View Full Version : Did you get Lyme Disease on your THRU hike?
Please only respond if you have completed the entire trail since the Lyme is not uniformly distributed along the length of the trail.
Please only respond if you have completed the entire trail since the Lyme is not uniformly distributed along the length of the trail.
Skewed poll. Those that did not get Lyme are less likely to respond and those that did will be very responsive.
Lyme disease is some bad stuff. :(
also skewed cause people who get lyme are less likely to complete the trail
also skewed cause people who get lyme are less likely to complete the trail
Yep. You're absolutely right.
AT-HITMAN2005
01-24-2008, 16:44
i did not. best thing to do is check yourself regularly for ticks. especially in the middle states, where the greenery might encroach a little more on the trail. i know of 2 or 3 that did in '05, had to be more though.
Appalachian Tater
01-24-2008, 18:41
Plus you are only sampling people who use the internet in general and WhiteBlaze.net in particular.
I have Lyme disease from just general camping in Connecticut, but I like 10 mins from Old Lyme!
Hammock Hanger
01-24-2008, 20:51
passed out in a hostel in Woodstock, NH. Rush to hospital. DX: Lyme
Pedaling Fool
01-24-2008, 20:57
Regardless of the poll results, a lot more people will get Lyme disease, before the medical community gets a grasp on this bad-ass disease. Until then us infected people will just have to suffer. I got it somewhere in southwest Va., but didn't catch it until Vernon, NJ.
P.S. There's a lot of misinformation on the web about this disease, especially the symptoms. Most websites over simplify the disease.
jersey joe
01-24-2008, 21:05
I pulled a bunch of ticks off myself during my thru and seriously considered getting myself checked after my hike for lyme disease, but never got checked.
Appalachian Tater
01-24-2008, 22:06
Regardless of the poll results, a lot more people will get Lyme disease, before the medical community gets a grasp on this bad-ass disease. Until then us infected people will just have to suffer. I got it somewhere in southwest Va., but didn't catch it until Vernon, NJ.
P.S. There's a lot of misinformation on the web about this disease, especially the symptoms. Most websites over simplify the disease.
Your post is a good example of the misinformation you complain about in it.
Infected people don't "just have to suffer". Lyme disease is successfully treated with antibiotics.
If you "got it" in southwest Virginia, what do you mean you didn't "catch it" until New Jersey? Either you mis-posted or you are referring to the incubation period and got it very wrong.
As always, when seeking information on health-related issues, people should use reliable, scientific sources rather than listen to anecdotal blather.
handlebar
01-24-2008, 23:47
The primary symptom doctors recognize is the "bullseye" rash which shows up in most, but not all cases. "Most" is about 80% of cases. Others present with symptoms not unlike the flu.
It hit me on the climb out of Lehigh Gap. Yes it was hot and humid that day, but it was the day before when I did a 20 into the "Jailhouse" in Palmerton. By noon the next day, I felt like I'd really hit a wall. I took a nap after lunch, only did 10 miles for the whole day, pulled off the trail at 4pm, and could hardly eat. That last one---no appetite---was a sure sign something was wrong!
I sucked it up for two more days until I reached DWG, but was having some intestinal issues---again flulike symptoms, but no rash of any kind. At DWG I was scheduled to go home for a wedding (I live at just into OH on the other end of I-80). Still was dragging a$$ on Sunday after the wedding (no, I didn't have a hangover), so I camped out on my doc's doorstep and told him I thought I had Lyme. He talked thru the symptoms and asked if I'd had tickbites. I did have two somewhere in N. Va. or Maryland, but didn't have a rash. He was skeptical, but he took a blood sample for analysis anyway and prescribed 20 days of Doxycycline and said he'd leave me a cell phone message on the test results. They came back positive for Lyme, but as I caught it early, I was feeling much better after only a few days on the antibiotic.
Can't say the same for Teddy of the Ewoks who was in agony at Upper Goose Pond in MA. Her friends had taken her to the ER via a long hitch/taxi ride and she was seen by a physician's assistant who ignored her symptoms since she "didn't have a rash". Well she had both the characteristic rash and a high fever by that same evening and had to be evacuated by canoe and ambulance. Turns out she did have Lyme. To make a long story short she fell behind her friends and was despirited and finally got off the trail.
So, yes, the survey will be skewed if only those who complete the trail are included. Turns out Teddy was also screwed as the p.a.'s blunders wound up being at least part of the reason she abandoned her hike.
