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  1. #1
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    Default How Big of an Issue is Lyme Disease Today on the AT

    I'm curious to know how bad Lyme Disease is on the AT. I hiked in 2001 and of the ticks I saw only a few were Deer Ticks. Since then my parents who live in Mass (between Providence and Boston, understandably not near the trail) say there is almost no Dog Ticks and they only see Deer Ticks.
    What has it been for you thru-hikers of late? Is it a major concern or blown out of proportion by the media (i.e.. Starbuck Cups).
    Scatman
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  2. #2
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    It is a concern from VA north for the typical NOBO.
    I picked it up in MA. I remember several other people who got it too in 2011 when I thrued.
    "Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011

  3. #3

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    It is a very "big deal" if you get it.

  4. #4
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    its a mostly curable not fatal disease that, lets be for real, is actually very rare. i think the last time i looked at the numbers a bad year was 50K cases. out of how many millions that live in the region where it is "common"?

    that said, you dont "see" the ticks that would cause it because, well, because you mostly cant or barely can see deer ticks. all due respect to your parents, i have to wonder if what theyre really seeing are deer ticks.

  5. #5

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    I have seen deer ticks.

    When deer ticks are gorged, they can be quite big enough to see easily.

  6. #6
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    The long term consequences of untreated Lyme are pretty nasty.

  7. #7
    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15 scatman's Avatar
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    My concern is if I ever go back and hike the AT again I will go solo and ultralight. That said I will most likely be alone, which means no one to help spot the little buggers. The first time I hiked in 2001 I was in a group and we checked each others backs (the rest of the hard to see places were up to you, ha!)
    I really don't want to get sick.
    Scatman
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    AT 01, LT 03, PCT 07, CDT 15
    Tour Divide, CTR, AZTR '17

  8. #8
    Registered User Sandy of PA's Avatar
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    Having already contracted Lyme in my own front yard(PA), I take all precautions while hiking. I wear long pants treated by Insect Shield. I use Sawyer home treatment on all outerwear that is not Insect Shield. I treat my pack, shoes, and the screen on my tent. I have yet to see a tick on me while hiking while my companions have removed as many as 50 in one day.

  9. #9
    Registered User just dad's Avatar
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    I second Sandy's use of long pants. I am one of the few who wear long pants and long sleeves, I treat my clothes with Sawyer permethrin, and I tuck my pants into my socks. I have never found a tick on me since following these precautions.

  10. #10

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    I purchase long pants for bicycling, that have zipper closures at the ankles.

    I also wear elastic gaiters. I use mesh hiking shoes and coolmax quarter-length socks to keep my feet cool while wearing the gaiters.

    I do not use chemical deterrants. I have a bad reaction to the chemicals.

    I admit I avoid places where ticks are prevalent, in the season ticks are prevalent.

    In Montana, the tick-carried disease Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is usually fatal.

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    Quote Originally Posted by squeezebox View Post
    The long term consequences of untreated Lyme are pretty nasty.
    not sure whether you're referring to untreated acute lyme or whats commonly known as "chronic" lyme disease.

    as for size. an adult female is less than 1/4" in size. and its common thinking that lyme disease is typically spread by the much smaller larval ticks.

    i hike in shorts and short sleeves and walk through tall grasses without batting an eye. percentage wise, to me, its just not even close to worth worrying about.

  12. #12
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    took me minute to find, but-

    http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/

  13. #13
    Registered User canoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Connie View Post
    I purchase long pants for bicycling, that have zipper closures at the ankles.

    I also wear elastic gaiters. I use mesh hiking shoes and coolmax quarter-length socks to keep my feet cool while wearing the gaiters.

    I do not use chemical deterrants. I have a bad reaction to the chemicals.

    I admit I avoid places where ticks are prevalent, in the season ticks are prevalent.

