TICKS ARE HERE. YUCK!

Found first tick (deer) In Feb as Winter didn't kill...it was a baby. Bothered by a slew of them in May and then just a few in June and they were large enough to see! Yesterday found a new hatchling, smaller than poppy seeds. Have to use magnifying glass to get it in my tweesers.

New crop is here and I read somewhere that new teenies don't move very far so that one can be attacked by a 'swarm 'of them. They sure do move fast , as fast as sugar ants, before they attach. Finding a deer tick baby on a pair of chinos tucked in to socks is like finding a needle in a haystack. I also think they are samll enough to get thru the weave of my socks....

JB what test do you have done?

Sissy, what repellant do you like best? What, if you don't mind sharing, was your 'treatment' and what was difficult about it?

Thanks

Coleup,

I would assume it is the regular blood test for Lyme?? Not sure they just add it to my blood work sheet as a number and I never can tell if it is there or not until I get there and ask.

When I had it I must have caught it early because I only had to took pills. Some people I know had IV bags they had to carry with them. One of my friends went to the hospital for treatment because it was affecting his nervous system. It sure is one nasty disease. I get tested for it when I get my regular CBC to be sure since the only symptom I seem to get is fatigue. HA, I am always tired.

@coleup: Well, I am super-sensitive to smells and skin-irritation, so I mostly use the mild ones like Skintastic on my upper body and stronger DEET ones on my ankles/legs. On the other hand, I no longer do our old nightly walk around the pond where the deer congregate or wander far out into the meadow. Sad, but ...there it is.

I had one of the standard go-to antibiotics for Lyme: doxycycline. As each day passed, I was more and more nauseated. On the last day I took it, I had a really violent reaction, including a strange kind of confusion about something I had been watching on TV with my son and reality. My poor kids (22 and 19 at that point) were freaked out and called my doctor's office. The nurse wanted me to go to the emergency room, but I felt better by then and rested. When I did speak with the doctor, she said I had had enough to be ok with the Lyme and probably should stop.

One of my sister's patients in Mass got it, had a similar experience, and swore he would never go through the med again. He got it again, and foolishly kept to that oath. Now, he is crippled and his life is ruined. I say this because, however scary the medicines might be, the disease is far, far worse.

How cheery of me!

Sissy, that is scary but maybe they have something new now. Let us hope none of us need it again. Hugs to all you itchy ladies............I look at pictures of ticks and start to scratch. God I hate them with a passion and they are such tiny, ugly little buggers.