Ticks

[Chopper Edoff]

I've got a horrible picture in my mind Chopper. Your 'dinosaurs' pecking ticks off your garlicky nutsack

lol

 

"Garlicky Nutsack" sounds like a new flavour for a range of potato snacks!

 

Just for interest, it's been speculated that Lymes disease is an escaped bio warfare agent. Ground zero for Lymes was Lyme, Connecticut which is right next door to Plum Island....

 

Did Lyme disease originate out of Plum Island? - National infectious disease | Examiner.com

 

Nazi's and Yanks should carry a health warning!

[Darrin Turnbull]

Could be helpful

 

 

http://www.careplus.eu/en/first-aid/tick-test/

 

 

http://www.thebushcraftstore.co.uk/care-plus-tick-test-kit-4380-p.asp

[timbernut]

lol

 

 

 

"Garlicky Nutsack" sounds like a new flavour for a range of potato snacks!

 

 

 

Just for interest, it's been speculated that Lymes disease is an escaped bio warfare agent. Ground zero for Lymes was Lyme, Connecticut which is right next door to Plum Island....

 

 

 

Did Lyme disease originate out of Plum Island? - National infectious disease | Examiner.com

 

 

 

Nazi's and Yanks should carry a health warning!

 

 

From RFS quarterly. Interesting read

[ClimberGuy]

Or just your nails even - anything but put soap or similar on them.

 

If you get a ring around the bite - like a bulls-eye then it's off to the quacks ASAP for some anti-biotics.

 

This may have been covered already, because I'm still reading in the early part of this thread. Someone posted a link to a Lyme disease web page, and in there they said this.

 

"Diagnosing Lyme disease is often difficult as many of the symptoms are similar to other conditions. A spreading rash some days after a known tick bite should be treated with appropriate antibiotics without waiting for the results of a blood test."

 

Just thought I'd foot stomp this in case it has not yet been covered. Do Not Wait for Blood Test Results.

 

Thanks.

 

Tim

[timbernut]

According to the RFS article it is not uncommon for blood test to come back negative in early weeks so identifying the rash is vital although 1 in 3 don't see a rash. It's also worth noting its not always a bullseye

[Pinkfoot]

Lyme disease is ancient. That old boy they found in the Alps had it and he were a few thou years old...

He also had a Husky chainsaw.

[timbernut]

Lyme disease is ancient. That old boy they found in the Alps had it and he were a few thou years old...

He also had a Husky chainsaw.

 

 

I heard it was a mcculloch as they were more robust back then😀

[scottythepinetree]

Just feel the need to clear up some misconceptions. I had a dose of Lyme disease in 2012. I was off work for nearly 3 months with it. No rash (there isn't always a rash, and the "bullseye" rash may not appear at the site of the bite if one does appear. It can occur anywhere on your body). The tick that bit me was attached for a little over 24hrs and I removed it properly, as we had received a safety bulletin about them a week or two previously from the ESB.

 

The symptoms that I had, (and that you should keep an eye out for if you have been bitten) happened like this:

 

2 weeks after removing the tick, I was walking the dog in the evening and I started to get a tired feeling and some light tingling in my legs after a lengthy walk. I thought nothing of it and put it down to being tired from a week of conny hedges. Every evening I'd walk the dog again, and at about the same point along the walk each time, I got the same tingling/weak sensation. It got stronger over 2 weeks or so, and I started thinking that I better go get it checked out. That evening I got home after the walk, and felt a pressure on my head, accompanied by a similar tingling sensation in my arms. This spread to my face, and I became very weak. Went to A&E, and they diagnosed a chest infection and gave me a week of antibiotics.

 

A week later, I hadn't gotten much better so I went back to the doctor. I then mentioned that it might be Lyme disease. The doctor was skeptical, but after some coercion on my part, reluctantly agreed to have me tested for it, and prescribed a stronger dose of antibiotic (for the chest infection that I didn't have in the meantime). 3 days later the results came back. They changed my antibiotic to a much stronger one. Doxycyclene iirc. 2 weeks later, I still hadn't improved so they doubled the dose and prescribed a month's course.

 

At the end of the month, I had gotten a little better, but still not 100%. So they prescribed another antibiotic and some injections of pretty strong AB (can't remember the name). And put me on an EKG (to test for nerve damage and disruption of the neural signals to my heart - scary stuff, but luckily it was just a precaution and turned out to be clear). The antibiotics took more out of me than the Lyme disease, and they took some time to recover from by themselves.

 

Anyway, 3 years later I have had no symptoms. I can't give blood, and will always test positive for Lymes, as they detect it by testing for the antibodies that you produce when the disease is present and not the disease itself. I have been symptom free for 3 years, so hopefully that means I'm clear, but from some of the stuff that I've read about it, there are no guarantees. It seems that they know relatively little about the disease considering how common it is.

 

My advice... don't self-diagnose, and don't go reading up on it. The lack of reliable info and misinformation about it on the internet would terrify you. Keep an eye out for tingling sensations, bullseye rashes, flu-like symptoms, and mention that you may have been exposed to the disease through your line of work. Doctors don't seem to think of it unless prompted. Get it seen as soon as possible. Apparently my complications came because the disease had been allowed to progress to stage 2 due to all the misdiagnosis etc. Get it early and a single course of AB should get it sorted for you.

[Mark Bolam]

Good heads-up mate, thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Lee Winger]

Funny this thread should be up now my youngest daughter has got a ''Bulls eye rash'' and seeing the doc in a few minutes as its a symptom of Lymes Disease that is over here in QLD