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Thread: Ticks

  1. #1

    :banana Ticks

    According to local tick prevention agencies, (Yes there is such a thing.) S.C. PA Ticks are expected to be as bad or worse than other years due to a mild Winter. Be careful out there.

  2. #2
    Registered User Hikes in Rain's Avatar
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    Great. I hate ticks!

  3. #3

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    They were out in force at Martin Hill Wild Area in Bedford Co a weekend ago. Found a few on me and removed them, but must have missed one and had to go to the ER to get an engorged one removed from my, uhh, "mid-region" this weekend.
    --
    EJS
    (Ed. S)

  4. #4
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    Hey Hikers!

    The CDC has a Tick Page:
    https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html

    The NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has a Lyme Disease Page:
    https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-c...g-lyme-disease

    NIAID Published this, which I featured, with a bunch more information:
    2018 Tick Alert, FYI: Tick Infections Rising
    https://tahoetowhitney.org/content/2...ty-information


    I just posted this rather grim assessment of tick conditions in NY, Staten Island today, and it appears that this is just the most obvious expression of a more widespread breakout of Asian Longhorned Ticks on the East Coast, and Dog & DeerTicks across the nation.
    asian-longhorned-tick.jpg

    https://tahoetowhitney.org/content/a...-rapidly-in-ny

    From the research above:

    Asian Longhorned Ticks,
    "...had been identified in the months prior to the Staten Island sighting in New Jersey, West Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas and just a few weeks earlier in Westchester County.”

    So yeah, it looks like you East Coast hikers (I'm a Californian) are going to have to really step-up the tick defences for these suckers...

    The last time a tick got through my defenses (Lost Coast, Ca Coast) I cut the buried-engorged sucker out of the back of my thigh myself. It was ugly. I really do hate those little buggers... Ticks, along with skeeters, and golden biting flies all raise my neck hair a bit.

    I've got a buch of current, recent news, & research on ticks here, using my site's search function:

    https://tahoetowhitney.org/search/node/ticks

    ...but ticks really are an impressive display of Nature's diversity, drawing out my respect as well as my ire, expressed in,

    The Ancient, Mighty Tick

    https://tahoetowhitney.org/content/ancient-mighty-tick

    Happy Trails!

    Al

  5. #5
    Registered User IslandPete's Avatar
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    Permethrin. Don’t leave home without it...

  6. #6
    Registered User JPritch's Avatar
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    Ugh. I'm going to do Permethrin, picaridin/deet, and daily tick checks. I reached out to my wellness clinic here at work and was denied a prophylactic doxycycline prescription. I'm gonna have to keep shopping around. Anybody here successful at getting a prescription? Any tips to improve my chances, or is it just luck of the draw?
    It is what it is.

  7. #7

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    I would recommend you see a primary care provider. You usually get one wellness/preventative visit covered at 100% with most insurance plans. Discuss your situation during that visit. Most likely the provider will write the script.

  8. #8
    Registered User JPritch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by trailmercury View Post
    I would recommend you see a primary care provider. You usually get one wellness/preventative visit covered at 100% with most insurance plans. Discuss your situation during that visit. Most likely the provider will write the script.
    I'll give it a shot...thank you!
    It is what it is.

  9. #9
    Super Moderator Marta's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JPritch View Post
    Ugh. I'm going to do Permethrin, picaridin/deet, and daily tick checks. I reached out to my wellness clinic here at work and was denied a prophylactic doxycycline prescription. I'm gonna have to keep shopping around. Anybody here successful at getting a prescription? Any tips to improve my chances, or is it just luck of the draw?
    Some doctors are jerks about it. A couple of years ago when I was in Maine I pulled an engorged deer tick off the back of my knee one morning. It took me an entire day of badgering my mother in law's physician, including three visits to the office to make personal pleas, for the doctor to agree to see me. She and her staff were all adamant that being attached overnight was not long enough for me to become infected. When I finally got in to see her, and showed her the tick, she agreed that it was the right type of tick, and that it was engorged. She grudgingly wrote me a prescription.

