TICK!

[musky hunter]

There are a lot of ticks this season with a lot of people being bit, and it's not only hunters. So I called my clinic to see if I could get Lymes vaccine, and found out that it is no longer available. So I googled it, and it's been off the market for a couple of years. Glaxo Smith Kline just didn't make the expected profits and dropped it. So there we are, the only defense we have is our own vigilance, if we get a tic have it treated asap, and thoroughly inspecting ourselves after each trip out in the woods. And this is still no gaurantee we won't get Lymes. So pay attention have fun, and then check yourself again.

[TylerS]

There are a lot of ticks this season with a lot of people being bit, and it's not only hunters. So I called my clinic to see if I could get Lymes vaccine, and found out that it is no longer available. So I googled it, and it's been off the market for a couple of years. Glaxo Smith Kline just didn't make the expected profits and dropped it. So there we are, the only defense we have is our own vigilance, if we get a tic have it treated asap, and thoroughly inspecting ourselves after each trip out in the woods. And this is still no gaurantee we won't get Lymes. So pay attention have fun, and then check yourself again.

That's interesting...we just finished the last round of Lymes vaccines for our dog. So they have them for dogs, but not people? Strange...

[surewood]

Over the years I have saw plenty of deer ticks. This year had my first deer tick bite. Then in less then two weeks time I had number two and three. I found all three relatively early so no lymes, but now I check carefully every time when I get out of the woods.

[bigbucks]

Got my second one 2 1/2 weeks ago in WI. That sucker had himself half way in just during a two-hour hunt. He was not there when I went to the tree. Came out in pieces, but no lymes, no bullseye.

[analyzer]

[PoorWordUsage] Thorn, I thought. So I grabbed a tweezers and went where there was better light, and saw that my thorn had a couple little black legs.

I've had numerous tick bites in my life, but this was the only the 2nd one that had burrowed in. The previous one was in my back, and other than coming out in chunks, and my wife eventually giving up and leaving the head in, there were no other problems. Although that one caused a slight bump that was there for 6 months or so. Any way, this one came out, after some gentle pulling, head and all.

Saturday I'm over at my brothers and he asked me what the rash on the backside of my arm was from. Oh oh. I started looking up lymes disease on the internet, and spent a couple hours getting the full monty.

I researched the tick itself, and realized that I had an adult Deer Tick. They are much smaller than the standard tick, and this one had a slight orange/brown color towards the back end. Adult deer ticks are far less likely to carry Lyme. The bulk of the lymes disease cases are transmitted by deer tics in their infancy stage.

The most prevalent area of the United States is in the NE. New Jersey northward. However as you know, we have plenty of cases in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In MN, the highest risk areas are East-Central. North-Central, and North-east, and of course, this little strip that runs along the mississippi from Wabasha on southeast. Smack in the area I was in.

I read all kinds of horror stories about lymes disease. Folks get really bad arthritis, to the point they can't walk, or open their hands. Some lose their memory function, and the ability to process thoughts. Almost like Alzheimer. There's nothing fun about lymes disease. It can be very debilitating.

If you wait to long to diagnose the problem, it can be very difficult to get rid of. The antibiotics are cheap in the early stage, and relatively easy. But the ladder stages reminded me of something close to Chemo with severe side effects, and folks getting very very sick from the chemicals.

The early stages most doctors prescribe that doxicyline (spl?). 200mg per day for 14-28 days. The 28 pills I got from Wallgreens was $3.66.

One person I was reading about, suggested we encourage our doctor to prescribe 300-600 mg per day, and for 30-60 days. He said the 200mg dosage, often doesn't get rid of the problem, and only makes it burrow deeper into our system and change into a different form. Sometimes becoming a cyst inside our body, and lying dormant for years.

More than 1 person said, if you test positive, you have it, but if you test negative YOU MAY STILL HAVE IT!!! Lymes disease doesn't always show up on the tests.

If you end up with strange symptoms 2-5 years later, don't forget that you were bit by a tick many years ago, and that the lymes disease may just now be surfacing. Frequently Doctors are unable to figure out what's wrong with you, and suggesting lymes, will often put them on the right track sooner.

I don't mean to scare anyone too much. But don't take it lightly. The best advice is find the tick quickly, and if you have any concerns, get the antibiotics.

This was the first time I had a rash from a tick bite. I went to the minute clinic on Sunday, and when I showed her the rash, she rushed me off to urgent care. The rash expanded to about 4 inches by Sunday night, but was almost unnoticeable by Monday. There was a dot in the middle where the bite was, that was at it's worst on Sat (maybe a few millimeters in diameter), and faded over the next couple days. Now I just have a little tiny mark, and the little itch left after Tuesday.

I saw a doctor on Tuesday, and the test came back negative. I'm taking the antibiotics any way. They make my stomach feel just a little funny, but that's all.

Look yourself over well, and be safe.

[PopRocks]

Yeah fellas, I shot a deer on Saturday that was still covered in ticks, spent the afternoon picking several of em off myself.