Senator Shumer was in our State Capitol today, saying the tick infestation was causing problems and he has introduced legislation to help combat it.

I told my wife he's really a good spokesperson for this .....seein' as how he's in Poly(many) ticks (blood sucking parasites).

stupid politicians, making law about ticks. stupid stupid stupid.

Well, 75% of his obamacare costs are subsidized by you and me, so he doesn't worry about Lyme disease.

RMD

Ticks, mosquitoes, and fleas are the enemies of all mankind.

They should be extirpated as we did with Smallpox.

We have the technology to do it. Simply genetically engineer a batch of males to produce only male sperm and release into the wild.

Apparently, you can get "reinfected" if you're bitten again. I know an entire family that has Lyme's and one of the children was bitten again a couple years after the first. He missed most of his school year and was sent to a specialized program in Arizona for six weeks to be treated.

Lyme disease is a serious issue. We should actually spend more money on looking at better diagnostics, and potential treatments.

quote:

Originally posted by Orguss:
Apparently, you can get "reinfected" if you're bitten again. I know an entire family that has Lyme's and one of the children was bitten again a couple years after the first. He missed most of his school year and was sent to a specialized program in Arizona for six weeks to be treated.

2 years ago , I contracted both Lyme Diesease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever at the same time.

I was treated with the correct antibiotics, but learned you will always test positive for both diseases in the future.

Which makes it hard as hell to know if you have become infected with Lyme or RMSF again. I get paranoid wben something unknown goes on wih my health nowdays, and untreated Lyme or RMSF can lead to some serious health problems.

And getting your physician to enact secondary Lyme disease treatment is an issue at times.

My cousins dog got Lyme disease and she has spent over $3000. The dog lost weight but is slowly coming around.

Ticks are also carrying a virus called Powassan. I don't think they have a cure at this time.

You best defense is a strong immune system. I have had Lyme disease at least once but have no symptoms.

The best book on Lyme is "The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments".

https://www.amazon.com/Top-Lym...tional/dp/0976379716

Lyme is a spiral bacterial that can detect the antibiotics and form a shield and go dormant. I have read that it can bore into the organs of your body.

That is probably why some people got seriously sick since they were misdiagnosed and had a weak immune system. Time is important when seeking treatment.

Yes, Lyme is a spirochete, similar to syphilis. Usually very had to stop.

LYME disease (not Lyme's) sucks ass. Got it in 1986, not diagnosed until 1992. Lived in Cape Cod at the time. Spent hours in the woods riding dirt bikes but also could have easily got it out in the back yard mowing the grass.

Still dealing with that shit and most doctors refuse to believe that you ever had it, especially if you now live in an area where it isn't prevalent. I had my titre levels checked not too long ago and they are still all off the charts. Chronic Lyme syndrome of something they call it now, because there really isn't much they can do about it. I've had numerous joint issues over the years, 2 knee surgeries, had a hip replaced and now dealing with a shoulder that just doesn't want to work right. I'm pretty sure a lot of this is due to the 6 years I was infected before it was correctly diagnosed.

I fucking hate ticks.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
stupid politicians, making law about ticks. stupid stupid stupid.

Brought to you by the same folks who banned DDT.

Growing up, I never knew anyone who had seen a tick. Now I don't like walking in the woods or fields anymore.
We need to get rid of ticks, mosquitoes, poison parsnip, Obamacare, politicians ,....

quote:

Originally posted by hjs157:

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
stupid politicians, making law about ticks. stupid stupid stupid.

Brought to you by the same folks who banned DDT.

I can't remember ever seeing a tick when I was growing up either. We roamed through the fields and woods constantly. And yes, DDT was widely used.

This book shares a disturbing look at the origins of Lyme disease, and how it spread so quickly. When Schummer says "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help", let's just say I'm not so quick to trust him.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060...?tag=fw-source-gs-20

Got bit by ticks quite a few times as a kid growing up in rural NJ. NEVER saw the red bullseye on your skin, associated with Lyme disease.

Fast forward half a Century...got bit a few yrs back helping a friend with his deer blind in Atlantic county. I saw I had been bitten and ALREADY had the red bullseye. The bullseye showed up within maybe an hour of being bitten.

