Tick High Season
May. 21st, 2007 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
awakening_dreamsMessage 310 on *General Mailing List (#1787):
Date: Mon May 21 15:21:30 2007 EDT
From: Lily (#22298)
To: *General Mailing List (#1787)
Subject: Tick High Season
As you all know already, I'm infected with lyme and possible coinfections. As a result, this is a very sensitive topic for me. I was bitten last year in Maine, from being there for two hours. I was bitten -in the city-, on the highway, from one lone clump of ten pieces of high grass. You may think that these are low odds, but they are actually more common than you would think.
This year, this sort of thing is going to be especially common. It's a tick high summer, and there are more around than ever. It doesn't matter if your state is known for ticks or not. For example, Michigan is said to have no ticks - and yet we have many cases of lyme disease! For example, the city of Warren in Michigan has had no cases of tick bites for years. During one week this summer, four children and a dog from one neighborhood were all bitten. One child has already developed lyme disease.
Please, be careful. Watch out for ticks. Inspect yourself if you suspect you came into an area that ticks would be present, both while you're outside and when you arrive at home. Wear long sleeves and long pants if you're going into one of these areas. Tuck your pants into your shoes, to try to prevent ticks from crawling inside of clothing - but make sure to inspect after, anyway. Lighter colour clothing is recommended, as this makes them easier to spot; also wear smoother material. It's harder for them to grab onto. Knits and the like are strongly discouraged. Insect repellents that contain 'DEET' are somewhat effective if used, but do not use them over wide areas of the body. Apply them to the arms, legs, and around the neck. Make sure that your product uses 25% DEET - while there are products sold on the market with 50%, you run a high risk of being poisoned if you use this. Be aware that this repellent evaporates quickly, and you will have to reapply it frequently.
Tick repellents that contain 'permethrin' are meant to be sprayed onto clothing, -not- you.
One way to get rid of ticks is after you've been in an area you suspect to be infested, put your clothing in a dryer. Ticks hate being dried out.
If you find a tick, regardless of whether you develop a rash, go to your local doctor. If you are feeling any symptoms of a tick infection, go to the emergency room -immediately-. A common misconception is that in all cases of lyme disease, you will develop a bulls eye rash. In fact, this only develops in under half of the cases. A rash signifies that the spirochete bacteria has infected the skin - which does not always happen!
A lot of times, the first part of the infection of a tick-borne disease is described to feel like a case of the flu. With some diseases, such as Q-Fever or Babesiosis, it can develop especially high fevers, up to 104 degrees. However, a low grade fever is much more common with infections such as lyme disease.
Be aware that the tests are flawed when it comes to tick borne diseases. If you are feeling ill and you have been bitten by a tick, pursue this, even if you are told that you test negative. The only one that can truly tell you that you are not infected is a lyme literate doctor. If you're having issues, talk to me, and I will help you.
If you're sick and you were bitten by a tick recently, a doctor should be putting you on antibiotics, regardless of what the tests say. If they do not put you on preventative antibiotics, demand them. This is a clinical -requirement- and necessity to prevent any tick borne diseases from developing. The sooner they are caught, the better.
I realize this is a long mail, but I want to keep everyone informed. If you have any questions or concerned, please feel free to talk to me. I have nearly a year's experience in this, and I'm willing to help in any way I can.
--------------------------
Date: Mon May 21 15:21:30 2007 EDT
From: Lily (#22298)
To: *General Mailing List (#1787)
Subject: Tick High Season
As you all know already, I'm infected with lyme and possible coinfections. As a result, this is a very sensitive topic for me. I was bitten last year in Maine, from being there for two hours. I was bitten -in the city-, on the highway, from one lone clump of ten pieces of high grass. You may think that these are low odds, but they are actually more common than you would think.
This year, this sort of thing is going to be especially common. It's a tick high summer, and there are more around than ever. It doesn't matter if your state is known for ticks or not. For example, Michigan is said to have no ticks - and yet we have many cases of lyme disease! For example, the city of Warren in Michigan has had no cases of tick bites for years. During one week this summer, four children and a dog from one neighborhood were all bitten. One child has already developed lyme disease.
Please, be careful. Watch out for ticks. Inspect yourself if you suspect you came into an area that ticks would be present, both while you're outside and when you arrive at home. Wear long sleeves and long pants if you're going into one of these areas. Tuck your pants into your shoes, to try to prevent ticks from crawling inside of clothing - but make sure to inspect after, anyway. Lighter colour clothing is recommended, as this makes them easier to spot; also wear smoother material. It's harder for them to grab onto. Knits and the like are strongly discouraged. Insect repellents that contain 'DEET' are somewhat effective if used, but do not use them over wide areas of the body. Apply them to the arms, legs, and around the neck. Make sure that your product uses 25% DEET - while there are products sold on the market with 50%, you run a high risk of being poisoned if you use this. Be aware that this repellent evaporates quickly, and you will have to reapply it frequently.
Tick repellents that contain 'permethrin' are meant to be sprayed onto clothing, -not- you.
One way to get rid of ticks is after you've been in an area you suspect to be infested, put your clothing in a dryer. Ticks hate being dried out.
If you find a tick, regardless of whether you develop a rash, go to your local doctor. If you are feeling any symptoms of a tick infection, go to the emergency room -immediately-. A common misconception is that in all cases of lyme disease, you will develop a bulls eye rash. In fact, this only develops in under half of the cases. A rash signifies that the spirochete bacteria has infected the skin - which does not always happen!
A lot of times, the first part of the infection of a tick-borne disease is described to feel like a case of the flu. With some diseases, such as Q-Fever or Babesiosis, it can develop especially high fevers, up to 104 degrees. However, a low grade fever is much more common with infections such as lyme disease.
Be aware that the tests are flawed when it comes to tick borne diseases. If you are feeling ill and you have been bitten by a tick, pursue this, even if you are told that you test negative. The only one that can truly tell you that you are not infected is a lyme literate doctor. If you're having issues, talk to me, and I will help you.
If you're sick and you were bitten by a tick recently, a doctor should be putting you on antibiotics, regardless of what the tests say. If they do not put you on preventative antibiotics, demand them. This is a clinical -requirement- and necessity to prevent any tick borne diseases from developing. The sooner they are caught, the better.
I realize this is a long mail, but I want to keep everyone informed. If you have any questions or concerned, please feel free to talk to me. I have nearly a year's experience in this, and I'm willing to help in any way I can.
--------------------------