Lyme's Disease - a warning

I ended up going to the doctors this evening as my 'tick bite site' has developed an encircling red rash -one of the classic signs of stage one in Lyme's Disease. My GP decided that the eveidence before her, plus my already compromised immune system called for decisive action and prescribed a two-week course of strong antibiotics (Doxycycline if your interested). So, what I would suggest to all of you people out there who go into the countryside and crawl through grass and bracken looking for all sorts of wildlife is this - check your body thoroughly each day (get someone to do your back if you can) and if you find a tick remove it immediately (tweezers and pull with a twisting motion). Do not ignore any subsequent rash or general unwellness. Antibiotics will stop the disease from reaching the potentially serious later stages. There is more here...

Tick bites are commoner on humans in the spring and summer months, so we are at the height of 'tick time'. Most ticks do not carry the potential for this illness, but do not use that as an excuse not to take the threat seriously. There are plenty of victims out there who have led debilitating lives because it wasn't diagnosed early enough.

Comments

Factor said…
Bloody hell Steve, I didn't realise how dangerous this is! I never imagined your hobby was so hazardous. Hope you're on the mend.
13 June 2012 at 22:24
Steve Gale said…
Neil, these ticks are everywhere... watch out!
15 June 2012 at 09:28
Alastair said…
You certainly did the right thing here Steve. When we were in North Yorkshire our garden was full of the blighters and two of our neighbours had contracted Lymes, it is a life changing illness, not in a good way! There are few ticks here, no deer, but my eldest daughter is currently being treated for Lymes following an outdoor education week in Inverness, returning with a very swollen and inflamed bite on her hand it probably wasn't tick bite but caution is wise with this disease.
16 June 2012 at 20:18
Steve Gale said…
Hi Alastair, I hope that your daughter responds to the treatment, if indeed she does have it. Nasty little disease by all accounts...
19 June 2012 at 11:29
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