Sought treatment ASAP, DID have it, still test positive for it. NO lasting bad effects I can think of.

Letting it go UNTREATED is the big one.

Can A Tick Bite Cause An Allergy to Meat?

What can you tell me about the tick bite that leads to an allergy to meat? How would you know you’ve been bitten and which kind of tick causes this?

– November 4, 2014

You’re referring to Amblyomma americanum, the so-called “lone star” tick, and the allergy that can follow its bite. The problem, a reaction to eating meat, may not occur for weeks after the bite, and the reaction itself may not occur for up to eight hours after eating meat – lag times that may obscure its connection to the bite. So far, lone star tick bites are thought to be responsible for thousands of cases of sometimes-severe allergies to meat, including beef, pork, lamb, deer and rabbit. The ticks are found in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia but are reported to have spread up the east coast to New York’s Long Island, where hundreds of allergic reactions to meat have occurred, and as far north as Maine.

The allergy is thought to develop because the tick transmits a carbohydrate called alpha-gal sugar when it bites humans. Humans don’t have this sugar, but it is found in many kinds of meat. The tick bite leads to formation of antibodies that set off an allergic reaction when meat containing the carbohydrate is next eaten. One explanation for the delay in symptoms is that alpha-gal is concentrated in animal fat, which isn’t digested for several hours.

Symptoms of meat allergy can include hives and swelling, along with vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing and a drop in blood pressure. The last two symptoms can signal anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.

This phenomenon is so new (the first cases were seen only three years ago) that we have no idea whether the allergy is permanent or will fade over time. Treatment can include an injection of epinephrine to counter anaphylaxis, as well as oral antihistamine and steroids. Once the symptoms are under control, patients may be given an epinephrine auto-injector to use should severe allergic symptoms recur.

Once it is confirmed that a tick bite led to the allergic reaction, all patients can do to prevent another episode is to avoid meat. The reaction doesn’t occur after eating chicken and other types of poultry, fish or seafood. However, I’ve read that in some cases consuming milk or ice cream can trigger symptoms. According to news reports, tick bites have been linked to meat allergies elsewhere in the world. Cases have been reported in Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Japan and Korea.

Lone star ticks typically feed on white-tailed deer and wild turkey. Their name comes from the single white spot on the backs of the females. These ticks are larger than the deer ticks associated with Lyme disease.

Your best defense against tick bites is to stay out of wooded areas they inhabit. If you can’t avoid these areas, tuck your pants into your socks, use a natural tick repellent on your skin and clothing. (A number of these products are on the market. You can also find online recipes for making your own tick repellent from essential oils, though I cannot vouch for their effectiveness.) Be sure to check yourself, your gear and your pets carefully when you get back home. To protect pets, you can try a natural product called Flea N’ Tick Begone.

To remove a tick use tweezers, grab the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull it out slowly. Pulling slowly is key; if you pull too quickly, you might remove just the body, leaving the head. If you find a large number of ticks on your pet or find them hard to remove, contact your vet immediately.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

Sources:
S.E. Wolver et al, “A peculiar cause of anaphylaxis: no more steak? The journey to discovery of a newly recognized allergy to galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose found in mammalian meat.” Journal of General Internal Medicine, February 2013. doi: 10.1007/s11606-012-2144-z.

M.S. Wuerdeman and J.M. Harrison, “A case of tick-bite-induced red meat allergy.” Military Medicine, April 2014, 179(4):e473-5. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00369.

https://www.drweil.com/health-...0Allergy%20To%20Meat

Put da lyme in de coconut...

Haven’t contracted Lyme but did get Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and that was bad enough. Man that had me sick enough. Hospitalized for a week. Drs didn’t know what I had because I didn’t get the telltale spots. Luckily the finally treated me with the correct antibiotics. I was at a State park near Ft Campbell and when I started my 5 hour drive home I started feeling like the flu was coming on really quickly, bad migraine, and my muscles got all stiff and painful. It was a long drive and I went straight to the ER. While in there, I swelled up like the Michelin tire man. Wasn’t until my family Dr did some blood tests a month or so later that it showed up in my blood that I’d had RMSF. I can’t even imagine how bad Lyme can be.