Lyme disease Myths - Busted

[Unitic]

First full day of spring...and ticks are getting more active by the day! Here's a video with some vital info to help keep you and your loved ones safe as you enjoy the great outdoors (and/or as your pets bring home some hitchhikers!). Here's a video I recorded during my 2013 SOBO when I was in Shenandoah National Park in October. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkFjrmfoG0A PS - Hope you'll follow Sunsplash as she raises Lyme disease awareness during her 2014 NOBO...she started yesterday. Go Jami! http://sunsplashadventures.wordpress.com/?ref=spelling

[rickb]

I understand what you are saying-- that the CDC and other authorities are wrong when they say:

"In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36-48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted."

But I didn't really get how that "myth" is busted from anything your 10 minute video. Not a challenging you so much as giving feedback.

[Unitic]

I understand what you are saying-- that the CDC and other authorities are wrong when they say:

"In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36-48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted."

But I didn't really get how that "myth" is busted from anything your 10 minute video. Not a challenging you so much as giving feedback.

The point I made in the video (or tried to) is that commonly distributed "fact" is not based on any scientific studies. It is based on an ASSUMPTION that the bacteria only resides in the gut of the tick and will not transmitted until the concluding stage of the feeding cycle. Recent studies show the bacteria also resides in the mouthparts of the tick. Thanks for the feedback...helps me improve my communications. Happy Trails!

[tsgosnell]

Prudent to check yourself often

[perrymk]

I printed out one of these and laminated it.

http://www.ticktexas.org/tx_tick.pdf

[Pedaling Fool]

Myths pesist for a very long time, mostly because people only go off word-of-mouth for their information or read very questionable sources. And science itself is responsible for creating myths based on bonifide research, that are proven wrong later on, but because people use word-of-mouth instead of the latest info they fall victim. I imagine Lyme disease still has a lot of myths to be born before we get a handle on this.

BTW, Sharks do get cancer.

[HikerMom58]

It's looking good for the hiker in VA that found a tick on her already this year! She did the right thing by getting it checked out right away. The doc. cleaned out the bite site.. If she doesn't start feeling bad & doesn't see a rash, in the next few days, she's good to go.

[Hot Flash]

And science itself is responsible for creating myths based on bonifide research, that are proven wrong later on,

BTW, Sharks do get cancer.

Examples, please.

[RED-DOG]

yes it's very important to do daily body checks.
But i got a question, How did your hunt for an inexpensive motel in Wynesboro go?
When i went thru waynesboro in 2012 i paid 75 dollars a night for a motel, in 06 i stayed at the Ymca and paid nothing.

[imscotty]

Examples, please.

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/co...4/23/8485.long

[Pedaling Fool]

Originally Posted by Pedaling Fool
And science itself is responsible for creating myths based on bonifide research, that are proven wrong later on,

BTW, Sharks do get cancer.




Examples, please.

Example of what? WRT sharks, imscotty provided a link, but here's another one http://scienceblogs.com/observations...cience-sharks/


WRT science-created myths, maybe I should have put bonafide in "" marks. But, regardless here is one on Red Wine http://www.cbsnews.com/news/red-wine...ke-data-uconn/ However, people still think red wine is crucial in fighting heart disease.


Then there are tons of "scientific research" showing how GMO's cause cancer or other disastorous effects. The there are tons of research in a topic I'm not allowed to mention on this website...so I'll just leave it at that; suffice it to say I'm not planning on moving to antarctica anytime soon

[Kerosene]

The scientific world is full of stops and starts and pendulum swings in findings. Some of the interim findings strike a chord and become gospel, just as non-scientific opinion does at times. It's impossible to keep fully up-to-date, especially when no one understands everything about many of these topics. Fortunately, scientific findings tend to be self-correcting and built on more of a foundation than opiniated rhetoric. That doesn't, however, mean that it's always entirely correct.

[q-tip]

Saw this Tick remover, just passing it along..

http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick

[HikerMom58]

Saw this Tick remover, just passing it along..

http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick

Looks like a winner!! Thanks q-tip!

[Sarcasm the elf]

Saw this Tick remover, just passing it along..

http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick

Between myself, my dogs and my horses I've pulled literally thousands if ticks in my lifetime. The otom twister is hands down the best method i have found to reliably remove them intact (without breaking off part if the tick snd leaving it imbedded.) personally i prefer the smallest twister they make since it works well on the gery small deer ticks. Only downside is it is easy to loose, so I usually put a small streamer of duct tape on the handle so it's easier to find.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0037D...&pi=SY200_QL40

I have no affilitation with the company, i just think they make an awesome product.

[Pedaling Fool]

More stories that illustrate why there are so many myths --- because there is so little officially known. Interesting case of someone that got infected by a Spanish/European strain of the bacteria https://gma.yahoo.com/man-ravaging-l...ws-health.html

There are a lot of interesting links in that article, here is just one (titled: the Lyme wars) and it shows that some believe there is no cure as of today, even early treatment is just a way to curve the symptoms temporarily http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...urrentPage=all

[lemon b]

I believe the science of lyme and its treatment is just in the early stages. Back in the 80's a well respected Doctor told me it was so rare that being concernrd about it was a needless worry. I see lyme has being much like HCV. One time I got a call from a doctor telling me I had the antbodies. The call alone caused a lot of fear for myself mainly due to the fact I could have transmitted it to my family members. After testing over a year long time period a gastrointoligist told me my body had cleared the infection on its own. Told me they really did not know what percent of those with the antibodies clear it with their own immune system. Also told me the science end had identified many different strains.

Lyme has had to have been around for many years. Science is just now getting the ball rolling. So I went from a twenty something year old who felt based on my visit with one doctor to pretty much put it in the hype class. Bunch of worry over nothing. Today my views have changed. Too many factors can be going on. It may lay dorment forever, it may make one sick in a few weeks. Heck alot of people in our community maybe carriers and not even know it and there may not even be a test in place to inform. These days I play it semisafe. My current hiking partner Smili and I do complete body inspections every day. This is something I now take real serious because I've seen some pre teens become very ill. The good news is that science and the good old regular MD are more on the same page.

Also, I do remember a vet suggesting my farm dogs get vaccinated many years ago. I declined because the only info I had was from the first doctors information at one given point in time. That said I still think mice spread more danger on the trail than anything else. Including the fact they are often the host of a deer tick.

Prevention thru deet and daily inspection seem are about all we can do today. We may actually be dealing with more that one lyme also.... and I'm sure that speople were dying form lyme before we were even born.

[rocketsocks]

Put full length mirror in each shelter.

[shelb]

Frequent checks and proper removal are SO important!!! We didn't check our dog after we did a day hike a few years ago. After a week had passed, one of our sons found a "bubble" in his fur and pulled on it. It was an engorged tick that had burrowed into his skin. My son pulled the body off, but the head was still inside the dog. We had to take it to the vet, and the tick was so embedded, she had to lance the dog's skin because her tweezers and plyers would not pull the tick out.

Luckily, he has recovered well.
Check, check , check!!!