

2 hours ago, davemclaren said:

The virus goes into your blood. Once it's in there any methylated spirit in your skin isn't going to impact it. 

This.

 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

2 hours ago, davemclaren said:

The virus goes into your blood. Once it's in there any methylated spirit in your skin isn't going to impact it. 

If you catch the tick early and the meths are to get it to release it's grip first and foremost there is a better chance that the virus won't have enough time to get into the blood. I read if you remove the tick within a certain time you are usually safe. I know I have had to remove them before and by the time you feel anything it's usually been quite while in your skin though. The dog is always getting them although he gets the spot on treatment, they may be getting immune to that unfortunately. 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

5 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

I'd not apply anything to the tick, just get it out quick and as soon as you see it, putting white spirit or vaseline makes it more likely that the Tick will regurgitate the blood back into your bloodstream. It's noting the only about 40ish percent of infected Tick bite react with the typical "Bullseye" mark.

Get to the Dr or A&E and demand a course of strong antibiotics, don't take no for an answer.

Good advice I will take onboard. It pays to apply repellent especially round the ankles and arms even when you are fully covered up. 

[davemclaren]

14 minutes ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

If you catch the tick early and the meths are to get it to release it's grip first and foremost there is a better chance that the virus won't have enough time to get into the blood. I read if you remove the tick within a certain time you are usually safe. I know I have had to remove them before and by the time you feel anything it's usually been quite while in your skin though. The dog is always getting them although he gets the spot on treatment, they may be getting immune to that unfortunately. 

Yes, the earlier you remove it the better chance of non infection. If the meths helps speed that up, and helps prevent the mouth breaking off and being left stuck in you, then that's great. 

[jb102]

2 hours ago, davemclaren said:

The virus goes into your blood. Once it's in there any methylated spirit in your skin isn't going to impact it. 

Bacteria. Plus more than 100 other pathogens. 

[Dawnrazor]

18 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

Yes, the earlier you remove it the better chance of non infection. If the meths helps speed that up, and helps prevent the mouth breaking off and being left stuck in you, then that's great. 

It won't do either, what happens is that the Tick gets agitated and regurgitates any ingested blood and the anticoagulant containing the Louping Ill / Lymes Disease back into you.

[davemclaren]

7 minutes ago, jb102 said:

Bacteria. Plus more than 100 other pathogens. 

👍

[Cade]

14 hours ago, hughesie27 said:

Absolutely destroyed the rapper Ren's life for years before he was even diagnosed.

 

Indeed. They just said it has all in his head and treated him as a hypochondriac, an attention seeker or mentally ill.

 

[CostaJambo]

Saw this on the Bored Panda website only this week, hopefully it's true "Vaccines for herpes and Lyme's Disease are in deep (successful) clinical trials and should be available to the public very soon."

[il Duce McTarkin]

15 hours ago, Dawnrazor said:

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, for anyone who walks, hikes, camps or takes the dog for a walk in the countryside, please make yourself aware of the signs of a tick bite, if you think you've been bitten by an infected Tick, got to the Doctors ASAP.

I've a good mate that has been suffering from it for a few years now and it's a horrible thing to have to live with.

https://www.lymedisease.org/get-involved/take-action/lyme-awareness-month/

 

My brother was convinced that he had Lyme disease a few years ago as he is a keen outdoorsman and no stranger to ticks, but after investigation it turned out to be (treatable) cancer. After 4 years in the clear he's still glad that it wasn't Lyme, having seen what it's done to a mate of his.

[CF11JamTart]

37 minutes ago, Cade said:

 

Indeed. They just said it has all in his head and treated him as a hypochondriac, an attention seeker or mentally ill.

 

Pretty much the same story with my mate. 

 

As a consequence, his work weren't great either. 

[Auld Reekin']

12 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Indeed.  EVeryone heading into the countryside for a holiday should carry one, although it has to be said that you really need a 2nd person to remove a tick from your skin properly.   

 

Depends upon where it's lodged, but if it's somewhere you can't see, or can't reach easily / at all, then having someone else check and do the necessary for you is essential. Having said that, if the "someone else" isn't confident in what they're doing then it can still be very difficult and the smaller the tick, the harder it is to get hold of and extract, anyway, even with a good tick-remover.

 

Prevention - hat, long-sleeves, long-trousers, etc. - is better than the cure, but they're sneaky wee beggars and quite often go for a good walkabout on you before deciding where to burrow in, making it even more tricky to stop them altogether.

[inspector]

A few years ago, before we moved north permanently,  wife and l were doing a bit of walking around Littleferry near Golspie. When we got home to Bonnyrigg, I felt something on my back just below my neck. Wife had a look and said 'you've got a tick'. Off to A & E at the infirmary where the beast was removed. Asked where we'd been told the nurse and he said that that wasn't the worst area for tick infestation but that East Lothian was. High numbers of deer ticks apparently

[pharmaceutical01]

Tick bite is relatively easy to identify because of the rings around the bite.  Colleague and friend of mine got it and the initial bite was not diagnosed. Absolutely f*xked him up and thought he was dying. Only diagnosed later by spinal tap. Still has symptoms and adverse effects more than ten years later - horrible infection 

[Dawnrazor]

1 hour ago, pharmaceutical01 said:

Tick bite is relatively easy to identify because of the rings around the bite.  Colleague and friend of mine got it and the initial bite was not diagnosed. Absolutely f*xked him up and thought he was dying. Only diagnosed later by spinal tap. Still has symptoms and adverse effects more than ten years later - horrible infection 

Less than half infected Tick bites show the "Bullseye" ring mark.

