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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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just smash your watch with a hammer,
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bob
climber
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Lyme is alive and well in California. Just ask my body. I've seen them from the high sierras to the mojave desert, but not all varieties carry Lyme. One got me and that's all it took. Bummer. Nice to catch them quick, but those larval stages are oh so small. I actually caught the tick that gave me Lyme and then promply lost it. I didn't ignore the initial fever-like symptoms, I asked a Western doctor what he thought about the tick. "Did you get a bulls eye rash?" was his question.
"No," was my reply.
"No worries then." says the doc. "You have to have a rash for there to be Lyme."
Ugh, now that I've gone through the deal I know that research (limited) shows that only around 30 to 40 % of people show that symptom. So on I went. I can trust docs way too much when I want to hear a certain thing. Way ooops, but I have to say I felt confident in his medical abilities.
As it turned out, it seemed letting the Lyme sink in for a couple of years would really make the experience much more of an adventurous ride! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then comes the insurance. Its nice to not feel so preferred with "preferred health care." Western medicine (capitalism) likes to actually dose a patient enough to have the the little buggers hide in cyst form. Then, a nice time later as your body starts to feel back to normal they pop out of their little encysted, not so detectable state and come back hard hard HARD. Seems the insurance companies like to go with the two or so week dose of antibiotics that only works if the patient starts the cycle within a week or so of the infected bite. Ugh.........again!
Thanks Blue Cross Blue Shield for allowing me to spend my money on being a "preferred" patient who gets zero preferred care for the worst medical scenario of my life. YEAH!!!!! They wouldn't cover one penny of the actual protocol that, I know, saved my ass. Even if I wanted to do a year or two of an antibiotic cycle the insurance wouldn't cover it let alone that groovy Eastern medical jiberish. (which worked for me to this point) Its not the easiest rode dealing with this sh#t.
F*#k ticks. F*#k Lyme and f*#k the ...................
Whoa rant. Guess I'll just post it anyway.
Bob Jensen
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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I just bought some tick medication for my dogs, Bio Spot Defense. It was cheap. When I got home I googled it and learned that YOU SHOULD NOT USE THIS PRODUCT. It can cause serious harm to your dog. I will be returning it. I repeat, DON'T USE THIS.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Frontline (Fipronil) always works for our pets. The only problem with Fipronil is they do embed themselves but die shortly thereafter.
I'm hairy enough that I'm seriously thinking of trying it out on myself!
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Loomis
climber
Peklo Vole!
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Here's what happened the last time I was bit.
The bite area
Lyme bacteria
A month of antibiotics
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Locker the best repellent for ticks is an Avon product called "Skin So Soft".
No joke man, see if you can find some. It really works and isn't toxic to humans. philo's on to something here.
When my wife and I were sailing in the South Pacific we used Skin So Soft. We also mixed it about 50/50 with water and sprayed it on the screens of our boat.
Why the screens you ask? Because the little biting flies in the south seas islands can get right through screen mesh.
We had very little trouble with flying bugs.
I hadn't thought if it as a tick repellant. It might work very well.
philo, got any direct experience with it?
There's plenty of Lyme disease in California. We personally know two people who got it here in the Bay Area.
bob's earlier post was apoplectic. And with good reason. The US healthcare system has it's head deliberately in the sand about Lyme Disease.
Your usual General Practitioner might as well be a Quack for all most of them really know about it.
If you think you've got Lyme disease, get straight away to a good Lyme specialist. Even if you have to travel halfway across the state.
The "approved" tests and treatment for it are completely out of date and largely ineffective.
If it goes so long that you have symptoms, it is not easy at all to treat. The standard protocol is a few weeks of oral antibiotics. A very large percentage of Lyme cases recur months or years after the approved (by the insurance companies) treatment has been completed.
Followup testing by a competent lab/doctor is essential.
8 hears ago my wife had Lyme disease recur about 10 years after her treatment. She just kept feeling sicker and sicker.
She was tested for all the usual and some not so usual illnesses. Fibromyalgia, Mononucleosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis..........and several more that don't come immediately to mind. All negative. Of course her Doc began to suspect hypochondria.
After about 3 years of pain and frustration, she finally heard something on the radio and began to wonder if she'd had a relapse.
Found an up to date Lyme specialist in the South Bay. Was sent to San Francisco for the diagnostic tests.
Yup. Lyme had come back. We're both very certain she hadn't been re-infected. This kind of relapse is now a well known occurrence.
