Clothing for Ticks

[Winds]

OMO,

I've thought about that.
At this time, I think that may be overkill on a thru-hike.
(NOTE: My opinion - particularly related to me.)

I'm not sure if I'll be removing 2 a week or 2 in a six month period.
Visual OR physical symptoms are very rarely within 5-7 days of contracting.

With attention to the above strategy, I am planning on understanding the physical symptoms EARLY enough for antibiotics to help before it's far too serious of a problem.

I have lots to figure out though at this point. My plans will change in time I'm sure.

[WIAPilot]

Deep Woods Off contains 25% DEET.
Sawyer's Jungle Juice contains 98% DEET. It may kill me, but at least the insects won't.

I have long hair and it is going to be difficult to deal with ticks. As stupid as they look, I'll be using an insect shield net and hat during the worst areas.

[Winds]

Deep Woods Off contains 25% DEET.
Sawyer's Jungle Juice contains 98% DEET. It may kill me, but at least the insects won't.

I have long hair and it is going to be difficult to deal with ticks. As stupid as they look, I'll be using an insect shield net and hat during the worst areas.

We can shave your head Miss, we have the tools.

[WIAPilot]

LOL Oh God, don't even say that! I can see me now: Infested with ticks and getting a crew cut!

[Rocket Jones]

OMO,

I've thought about that.
At this time, I think that may be overkill on a thru-hike.
(NOTE: My opinion - particularly related to me.)

I'm not sure if I'll be removing 2 a week or 2 in a six month period.
Visual OR physical symptoms are very rarely within 5-7 days of contracting.

With attention to the above strategy, I am planning on understanding the physical symptoms EARLY enough for antibiotics to help before it's far too serious of a problem.

I have lots to figure out though at this point. My plans will change in time I'm sure.

In Shenandoah National Park two weeks ago between 5 of us we removed some 15 ticks - all unattached - in 3 days. The 2 dogs had over 50 between them! Most of those were caught before attaching.

We hiked along the AT, using it to complete loop hikes with the blue blazed side trails.

None of the people with permethrin treated clothes had any ticks. In fact, we 'tested' the treatment by placing a tick on a treated wool sock to see what would happen. He died. Not as quickly as I'd thought he might, but the tick was in obvious distress almost immediately.

One other benefit - I had several wasps buzzing around me at one point. They'd come in to land, then veer off at the last moment. Never had a single one touch me, and after a bit I just ignored them. One less thing to worry about!

[Busker]

Hi,
I got a tick right on the back of my neck and it was there for a few days before I realised it wasnt a spot (so very large). Anyhow, puled it off and its taken nearly a year to get it all back to normal as it left a large chunk of it in situ. However, in all that time I had no side effects and am perfectly healthy.
Also had a bad infestation of the really small ones when I was walking through forests in France maybe 10 years ago - once again no real problem.
So what I am saying is dont get to worried by it all but my all means take sensible precautions.

Enjoy - Patch

[bigcranky]

LOL Oh God, don't even say that! I can see me now: Infested with ticks and getting a crew cut!

Nah, get the crew cut before you start hiking. I've met several female thrus with very short hair, always though it looked great.

[garlic08]

I wore treated long trousers and a long sleeved ventilated shirt on my AT hike. I did not carry shorts, long underwear, rain pants, or any other shirts. Nor did I carry any sunscreen or insect repellent. I never got a single tick, few mosquito or black fly bites, no sunburn, no poison ivy. My single layer of clothing was all I needed for a comfortable UL hike. I sweated it out on a few 100 degree days, but no big deal there. Look at people who work in fields all day--they're wearing long trousers, long sleeves, and wide-brimmed hats. Shorts feel nice sometimes, but I doubt you get much extra cooling from legs exposed to sun.

[Odd Man Out]

I wore treated long trousers and a long sleeved ventilated shirt on my AT hike. I did not carry shorts, long underwear, rain pants, or any other shirts. Nor did I carry any sunscreen or insect repellent. I never got a single tick, few mosquito or black fly bites, no sunburn, no poison ivy. My single layer of clothing was all I needed for a comfortable UL hike. I sweated it out on a few 100 degree days, but no big deal there. Look at people who work in fields all day--they're wearing long trousers, long sleeves, and wide-brimmed hats. Shorts feel nice sometimes, but I doubt you get much extra cooling from legs exposed to sun.

