Lyme Disease And Ticks

It’s difficult to diagnose and the tests that do exist often give false negatives. The most reliable indicator is the bullseye rash which means you’ve definitely been infected. However you can be infected but not display the rash.
 
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jimi said:
It’s difficult to diagnose and the tests that do exist often give false negatives. The most reliable indicator is the bullseye rash which means you’ve definitely been infected. However you can be infected but not display the rash.
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Exactly what the top Chelsea and Westminster man told my daughter, Lyme's leaves a clear trail but is simultaneously the "great masquerader",

Apparently hospitals - top flight ones - often perform batteries of tests before nailing the little bugger. Advice is to get on the antibiotics fast if suspected.
 
I run everyday, sometimes up to 15 miles, much of it along the seawall of the river Crouch and the many footpaths that run alongside.

The grass on the seawall is, in many places, well over waist height at the moment.

Some of the footpaths run through fields with grazing sheep and cattle.

Through the summer, I'm usually wearing a running vest, shorts and short socks.

I've never noticed any evidence that I've been 'ticked'.

I know very little about Lyme disease.

Is it more prevalent in certain areas?

Yes ...... I am, (slightly) worried of Essex.
 
They are more prevalent in certain areas. It’s where there tends to be animals about partic sheep or deer. I caught it at cheddar when I used to do a lot of climbing there. The place is full of feral sheep and goats and I’d often be removing a dozen or so ticks after a visit there.
 
Serious question.
About 35 years ago I was one a caving expeditions in Spain. I was bitten On my face by some insect while sleeping outside, my face swelled up massively. About two weeks after I got back to England I could hardly stands up I was diagnosed with Glandular fever. I was incredibly fit before the trip and never really recovered my previous fitness. I tend to get regular bouts of poor health. I have wondered since if it was Lyme. Are glandular fever tests able to distinguish?
 
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savageseadog said:
Serious question.
About 35 years ago I was one a caving expeditions in Spain. I was bitten On my face by some insect while sleeping outside, my face dwellers up massively. About two weeks after I got back to England I could hardly stands up I was diagnosed with Glandular fever. I was incredibly fit before the trip and never really recovered my previous fitness. I tend to get regular bouts of poor health. I have wondered since if it was Lyme. Are glandular fever tests able to distinguish?
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Wow, my daughter had exactly the same combination before we got it sorted after batteries and batteries of tests. Weird!

Pm me and we can discuss.
 
For what it's worth, around two years ago I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. The array of blood tests that were performed on me revealed that, unbeknown to me, I must have had Lymes Disease. Although the medical profession do not know what causes AIH, apparently the veterinary profession know that autoimmune disease in horses is linked to LD (information from equine vet daughter). AIH is nasty so it's worth taking precautions.
 
savageseadog said:
Serious question.
About 35 years ago I was one a caving expeditions in Spain. I was bitten On my face by some insect while sleeping outside, my face swelled up massively. About two weeks after I got back to England I could hardly stands up I was diagnosed with Glandular fever. I was incredibly fit before the trip and never really recovered my previous fitness. I tend to get regular bouts of poor health. I have wondered since if it was Lyme. Are glandular fever tests able to distinguish?
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I've never heard of a tick bite causing massive swelling so quickly; besides, it's not a bite-and-leave insect: it hangs on to its host for two days or more. It sounds more like a spider/scorpion bite.
 
A month ago a gp removed a tick from my armpit which I recognised after 2 days. She first used "Lyclear" creme available from pharmacies to neutralise the tick and removed it with tweezers. Thankfully for me, no ill effects. My sympathies to those less fortunate, ticks can cause serious illness.
Lyclear is recommended to treat Scabies but I bought a tube later, no prescription needed in Australia and the pharmacist agreed it is also used to kill ticks.
 
ISTM that there's a risk of becoming a feeding station for ticks if you spend time where there are ticks, and anywhere in Europe, not to mention elsewhere, there's a risk that the tick may carry Lyme's disease. Sure there are things you can do to improve the odds, but they aren't 100% reliable.

The important thing with Lyme's disease is to recognise it and get it treated early, when it's relatively easy to treat, so be familiar with the symptoms and don't let yourself be fobbed off by an ignorant GP if you've got them.

Lyme disease
 
Co-incidentally, I presume, to the resurgence of this thread from July, there is an item in the current (16 October) issue of New Scientist on combating Lyme disease. It recognises that doxycycline, like most antibiotics, has side effects. But suggests that a new treatment, hygromycin A, could eliminate the disease.
 
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I got my first couple Summer from the coastal path near Salcombe - travelled up to my groin!
Removed them with the tool.
And took prophylactic Doxy - against UK guidelines, but in line with some of the US ones.
 
We get lots of ticks on the West Coast. After being ashore on the hill, a close tick inspection is essential. We have the little plastic claw things. Most of the ticks that we get are tiny, and are probably at the nymph stage. I have once had the bulls eye rash, and was prescribed antibiotics. The side effects were interesting. I was told to stay out of the sun, which is quite difficult when sailing about on a boat. My nose went bright red, and the skin on my face became super-sensitive, but otherwise no problems then or since. Like others, I believe that the number of ticks has soared since sheep dip was outlawed.
 
NormanS said:
We get lots of ticks on the West Coast. After being ashore on the hill, a close tick inspection is essential. We have the little plastic claw things. Most of the ticks that we get are tiny, and are probably at the nymph stage. I have once had the bulls eye rash, and was prescribed antibiotics. The side effects were interesting. I was told to stay out of the sun, which is quite difficult when sailing about on a boat. My nose went bright red, and the skin on my face became super-sensitive, but otherwise no problems then or since. Like others, I believe that the number of ticks has soared since sheep dip was outlawed.
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Or/and due to global warming?
 
Neeves said:
Someone will explain:

Why is it that it is possible to provide domestic pets with devices or medication that will deter ticks - why is it so difficult to design something similar for humans?

As far as I can ascertain the investment in researrch has come up with

wear yellow

wear Wellington boots

its the 21st Century!! ??

Jonathan
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In Australia the ticks don't carry Lyme disease. In Tasmania there are two varieties; one is a scrub tick, and is a brownish colour. The other one is a paralysis tick. The adult looks like a broad bean, same colour and size when full. It is quite capable of killing a small dog.
The way that dog and cat anti tick formulations work is by absorption through the skin, or injection, and killing the tick when it bites. The medication is an organophosphate, so not ideal for humans. Sheep dips also used organophosphates
 
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