[MR] Lyme disease epidemic in Northern Atlantia area

[Diane]

I would like to point out another danger from tick bites...Rocky Mountain
spotted fever. I contracted this at an SCA event several years ago and
presenting symptoms are quite different from Lymes. Within 7-10 days of the
tick bite it often starts out with a severe headache....after that it
proceeds to severe fever and shaking chills. If you have these symptoms go
to the doctor immediately and tell of having received a tick bite. There is
a blood test for this but by the time the results come back you could be
dead. Because of this, doctors treat presumptively. Antibiotics readily
treat this and there is usually no residual problem.

In service

Brigantia

On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 4:13 PM, <LWright740 at aol.com> wrote:

>
> There really is no need to panic over the article.  This epidemic has  been
> old news for the last 15 years.
>
> Good advice about insecticides and danger to cats.  Can also sicken
> children and elderly.
>
> Advice on clothing tucked into boots and shirts into waist bands is
> wonderful, but not always workable with women's garb.
>
> Take home Message
> Look for and remove ticks!  Watch for next few weeks  for evidence of rash
> around all tick bites!  If tick found in hair you may  just want to see
> doctor about treatment anyway because rash can be missed!   Lyme's disease
> is
> only a problem if undetected and allowed to smolder  over time.  If you
> wait
> to treat until antibody titers have risen  (a positive test result) you
> have
> missed the best window to prevent the  disease.  Also testing too early may
> give a false positive test and allow  you to develop the disease after the
> infection.
>
> I am one of the unfortunates that contracted Lyme's disease at a Sapphire
> Joust in the 90's.  We were at the Goochland site then and I found a small
> tick under my skirt waistband.  It had been on for less than 24 hours and
> came off easily.  It was a small tick or what we used to call a "seed
>  tick".
>  Within one week I had the characteristic bull eye rash and  went on
> doxycyline for three courses of 30 days over the next 6 months.   The rash
> continued to slowly migrate out from the origin to a maximum diameter  of
> 4" before
> fading in 6 months.  I'm not sure how the rash pattern and  migration
> related to active infection, but my doctor continued to treat and  monitor
> my
> serum antibody titers until it was gone. I have had no  long term problems
> and
> did not get sick other than the rash.
>
> I doubt that your MD would be able to identify the tick.  In  Veterinary
> Medical school were taught to identify both internal and external
>  parasites,
> but they do not do that for human medical doctors.  I do know  about MD
> curriculum because I have spent the last 4 years at a Eastern Virginia
>  Medical
> School working on my Masters in Public Health for Epidemiology.
>
> Regards,
> Lora Leigh
>
>
> .-
>
> In a message dated 4/16/2009 10:02:42 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> isolda1066 at gmail.com writes:
>
> If you  find them in the first 24 hours, it's rare
> that you'll contract  anything.  If you find a tick that's already bitten
> into your skin,  you can extract the tick and save it for a doctor to look
> at.  (In the  first 24 hours, he would not have cemented himself in yet, so
> should be  easier to extract.)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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