    What really gripes me is that teenagers get prescriptions to take doxy for years on end, but for Lyme prevention, some doctors act like you're going to single-handedly release the Andromeda strain by taking prophylactic doxy.
    My daughter is battling Lyme, which wasn't diagnosed for almost 25 years. It is awful. Just today I sent off my hiking clothing for commercial permethrin treatment.
    If not NOW, then WHEN?

    ME>GA 2006
    http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=3277

    Instagram hiking photos: five.leafed.clover

  10. #10

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    Some doctors will not prescribe medications to patients they have not examined or do not show any symptoms. Some will. Find one who will prescribe antibiotics as a prophylactic and you are all set. Clinics may be the best bet for this, given the likely higher traffic of tick/insect bites that they see as opposed to a family physician practice.

    Speaking with my physician about this, there are a few concerns in doing this, one of them being if the drug is offered to a third party and bad reaction to the drug occurs, it can spark a legal issue that even if won, could threaten a license. Given the number of years and cost associated with a medical license, I can't say I blame them given the litigious nature of society today.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Traveler View Post
    Some doctors will not prescribe medications to patients they have not examined or do not show any symptoms. Some will. Find one who will prescribe antibiotics as a prophylactic and you are all set. Clinics may be the best bet for this, given the likely higher traffic of tick/insect bites that they see as opposed to a family physician practice.

    Speaking with my physician about this, there are a few concerns in doing this, one of them being if the drug is offered to a third party and bad reaction to the drug occurs, it can spark a legal issue that even if won, could threaten a license. Given the number of years and cost associated with a medical license, I can't say I blame them given the litigious nature of society today.
    No problem buying antibiotics mail order . Online clinics will provide prescription as well.

    Legal? Depends. Its illegal to import drugs exported for sale. Not likely to get in trouble though regardless.

    My health plan has a Call-a-dr service now where for $40, instead of $180 dr visit, you can talk to dr on phone and get prescription for common things.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 04-03-2019 at 09:03.

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    There is no justification to prescribe antibiotics without being bitten. If you are bitten by a tick, a single dose may be prescribed prophylactically but, as far as i know, this is controversial.
    Last edited by stephanD; 04-03-2019 at 13:50.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Traveler View Post
    Some doctors will not prescribe medications to patients they have not examined or do not show any symptoms. Some will. Find one who will prescribe antibiotics as a prophylactic and you are all set. Clinics may be the best bet for this, given the likely higher traffic of tick/insect bites that they see as opposed to a family physician practice.

    Speaking with my physician about this, there are a few concerns in doing this, one of them being if the drug is offered to a third party and bad reaction to the drug occurs, it can spark a legal issue that even if won, could threaten a license. Given the number of years and cost associated with a medical license, I can't say I blame them given the litigious nature of society today.
    Two points:
    1. It is illegal to give another person your prescription medicine.
    2. A doctor needs to establish a doctor-patient relationship with you before the doctor can prescribe you medicine.
    If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by stephanD View Post
    There is no justification to prescribed antibiotics without being bitten. If you are bitten by a tick, a single dose may be prescribed prophylactically but, as far as i know, this is controversial.
    I'm a physician (M.D.) in a very large health care organization. I work at a primary care clinic, not an urgent care facility. I am nothing special, just an average Joe Family Practitioner.
    Medication is occasionally prescribed for "what if's". The physician is responsible for educating the patient on how/why/when to use the medication.
    Examples include:
    Epinephine for anaphylactic reaction
    Antibiotics to take along abroad in case one gets traveler's diarrhea.
    Diamox for short term high altitude exposure.
    as needed medication for panic attacks or airline travel etc.
    doxycycline for ixodes tick bites.

    If I am the prescriber, but not confident the patient understands when to use an "as needed" medication, they don't get the script. Other health care providers in my field and geographic area practice similarly.

    I would recommend folks just need to keep searching for a health care provider they can trust and who is willing to offer these types of therapies. It is not uncommon, At least in my "neck of the woods"

    Response to Traveler about diverting medication: The prescriber is rarely if ever liable if the person they prescribed a drug for gives/sells to someone else. (unless they are practicing outside their scope). Diversion of medication happens commonly unfortunately, especially with controlled substances. There are ways to minimize the potential for diversion, and we are working hard in this area as well.