Then she went through the modern, Not Yet Approved By Many Insurance companies, treatment. Oral antibiotic cocktails for over a year with repeat testing every 6 months until she came up clean.
Then a repeat test a year later.
She's been clean for a couple of years.
The good news: modern studies have shown that you won't be infected if you can get the tick out within 24 - 36 hours of his attachment.
The tick feeds in a 3 part cycle. First, he injects an anticoagulant. Then he feeds....and feeds...and feeds. Eventually, he's had enough and regurgitates. This is what injects the spirochetes into your blood.
Oh, and many of the disease progression and symptoms of advanced Lyme disease are similar to syphilis. The spirochetes look very much alike. See the pics Loomis just posted. The difference is the screw directions are reversed.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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More on the topic.
From the introductory paragraphs in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease
Left untreated, later symptoms may involve the joints, heart, and central nervous system. In most cases, the infection and its symptoms are eliminated by antibiotics, especially if the illness is treated early.[6] Delayed or inadequate treatment can lead to the more serious symptoms, which can be disabling and difficult to treat.
Diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease is often complicated by a multifaceted appearance and nonspecific symptoms, prompting one reviewer to call Lyme the new "great imitator."[80] Lyme disease may be misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, Crohn's disease or other autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases.
Attached ticks should be removed promptly, as removal within 36 hours can reduce transmission rates
Folk remedies for tick removal tend to be ineffective, offer no advantages in preventing the transfer of disease, and may increase the risks of transmission or infection. The best method is simply to pull the tick out with tweezers as close to the skin as possible, without twisting, and avoiding crushing the body of the tick or removing the head from the tick's body.[117] The risk of infection increases with the time the tick is attached, and if a tick is attached for less than 24 hours, infection is unlikely. However, since these ticks are very small, especially in the nymph stage, prompt detection is quite difficult
The entire article is worth reading if you have a personal interest in this debilitating disease.
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Loomis
climber
Peklo Vole!
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Solution
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Ya know, I just dropped fifty bucks on frontline for my dogs on Sunday, and I find this sucker. He's obviously been feeding on Tioga for a while...
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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I did a brief hike yesterday, to a local cliff in N.H.
Pulled a minimum of 7 ticks off, ( Dog ticks). Missed one, but found it later that night. Found one more this morning, which must of been in my shoes or other clothing.
After reading this thread, I'm starting to get paranoid!
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bob
climber
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Leave it to the internet to make one paranoid! No sh#t, eh?!!! Seems a person could google "hang nail" and go away fifteen minutes later absolutely gripped they have two weeks to live. Its humorous, but frighteningly pretty much the truth.
Hurray for mass information.
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Stephanie Bergner
Trad climber
Planet Send
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May 10, 2012 - 07:17pm PT
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I just picked over 25 ticks off my dog. I almost lost my mind. Ticks make me rage so hard!
I HATE TICKS!!!
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paganmonkeyboy
climber
mars...it's near nevada...
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May 10, 2012 - 07:33pm PT
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I HATE ticks....but I loved the cartoon....
SPOON !!
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zBrown
Ice climber
Chula Vista, CA
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May 10, 2012 - 07:33pm PT
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Da Ungeziefer/Ticken Brim™®
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Stephanie Bergner
Trad climber
Planet Send
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May 10, 2012 - 07:37pm PT
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Was wird, dass sie Randvoll für meine Beine?
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zBrown
Ice climber
Chula Vista, CA
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May 10, 2012 - 08:15pm PT
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Willoughby
Social climber
Truckee, CA
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May 10, 2012 - 09:20pm PT
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Just saw Deer Tick in Reno last night. Pretty good band.
Too many to count on a recent Costa Rica trip. Dozens daily.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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May 10, 2012 - 10:12pm PT
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Tenacious little buggers, you have to love them. They'll be here long after we are gone.
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paganmonkeyboy
climber
mars...it's near nevada...
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May 10, 2012 - 10:35pm PT
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and I will still hate them ;-)
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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I walked my dog during lunch a couple of weeks ago. Mowed path, what's the worry? One hundred feet down the path I thought about ticks. I looked at my legs, at least fifteen of the bastards on my legs!
I jogged back to the jobsite and proceeded to get naked and check the insides of my clothes. Six more. Good thing I was working alone that day.
They're the one thing that truly bothers me to the point of distraction. I hate them, and hate is a strong word for me to throw out there.
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