Lyme Disease is a big deal

[Lee Borgersen]

  Lyme Disease is a big deal: What you need to know for spring


The Lyme Action Network, a regional Lyme disease educational and advocacy organization, urges everyone in the region to brush up on the facts about Lyme disease as we enter the spring season.

“There is a lot of old and inaccurate information out there,” advises Christina Fisk, President of the Lyme Action Network. “Over 300,000 people will contract Lyme disease this year in the US. Seventy thousand of them will be in New York. Don’t be one of them!”



 
Here are the key facts that you need to know:

  .........
1. Prevention is key. Enjoy the outdoors, but be tick-smart.  Follow these guidelines:

• Wear light colored clothing and check for ticks often

• Wear a hat

• Tuck pant legs into socks

• Tse a repellent containing Deet. Natural repellents are useful, too, especially for children, but must be frequently reapplied.

• Spray clothing (not skin) with Permetherin

• Throw clothing in dryer on high for 5-10 minutes when you come in

• Take hot shower when you come in

• Do tick-checks

 

2. Lyme disease is easy to get and can be difficult to cure if it is not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner.

3. If you are bitten by a tick, remove the tick immediately.  The Lyme Action Network recommends a simple tool called  the “O’Tom Tick Twister”. This effective device can be carried in your purse or pocket and lets you “twirl” the tick out painlessly and very quickly (available online through www.jimapco.com). If you must use tweezers, be careful NOT to squeeze the contents of the tick into your skin.  Get the tick out of your skin as soon as you notice it.

 

4. There is NO minimum “safe time” a tick can be on your skin. Ticks carry and transmit more than just Lyme disease. Evidence shows that some of the pathogens carried by ticks can be transmitted shortly after the tick is fully attached. It is not safe to assume that you will not develop a tick-borne disease if the tick has been attached for less than 24 or 36 hours.

 

5. There is no peer reviewed research that supports the practice of giving patients one or two doses of doxycycline as a preventative treatment. Many people who have received this treatment have developed serious Lyme disease in the following weeks or months.

 

6. Don’t assume that there has to be a bulls-eye skin rash around the tick bite site. Fifty percent of people who are diagnosed with Lyme disease never saw a tick. Sixty percent never saw any rash.

 

7. Ticks carry more illnesses than  just Lyme disease. Common tick-borne diseases seen in this region include babesiosis, bartonellosis, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis. Less common are Powhassan virus, Borrelia miyamotoi, tularemia, and others, all of which can complicate diagnosis and treatment.

 

8. Lyme disease is called the Great Imitator because it is misdiagnosed as many other diseases, including chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, flu, arthritis, MS, ALS, autism, ADHD, depression, lupus, hypochondria, and a host of others. In the cases of unexplained illness, particularly a case of “flu” during the summer months, Lyme should be considered first, even if the tests are negative.

9. The  currently available diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are inaccurate and unreliable, especially in the early stages of Lyme disease and then again after the bacteria have spread throughout the body. A negative result on the blood test for Lyme disease does not mean you don’t have the disease.

 

10. Lyme disease requires a clinical diagnosis because the diagnostic tests are not reliable. You and your doctor must be aware of the symptoms of Lyme disease in order to make a clinical diagnosis. Keep a diary of all your symptoms to share with your doctor. Consult the Lyme Action Network’s webpage (www.lymeactionnetwork.org) for the MSIDS questionnaire (Multiple Systemic Infectious Diseases Syndrome) to help clarify your symptoms.

 

11. If you are bitten by a tick, you can send the tick to the University of  Massachusetts for analysis. Their contact info is: info@tickreport.com or (413) 545-1057.

For more detailed information about Lyme disease, go to the Lyme Action Network’s website at www.lymeactionnetwork.com

[Boar]

As one of the many lymers out ther. ThAnks for posting that.

[glenn57]

As one of the many lymers out ther. ThAnks for posting that.

THAT explains a lot of things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

seriously though........... good stuff to know!!!!!!!!

[Boar]

Glenn tickty seven, keeps sucking the life outa this forum. :rotflmao:and getting us spanked again.

[corny13]

Don't forget Tick born Anaplasmosis , Babesosis , and Ehrlicosis that you can also catch from Ticks in Minnesota.  Anaplasmosis is the second most common tick born disease in Minnesota.  These are all Serious diseases.