7 Ways To Prevent Lyme Disease This Summer

[Trellie]

Hi guys, the title of this thread is quite self explanatory But it's more than just one of those articles with a wimpy list of things to avoid! This article mentions some really interesting bits of info you might really find useful.

Here is a piece:

If there's anything we've learned from Avril Lavigne's openness about her battle with Lyme disease, it's that ticks are not our friend. But there are other lessons to be learned as well: that Lyme disease doesn't have to get serious if it's diagnosed early and properly (which, as we'll discover, is harder than it seems), that there are steps you can take to prevent Lyme disease in the first place, and that insecticides and tweezers are important to carry if you're contemplating camping somewhere risky.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by the bites of ticks, which latch onto humans to feed on blood. The nasty little vampires can be dealt with properly, but you need the know-how. If you're planning on going out for some summer fun in an area known for its tick population, though, I'm here to tell you that you need to leave your short-shorts at home and replace them with long socks. Hey, looking un-glam is much better than suffering through courses of antibiotics.

If you want to read the full article, then copy and paste the title of this thread.

 

[lymegreen]

It makes me happy that it seems like slowly we are making progress with raising the awareness of this disease. I do think it helps having high profile celebrities speak openly about their battles with it - it really does shine a spotlight on it and hopefully makes people sit up and take more notice.

 

[Trellie]

Yes, same here. Actually my mom is a bit worried about Lyme lately, because she has been feeling so fatigued and in a lot pain. It seems not even her pain meds are helping her anymore now It's disturbing and worrisome! Sadly not many doctors seem to have a clue...

 

[lymegreen]

Yes, same here. Actually my mom is a bit worried about Lyme lately, because she has been feeling so fatigued and in a lot pain. It seems not even her pain meds are helping her anymore now It's disturbing and worrisome! Sadly not many doctors seem to have a clue...

Well, I have heard that a lot of the time there is a family connection with Lyme Disease - because families are often living in the same area doing the same activities, if one person gets bitten by a tick it's very possible someone else in the family might. I think the main example of that is Bella and Anwar Hadid and their mom Yolanda - all three of them have Lyme. I sure hope your mom doesn't have it too.

 

[Trellie]

Thanks, lymegreen (I see what you did there, hehehe ). Yes, I thought it was so odd when all 3 of them turned out to have Lyme (excepting for that Gigi girl). But I guess they spend some time vacationing together in the past, I'd not be surprised if Gigi also has it. I'd never see activities like hiking and camping the same way I did D:

 

[Azrile]

It really is just about awareness. You have to know where you live and if those areas are areas where Lyme Disease is an issue. Plan accordingly when hiking or going into wooded outdoors areas and do an ´inspection´ when you return home. I do not think it is anything to stress about or to really force yourself to limit your activities, just take proper precautions before and after your outing.

Awareness also needs to come when you do get sick with any symptoms of Lyme Disease. Make sure you backtrack in your brain to see if there was a place you went and make sure you tell your doctor, along with your symptoms, that you spend time in wooded areas. You want to give that clue to the doctor.

 

[Trellie]

To be honest I'd never ever camp in an area where I know there are black ticks. There is no way I'd ever do that to be honest, because even if you are super careful and check yourself at the end of the day... there are really small ticks that can hide in places you are not very likely to find them, until it's already too late.

 

[zerthi]

Didn't know that Avril Lavigne got lyme diseases. Anyway, one thing every person should know, even those that aren't worried about lyme disease, is that ticks usually wait for a potential host clung to tall grass in a dormant state. It's suggested to put on some sturdy jeans and boots or anything that protects your skin from direct contact if you're going into a suspected tick infested area.

 

[Trellie]

Anyway, one thing every person should know, even those that aren't worried about lyme disease, is that ticks usually wait for a potential host clung to tall grass in a dormant state.

Really? I din't even know that, it reminded me of something I read a while ago, about a virus that made ants do the exact same thing.... waiting dormant during the day, clung to tall grass waiting to be eaten by a cow, just so the cycle could go on. Very interesting!

 

[Azrile]

Didn't know that Avril Lavigne got lyme diseases. Anyway, one thing every person should know, even those that aren't worried about lyme disease, is that ticks usually wait for a potential host clung to tall grass in a dormant state. It's suggested to put on some sturdy jeans and boots or anything that protects your skin from direct contact if you're going into a suspected tick infested area.

That is the crazy part about these ticks, they can go dormant for weeks at a time, just hanging off of a blade of grass waiting for a mammal to walk buy. I´ve heard that it is the increase in carbon dioxide that they can detect that wakes them up. They know we are coming because of our breathing.

 

[Trellie]

I didn't know they could go dormant, and hang off a leaf just waiting for a mammal to approach them. That reminds me about that article I read about a parasite that once it infects ants, it controls it... makes it act like a normal ant during the day, but once it gets dark it forces the ant to go around a grass field or so, then just wait for a bigger mammal to eat it. Then it infects the bigger mammal. So interesting! It's all the parasite's doing in the case I just described.

 

[oportosanto]

There are quite a few diseases that can become dormant and before we realize it can become active.

 

[Azrile]

I didn't know they could go dormant, and hang off a leaf just waiting for a mammal to approach them. That reminds me about that article I read about a parasite that once it infects ants, it controls it... makes it act like a normal ant during the day, but once it gets dark it forces the ant to go around a grass field or so, then just wait for a bigger mammal to eat it. Then it infects the bigger mammal. So interesting! It's all the parasite's doing in the case I just described.

There are a large number of insects that do this. They just ´sleep´ until conditions are right for either reproduction or feeding.

In the case of the tick, they have ´learned´ through evolution that the odds of them crawling and finding a mammal to feed from is very small. So instead of wasting all that energy crawling around, they simply sleep, and have developed sensors that notice a change in CO2 levels, and those sensors then wake up the tick when a mammal is nearby breathing.

It really is not much difference than a bear hibernating when the temperature is too cold to produce food for the bear. The bear sleeps, then wakes up with the weather gets warm enough for berries and stuff to grow. The only difference is that ticks do it for much shorter periods of time.

 

[Trellie]

There are a large number of insects that do this. They just ´sleep´ until conditions are right for either reproduction or feeding.

In the case of the tick, they have ´learned´ through evolution that the odds of them crawling and finding a mammal to feed from is very small. So instead of wasting all that energy crawling around, they simply sleep, and have developed sensors that notice a change in CO2 levels, and those sensors then wake up the tick when a mammal is nearby breathing.

It really is not much difference than a bear hibernating when the temperature is too cold to produce food for the bear. The bear sleeps, then wakes up with the weather gets warm enough for berries and stuff to grow. The only difference is that ticks do it for much shorter periods of time.

Like hibernation for bears and certain reptiles? That is interesting, but the difference is the lack of CO2, or does the temperature play a role as well? I must admit I don't know that much about ticks, specially their migrations habits, but this is very interesting.

 

[oportosanto]

Hibernation of certain diseases it's a fact, so we need to pay attention to that.