If you think you've got Lyme be firm with whatever doctor you see. Make sure the doc knows you've been on the trail for months. Docs try to limit use of antibiotics unless absolutely indicated. On the other hand, failure to treat Lyme in the early phase can lead to major problems later, while the antibiotic is cheap ($15 for 20 day supply) and effective if applied early. It's a nasty disease.
Pedaling Fool
01-25-2008, 00:57
Your post is a good example of the misinformation you complain about in it.
Infected people don't "just have to suffer". Lyme disease is successfully treated with antibiotics.
If you "got it" in southwest Virginia, what do you mean you didn't "catch it" until New Jersey? Either you mis-posted or you are referring to the incubation period and got it very wrong.
As always, when seeking information on health-related issues, people should use reliable, scientific sources rather than listen to anecdotal blather.
Anecdotal blather? There’s nothing in my above statement to even approach the level of anecdotal. It’s just a simple, albeit a little emotional, statement. The fact that many websites and some in the medical community instruct people, upon removing a tick, to look for a "bullseye" and seek medical attention if present and if not present disregard tick bite, is completely false. And people will suffer for that.
As for the statement "just have to suffer", well that’s just a fact of life. How many people suffered from malaria before the scientific/medical community all but eradicated that parasite in the U.S. So until we get a grasp on this Lyme disease there will be many more stories such as Handlebar’s (above). However, I'll admit treatment is good if caught early, but there are too many stories, such as Handlebar's, that delay that treatment.
As for the other stuff you mentioned, I’m just too tired to talk anymore now, maybe tomorrow.
EarlyBird2007
05-09-2008, 20:51
USE PERMETHRIN SPRAY ON YOUR CLOTHES. I used it the whole way during my 2007 thru, and had no problems with ticks. One caution - be sure to follow the directions completely, since it is powerful stuff.
WalkingStick75
05-09-2008, 23:32
Well I answered anyways even though I section hiked but completed last year.
I did get a suspected rash a few years ago but went to the doctor, he said it could be and put me on antibiotics. No problems to date.
While not a thru-hiker, I did contract Lymes here in this county after being tick bitten on a K-9 Search and Rescue exercise in 2000. I just started a thread cautioning hikers coming thru Rockbridge Co., after my vet's warning that positive Lymes tests are greatly on the rise this season, as is the number of ticks.
Frau
Please only respond if you have completed the entire trail since the Lyme is not uniformly distributed along the length of the trail.
The distribution has also changed over time. While it might be of some value to know I didn't pick up Lyme disease in 1980, it wouldn't be of much use in assessing what might happen this year or next year. Obviously, I didn't vote.
minnesotasmith
05-10-2008, 11:21
Apparently contracted it in PA, got hit full-bore with symptoms in NJ. Almost knocked me off the Trail. Read up on it ASAP, and found that the usual length of time on antibiotics (14-28 days) didn't always knock it out, so arranged for 6 weeks on it. Also spent 3 days (as opposed to the week-plus the doc wanted) resting and force-feeding high-nutrition food. Completed my hike.
dessertrat
05-10-2008, 11:46
Does anyone know if it is safe and effective for a person to wear a dog or cat's flea and tick collar around one or both ankles?
sofaking
05-10-2008, 11:49
wearing an invisible fence electronic shock collar works on my kids...haven't tried the flea/tick collars on 'em yet, thanks for the idea!
ofthearth
05-10-2008, 12:38
Please only respond if you have completed the entire trail since the Lyme is not uniformly distributed along the length of the trail.
Still trying to figure out how completion of the trail, Lymes and uniform distribution are related.
notorius tic
05-10-2008, 12:46
I did thats why im the NOTORIUS TIC..Got Lyme an Giariddia sp sry, Outside of Hot Springs while camping up above the Damn Pond before the cleachey road.. Stunk new I had the G but diddnent relize I had caught Lyme until Darn near Damascus.. Crazyyy
notorius tic
05-10-2008, 12:55
To respond to the flea an Tick collar issue I had my dad send a Cattle as in Cow tag that i cut up from there out if cut into dime size chunks nouthing will come near you. People yes but bugs NOPE..
saimyoji
05-10-2008, 18:34
Does anyone know if it is safe and effective for a person to wear a dog or cat's flea and tick collar around one or both ankles?
Definitely don't wear it against your skin. Otherwise they should be effective.
Does anyone know if it is safe and effective for a person to wear a dog or cat's flea and tick collar around one or both ankles?
Had a vet advise against it. Few years back. Read the label for active ingredients, then Google. Yikes.
I'd throw a pinch of 5% Sevin at my socks first, and that is not a really good thing to do. (Does work on South Carolina ticks!)