First tick of the year

[grannypat]

Junebugdawn, hope catching the disease early leads to a fast and easy recovery.

[Junebugdawn]

Thanks, GrannyPat. I hope so, too. Here's a pic of his ankle rash. This is the rash that the doc knew right away was from a tick bite. The other rashes he has in other places looks different from this one. He has this rash on both ankles.

[halfastronomical]

I have hundreds of ticks on me every year...I am lucky so far. I have found that eating raw garlic works better than anything. Permethrin works sometimes and gold bond menthol works a little. I am gonna have lyme disease one day. It is just a matter of time. I have came to grips with it already.

[wake.joe]

I'm not looking forward to my first tick experience.

[Unitic]

My husband began antibiotics today for Lyme Disease. He will have blood drawn in the morning to be tested. We should get the results by Wednesday. He spent some time in the woods on Monday and Tuesday. He had sprayed himself with DEET and did not find any ticks attached nor picked off any crawling ticks. Tuesday night, he became ill with severe vomiting and ended up in the ER. This was probably not related to the possible Lyme Disease, however his white cell count was up that night. In the days after, he just felt wiped out and on Friday, he began experiencing chills and rashes in various areas. Saturday morning the rashes were more prominent, but not the typical bullseye rash associated with Lyme Disease. The on-call doc called in a round of steroids and said to be at the office today. He took one look at the rashes on his ankles and said that they were the result of a tick bite. With the other symptoms and other rashes, he started him on the Lyme Disease treatment. The doc said he has already treated several others in our area for the same. I hope that catching it early will lead to a full recovery.

Hey Junebugdawn, so glad your hubby is getting help quickly. After two years battling a case of disseminated Lyme that was misdiagnosed for more than 5 months, I can attest to the importance of catching this nasty spirochete bacteria early and getting appropriate treatment. Please observe him carefully since he was given steroids...they suppress the immune system and can allow the infection to spread. The Lyme borrelia bacteria must be killed when it divides and reproduces, and it is a slow growing bacteria that reproduces on approximately a four week cycle. That's why a four week course of the most commonly prescribed antibiotic doxycycline is an absolute minimum. Like any other bacterial infection, under treatment can lead to an even more persistent infection. I'd recommend visiting Lymedisease.org and the Lyme Disease Association for accurate information on this very tricky infection. Best wishes,
Unitic

[Junebugdawn]

Thanks for the info and advice. He is on doxycycline now and will be following up with the doc once we get the blood test results back. From what I've read, the early diagnosis and treatment yields the best results of being cured. I'm sorry you have had to endure this for so long. I'm very grateful that if he indeed has it, that it was caught early.

[Junebugdawn]

I just pulled the tinniest tick off my ribs. It was so small that its body appeared transluscent. I put it in a plastic baggie. Now guess who's on edge?? Yikes! Nasty blood suckers!! My mom's guineas aren't earning their keep.

[hppyfngy]

Don't fret Junebug. Odds are very small that that tick will affect you in any way besides an itch. Just keep an eye on the spot.

[GT]

Check yourselves for ticks every day. Especially those little deer ticks. They're the ones that spread lyme disease. I take good garlic pills and apply baby oil around ankles, wrist and waist. Ticks hate baby oil.
I've had a couple crawl on me this spring but none dug in.
Iffin you do get bit by one, make sure you keep it in the freezer until your sure it didn't pass on anything to you.

[Junebugdawn]

Found out today that hubby's Lyme Disease test was negative. Guess he had an allergic reaction to a tick bite or something.