Over the counter test for ticks - are they Lyme carriers?

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lymegreen

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New over-the-counter bacteria test available



Another step in the fight against Lyme disease in Canada is tick test that you can now buy at the pharmacy.

It’s called the Care Plus Tick Test and it costs about $20.

The test is for the tick itself. Once taken off your body, you crush it in a vial and add a solution.

A paper test will then tell you if the tick is carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. The instructions say it’s 95.8 per cent effective.

But the test does caution it is not a substitute for medical advice and the final step is to consult your doctor.

This piece is originally from an article titled "Lyme disease conference leaves patient cautiously optimistic" if you want to read the rest online.

What do you think about a test like this? Would you use it?
 
There is nothing wrong with using drugs. Drugs can cure the disease. I think you should use it. There is sense in trying to heal your self without the use of drugs. It would take more time without drugs.
 
Could help as backup evidence to tell your doctor -after finding all the symptoms- whether you really got lyme disease or not. There is always a gap for uncertainty though.
 
This piece is originally from an article titled "Lyme disease conference leaves patient cautiously optimistic" if you want to read the rest online.

What do you think about a test like this? Would you use it?

Definitely not, it is a waste of money. A lot of ticks have the bacteria, but do not transmit it. It takes almost two days of having a tick attached to you until you have a high risk of the bacteria being transmitted.

If you are hiking in the woods, come home and find a tick and remove it. There is almost no chance even if that tick has the bacteria, that you have it.

Having a home test on a tick would just cause panic and unnecessary treatment. If you are bit by a tick and kill the tick, just watch for the rash, that is your ´take home test´.
 
I am not sure if it's a waste of money really, I think it can be effective.

To what end? It is a distraction, it does not matter at all if a tick has the bacteria if you have found and removed it in the first 24 hours. It will only lead to panic and over-treatment of people who do not have the actual bacteria/disease.

Overtreatment is a serious issue and any treatment causes health problems especially antibiotics.
 
That is true, we should not be over treated, but if it solves the problem we should get it.

If there was a very cheap test for US that would be great, but finding out if a tick has Lyme Disease is of very limited use and is basically them cashing in on fears.

Take this example. Every day for a month I get bit by a different tick that has the bacteria for Lyme. Each day I remove the daily tick after a few hours. Research shows there is very little chance I would get Lyme Disease. So now I buy 30 of these kits, test all my ticks, all of them are positive.... so what?

It is very useful for the gov´t to be testing ticks so they know where they have migrated, but for individuals, even those who have been bitten, there is limited value in a tick test kit.
 
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