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by TexasBob View Post
    Two points:
    1. It is illegal to give another person your prescription medicine.
    2. A doctor needs to establish a doctor-patient relationship with you before the doctor can prescribe you medicine.
    This is correct

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    Here is something to consider if you plan to carry doxycycline on your hike. Medications like doxycycline as supposed to be stored at "controlled room temperature" which is defined as 59 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Storage outside those temperatures can adversely affect the medication. A short section hike might not be too much of a problem but if you start at Springer by the time you reach Northern Virginia and further north where Lyme disease becomes much more likely to be a problem, is your doxycycline still effective? It will have been through freezing nights and boiling hot days. You may just be giving yourself a false sense of security when you take it and not really treating the problem.
    If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

  17. #17
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    I'm not a doctor, just a simple nurse, but if it is established that the person was bitten, they should not have hard time to get a prescription for antibiotics (see post # 9) unless, of course, there's a contraindication (i.e. allergic reaction, kidney issues, etc.). Let's keep in mind that (A) I don't have the statistics in mind right now, but in about one third to a half of all tick bites there's no rash at all. (B) it may take a few weeks until antibodies are detectable in the blood test. Of course, it is best to be treated by your own doctor (assuming you have health insurance, but this is a whole different issue), but if you are hundreds of miles from home, this is not really an option.

  18. #18
    ME => GA 19AT3 rickb's Avatar
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    I don’t get many ticks, on Monday morning I found one on the tip of my penis.

    This product worked very well to remove the tick in its entirety:

    https://www.amazon.com/Tick-Twister-...37900540&psc=1

    And even though the situation probably didn’t require it, when I called and left details for my doctor, his office called back to let me know a prescription for a single dose of antibiotics had been called into my pharmacy because on a risk/reward basis it probably made sense, together with a cite to the specific study he had used to support that conclusion.

    I appreciated that.

    Too bad I didn’t get to speak with him personally, I was ready with a rather droll summary of my situation.

  19. #19

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    I'm no doctor, but if you really want a supply of doxycyline and you don't want to mess with a script, you can order Fish Doxy off the internet The "experts" will wring their hands and tell you you're taking your life into your own hands by taking unregulated meds but my best friend is a research pharmacist and tells me they are the same pills with the same markings, just without the 400% markup. Do your own research and all that, I wouldn't believe somebody's best friend that said something on the internet either, but I'm just throwing it out there as an option. Personally, I'm not big on the "pre-emptive" antibiotic plan, but to each his (or her) own.

  20. #20
    13-45 Section Hiker Trash
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    Quote Originally Posted by stephanD View Post
    There is no justification to prescribe antibiotics without being bitten. If you are bitten by a tick, a single dose may be prescribed prophylactically but, as far as i know, this is controversial.
    ^This.

    I'm surprised when this subject matter comes up and people get on here and say that they get Doxycycline to carry along with them in case they are bitten. I've done a lot of reading up on this subject, and Lyme as well as long term complications from Lyme are not yet fully understood by the medical community. The "one dose" thing also appears to be controversial as mentioned in the post above. There have been some reports that this allegedly "cures" someone who has been bitten, but this can not be easily proven. The one dose has to be taken within a short window of time after being bitten, but Lyme is not detectible until 2 - 4 weeks after someone has been bitten. So this one dose "silver bullet" tactic definitely does not have any scientific proof to back up that it actually works. In addition antibiotics have anti-inflammatory properties, and it has been found from some studies that this could actually mask the symptoms if one is infected thus leading to one not seeking medical help and missing out on early detection/treatment.

    I'm not a doctor, and I encourage anyone who is curious to do their own research. I just think throwing out that we should all be carrying antibiotics and popping them "just in case" is not the solution until the medical community has data to back up that this actually works.

    That's just my 2 cents.
    Last edited by Berserker; 04-05-2019 at 09:36.
    AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
    JMT: 2013

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