Thanks Garlic (I think there must be a story behind that name). If your pants and shirt were your one and only base-layer, what did you layer over that for warmth on cold days? Also, it is counter intuitive but covering up is very common in desert countries where it routinely is well over 100 degrees. Perhaps that only works in dry climates, but thousands of years of tradition speaks volumes. Maybe I should wear my Telpek. I am one of the few who one one of these traditional hats from one of those very hot desert countries (Turkmenistan). Mine looks exactly like the linked photo from a Japanese museum.

http://turkmen.traveler.uz/component...34-Turkmen-hat.

http://www.k5.dion.ne.jp/~museum/hea...re/papakhi.JPG

[Snowleopard]

wind, Nice blog.
There are problems with antibiotics. Lyme is sometimes hard to diagnose and some cases will be have few symptoms till you've had it a long time. The antibiotics can have side effects. So, when you clearly have Lyme by the symptoms, take the antibiotics. If the symptoms are not clear, it's not an easy call.
Tick checks are important but hard to do when hiking solo. Also, deer tick nymphs are most infective, but are easy to miss because they are so small and you don't feel the bite.
Factoid from recent news reports: Deer tick nymphs are very sensitive to low humidity. Washing clothes won't kill tick nymphs but putting them in the dryer will. This is good news for those who carry an electric clothes dryers on their thru hikes Well, it is useful to know after a day hike.
Spraying deet? I have asthma, so I'm prejudiced, but I'd say don't use aerosol spray containers of DEET, especially on children. It's not a good idea to breathe that much of this chemical. Put it on your hands and rub over your skin.

Deep Woods Off contains 25% DEET.
Sawyer's Jungle Juice contains 98% DEET. It may kill me, but at least the insects won't.

I have long hair and it is going to be difficult to deal with ticks. As stupid as they look, I'll be using an insect shield net and hat during the worst areas.

25-35% DEET has been tested to work as well as 100%. The best stuff is a time release DEET formulation, 3M Ultrathon is one brand name; the US military uses this.

For your hair, perhaps a cape hat (with embedded permethrin) like this, or a homemade version with really light material: http://www.rei.com/product/708136/ex...hield-cape-hat I have one and it works well on mosquitoes and black flies. Usually ticks are not coming at you from above, but it can happen. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is a bit warm, especially buttoned up.

I have some railrider's pants with embedded permethrin and mesh along the sides. The mesh doesn't do much for me on hot days. For ticks I'd rather have very thin pants with no mesh. Perhaps the thinnest poly or silk long johns treated with permethrin would work -- mosquitos might bite through real thin material but crawling ticks will DIE (I hope).

[Winds]

Snowleopard, thanks, it's a work-in-progress. I haven't investigated the time released DEET yet.
You are correct on near 40% DEET effectiveness, but the studies I've seen are NOT in highly strenuous activities (such as profusely sweating on a long hike).
I will look into this more for sure.

And I ONCE pet a snow leopard. I was in my early 20's and thank God for lightening quick reflexes as I very nearly lost my hand (seriously!).

[Blissful]

wind, Nice blog.
There are problems with antibiotics. Lyme is sometimes hard to diagnose and some cases will be have few symptoms till you've had it a long time. The antibiotics can have side effects. So, when you clearly have Lyme by the symptoms, take the antibiotics.

Actually the thinking now is that if you find a deer tick on you that is engorged, you can take a one time, loading dose of Doxycycline, 200 mg immediately. On an empty stomach it can make you quite nauseous, but better that then Lyme. Don't wait for symptoms to "develop". If you remove one go to the dr and get the antibiotic. I've done it several times to safeguard myself. The antibiotic is the same one they treat acne with. Very few side effects with minimal doseages.

[Winds]

Great information Blissful, thank you.
I am adding below and more to my research.

From: American Lyme Disease Foundation
http://www.aldf.com/raad.shtml

A single preventative dose of doxycycline 200 mg. can be used within 72 hours after tick removal for patients age ≥ 8 if the attached tick is identified as an adult or nymphal Ixodes scapularis tick estimated to have been attached for at least 36 hours (on the basis of degree of engorgement with blood or certainty about the time of exposure) and if the local rate of Borrelia burgdorferi infection among ticks is at least 20 percent. If any one of these criteria is not met, then observation is recommended instead. The efficacy of this single preventative dose of doxycycline is unknown for human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) and babesiosis.

Information Regarding Single Dosage
http://www.manchesternh.gov/website/...ck%20bites.pdf

CDC Lyme Disease Home
http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/

[garlic08]

Thanks Garlic (I think there must be a story behind that name). If your pants and shirt were your one and only base-layer, what did you layer over that for warmth on cold days?