    In Montana, the tick-carried disease Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is usually fatal.
    Of the 7,738 cases of RMSF reported to CDC for 1999–2007 through CRFs, 40 case-patients (0.5%) who died were reported. Most fatal case-patients were of white race, non-Hispanic ethnicity, and male sex (Table 2). The reported median age among patients who died was 45.5 years (range = 1–82 years) with a bimodal age distribution among younger children and older adults (Table 2). Almost half of the patients with fatal cases died during the summer months (Table 2). Most persons with fatal cases were reported to live in the South

    usually fatal?????

  14. #14
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    According to the CDC, there were 33,451 confirmed and probable Lyme cases in 2014. www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/chartstables/reportedcases_statelocality.html.

    For perspective, that is a little more than the NHTSA's estimated number (32,000 plus change) of highway fatalities in 2014.

    Of course, it depends where you are. California had 73 cases. Connecticut had 2360.

    Hike your own hike, but as for me, it's Insect Shield from hat to long-sleeve shirt to long pants to socks.

  15. #15
    Registered User canoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    its a mostly curable not fatal disease that, lets be for real, is actually very rare. i think the last time i looked at the numbers a bad year was 50K cases. out of how many millions that live in the region where it is "common"?

    that said, you dont "see" the ticks that would cause it because, well, because you mostly cant or barely can see deer ticks. all due respect to your parents, i have to wonder if what theyre really seeing are deer ticks.
    Are you saying death is very rare or that lyme disease is very rare. OP if you get the impression that lyme is very rare then you have the wrong impression. Just read the many articles post on this site. And you will see how unrare it is.

  16. #16

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    Maybe there is treatment, during the years of that "study" or did it attribute death to a "complication"?

    When I lived in Missoula, MT I was warned to stay out of the Bitteroot Mountains due to ticks infested with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

    Our family hiking, camping and fishing was elsewhere.

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    Quote Originally Posted by canoe View Post
    Are you saying death is very rare or that lyme disease is very rare. OP if you get the impression that lyme is very rare then you have the wrong impression. Just read the many articles post on this site. And you will see how unrare it is.

    its not an impression, its an objective analysis of undeniable fact. 50K cases a year out of a population of several million people is not rare?

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Midwest Mike View Post
    According to the CDC, there were 33,451 confirmed and probable Lyme cases in 2014. www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/chartstables/reportedcases_statelocality.html.

    For perspective, that is a little more than the NHTSA's estimated number (32,000 plus change) of highway fatalities in 2014.

    Of course, it depends where you are. California had 73 cases. Connecticut had 2360.

    Hike your own hike, but as for me, it's Insect Shield from hat to long-sleeve shirt to long pants to socks.
    so you read 32,000 cases as cause for alarm?

  19. #19
    Wanna-be hiker trash
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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    its a mostly curable not fatal disease that, lets be for real, is actually very rare. i think the last time i looked at the numbers a bad year was 50K cases. out of how many millions that live in the region where it is "common"?

    that said, you dont "see" the ticks that would cause it because, well, because you mostly cant or barely can see deer ticks. all due respect to your parents, i have to wonder if what theyre really seeing are deer ticks.
    Huh?

    Having been diagnosed with active Lyme via blood test more than once, yes, it is a big deal.

    You may also want to double check your tick identification, deer ticks are quite easy to see if you look carefully. They do go through a nymph stage that are very small and can be more easily missed, but most of the ones I'vw been bitten by are between the size of a poppe seed and a sesame seed, which are easy enough to spot (or to miss) depending on how carefully you look for them.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sarcasm the elf View Post
    Huh?

    Having been diagnosed with active Lyme via blood test more than once, yes, it is a big deal.

    You may also want to double check your tick identification, deer ticks are quite easy to see if you look carefully. They do go through a nymph stage that are very small and can be more easily missed, but most of the ones I'vw been bitten by are between the size of a poppe seed and a sesame seed, which are easy enough to spot (or to miss) depending on how carefully you look for them.
    you live in a state of over 3 million people where in 2014, 2360 of those people had confirmed or probable cases of lyme. lets see, thats .78% of the population who contracted an easily curable deive. sorry, i have much better things to worry about than that. good for any of you who's life is so devoid of any real concern that that is what you worry about.

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