[Dawnrazor]

2 hours ago, inspector said:

A few years ago, before we moved north permanently,  wife and l were doing a bit of walking around Littleferry near Golspie. When we got home to Bonnyrigg, I felt something on my back just below my neck. Wife had a look and said 'you've got a tick'. Off to A & E at the infirmary where the beast was removed. Asked where we'd been told the nurse and he said that that wasn't the worst area for tick infestation but that East Lothian was. High numbers of deer ticks apparently

Ticks (Ixodes ricinus) aren't really "Deer Ticks" they live on various hosts, Deer being one, Hares and Sheep are also the main hosts, they also cause high mortality in some birds, Capercaillie in particular due to blood loss from high tick burdens.

[inspector]

Fair enough but I'm only quoting what l was told. 

[Dawnrazor]

5 minutes ago, inspector said:

Fair enough but I'm only quoting what l was told. 

I'm not having a go, just trying to get the facts about this known 👍

[redjambo]

59 minutes ago, inspector said:

Fair enough but I'm only quoting what l was told. 

 

One of the names by which Ixodes ricinus is known is the "deer tick". Calling it that is not incorrect, despite other animals also serving as hosts in its life cycle.

 

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/disease-vectors/facts/tick-factsheets/ixodes-ricinus

[Peakybunnet]

I work as a part time gardener and learnt the lesson last year. We have a fair bit of woods we manage where ticks thrive. I never wear shorts but still had tick bites on my lower legs. 
 

This year I bought long johns to wear under my trousers and I tuck them into my socks. 
 

Still expect a few bites and have bought some after bite sticks for quick remedy’s. 

[Daktari]

My dogs are always picking them up when we're out and about. Worst I've seen was Luss on Loch Lomond side, and on Arran. Easy enough removed with a decent tick hook when spotted, but always careful to get the whole thing, mouth part included. So far, the dogs have been fine. Three years living in rural South Lanarkshire and only last week they got their first one down here.... They did find a dead hare so it may have come from that. 

 

The advice I've always had is not to put anything on it that might cause it distress. Just get it out as soon as possible. If it's attached to you, there's already the chance it will regurgitate into your bloodstream if you mess about. Tick hook, twist, pull gently and dispose. Worst news is that they are adept at finding the warmest parts of the body, where the best blood flow is. I often get them under the dogs ears. On that basis, I'll give the shorts a miss....

[Auld Reekin']

8 hours ago, Dawnrazor said:

I'd not apply anything to the tick, just get it out quick and as soon as you see it, putting white spirit or vaseline makes it more likely that the Tick will regurgitate the blood back into your bloodstream. It's noting the only about 40ish percent of infected Tick bite react with the typical "Bullseye" mark.

Get to the Dr or A&E and demand a course of strong antibiotics, don't take no for an answer.

 

So you'd advise doing this in every case where you know, or strongly suspect, you've been bitten by a tick? Is this what you do?

 

I've had a reaction before to a tick bite, but just a circular red area around the bite (maybe about the size of a 2p coin) - never the "bullseye" marking. It was presumably just a localised skin reaction as I've never had any symptoms of Lyme and have been bitten quite a few times. Just lucky so far, I suppose...  

[Dawnrazor]

14 minutes ago, Auld Reekin' said:

 

So you'd advise doing this in every case where you know, or strongly suspect, you've been bitten by a tick? Is this what you do?

 

I've had a reaction before to a tick bite, but just a circular red area around the bite (maybe about the size of a 2p coin) - never the "bullseye" marking. It was presumably just a localised skin reaction as I've never had any symptoms of Lyme and have been bitten quite a few times. Just lucky so far, I suppose...  

I didn't word that very well, if you find a tick on you, and the bite gets the classic Bullseye mark, get to the Dr or A&E asap, don't take no for an answer, it's surprising how few Dr's and Nurses are aware of Lymes Disease, even here in The Forest of Bowland where Ticks and Louping Ill are rife. If it doesn't react in a Bullseye, if you start feeling ill, then get to the Dr or A&E.

 

[Dawnrazor]

1 hour ago, redjambo said:

 

One of the names by which Ixodes ricinus is known is the "deer tick". Calling it that is not incorrect, despite other animals also serving as hosts in its life cycle.

 

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/disease-vectors/facts/tick-factsheets/ixodes-ricinus

Like I said, I wasn't having a go and didn't say it was incorrect, just pointing out that Ticks don't just live on Deer.

[Dawnrazor]

7 hours ago, il Duce McTarkin said:

 

My brother was convinced that he had Lyme disease a few years ago as he is a keen outdoorsman and no stranger to ticks, but after investigation it turned out to be (treatable) cancer. After 4 years in the clear he's still glad that it wasn't Lyme, having seen what it's done to a mate of his.

Good to hear your Brother is ok now 👍

[redjambo]

3 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

Like I said, I wasn't having a go and didn't say it was incorrect, just pointing out that Ticks don't just live on Deer.

 

[Auld Reekin']

11 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

I didn't word that very well, if you find a tick on you, and the bite gets the classic Bullseye mark, get to the Dr or A&E asap, don't take no for an answer, it's surprising how few Dr's and Nurses are aware of Lymes Disease, even here in The Forest of Bowland where Ticks and Louping Ill are rife. If it doesn't react in a Bullseye, if you start feeling ill, then get to the Dr or A&E.

 

 

  Gotcha.