I also carried a Marmot Driclime jacket (11 oz) and a silnylon anorak (3 oz) during tick season. In the southern Appalachians, I also carried silnylon rain pants (3 oz), a polypro jersey (8 oz), and a down vest (12 oz), all sent home in mid-May. This worked well for some days with temps in the teens with blowing snow (Smokies and Mt Rogers). My excellent Marmot Helium 15F bag was a major part of my warmth strategy--I could always bail out into that if the clothing failed (or use the down vest if the bag failed, the main reason I carried the vest).

[Snowleopard]

blissful and wind, thanks for the info on single dosage doxycycline on finding an engorged deer tick. I'll speak to my primary care doctor about it -- he practiced in Lyme, CT before moving here.

[Winds]

Yeah, I'm going to stock up on Doxycycline to have for the home kit.
I'll maintain 14-28 days worth just to have on-hand.
It's easy to get, and cheap.

And no, I don't pop pills the moment I get a runny nose. Then again, I haven't had a runny nose in over 5 years now.

Not sure if most know, but reasonably stored, the shelf live on medications is at MINIMUM 10-15 years (even longer in most cases!).

[Snowleopard]

And I ONCE pet a snow leopard. I was in my early 20's and thank God for lightening quick reflexes as I very nearly lost my hand (seriously!).

If I've recently eaten my fill, you'll be safe. Offering a snicker's bar would increase your safety. --Snowleopard

[Odd Man Out]

I also carried a Marmot Driclime jacket (11 oz) and a silnylon anorak (3 oz) during tick season. In the southern Appalachians, I also carried silnylon rain pants (3 oz), a polypro jersey (8 oz), and a down vest (12 oz), all sent home in mid-May. This worked well for some days with temps in the teens with blowing snow (Smokies and Mt Rogers). My excellent Marmot Helium 15F bag was a major part of my warmth strategy--I could always bail out into that if the clothing failed (or use the down vest if the bag failed, the main reason I carried the vest).

Point well taken about the poison ivy protection too. After my last trip to North Manitou Island, I have to go to the Dr when my poison ivy reaction went nuclear. Did you consider convertible pants?

Your packing list is very similar to what I was thinking (North Face Venture Jacket, wind shirt, fleece (an old one I have in the closet), wind pants, down vest). I was thinking water resistant wind pants would be adequate over rain pants. Wasn't sure if having both a wind shirt and rain jacket is redundant, but was thinking the latter is more versatile, but doesn't replace the former . Might keep the fleece and/or vest all summer - I need a pillow. Hat and gloves too. If I don't wear my Telpek, I have this awesome hat. Can you tell I like hats?

http://www.barmahhatsusa.com/index.p...er_d&tr_id=124

[ChinMusic]

Yeah, I'm going to stock up on Doxycycline to have for the home kit.
I'll maintain 14-28 days worth just to have on-hand.
It's easy to get, and cheap.

I do NOT have a degree to advise the following:

If I even suspect Lyme, and I mean just a hint, I am taking a course of Doxy. IMO, the risk of Doxy is tiny compared to the risk of missing Lyme.

Not sure if most know, but reasonably stored, the shelf live on medications is at MINIMUM 10-15 years (even longer in most cases!).

Please do not take Doxy past it's expiration date. It is one med that can be dangerous once expired and can seriously damage your kidneys. I do have a degree to say this.........

[Winds]

Chinmusic, THAT IS FALSE - there is absolutely NO PILL medication that "becomes" dangerous after its expiration date.

Chemical properties of pill medications don't morph into something else.

A pill MAY loose it's effectiveness with age. However, CURRENT research (mass studies in time as well) show this to be LESS than 5% at 10-15 years and only for a very small number of medications. In MOST cases, medication didn't lose ANY of its effectiveness even up to 15 years.

Studies have even gone on to show that storage has little to do with most medications (such as storing them in a humid bathroom).

[Good general rule though: Keep medications away from heat, moisture, oxygen and light sources.]

Anyone can look this up themselves, studies are easy to find. I won't write a research paper here concerning.

How expiration dates became standard - the US government forced the pharmaceutical companies to answer whether or not their stock pile of drugs for the military was any good or not (in the early 1980's!). So now we have evolved into darn near every medicine on earth expires 1 year after you pick it up at the pharmacy. Lovely. Sure is nice for the drug companies if you threw out your expensive meds only to need them again 2-3 years down the road. Just go buy more!

Oh, don't expect to quiz your pharmacist about this. Beyond toeing the corporate line, most that I've spoken with simply don't know.