
Ticks may be the next global health threat - yawz
https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2018/jan/25/forget-ebola-sars-and-zika-ticks-are-the-next-global-health-threat
======
mmjaa
Had to go through a Lyme treatment last year myself.. it was _not_ fun. The
antibiotics regime was easily one of the lowest points in my life - just felt
terrible for weeks.

The thing I was taught by this experience, is to never, ever screw around with
it. In my case I was attacked by a swarm of ticks during a hot period (Vienna,
Austria) and I kind of ignored the bites .. thought nothing of them after
discovering the ticks (2) and removing them .. but after 2 days, I had 4 red
splotches over my body, and it was clear that I had the characteristic
'bullseye' symptoms.

Thought "okay, I can live through this" and didn't do anything about it for
about 5 - 6 weeks; splotches went away, and I thought I was fine. No. Just,
no. I was not fine.

Aches and pains like none I've experienced before (being Australian, I've had
a few nasty bites in my life), and malaise and lethargy that was seriously
affecting my ability to live life. Doctor told me I was an idiot for not
coming in right away - that I could very well have done damage to my brain -
and was put on a super strong antibiotics regimen .. which was pain itself,
since it screwed with _everything_.

Anyway, had my blood tests, and they think I'm fine. But I have to go back in
a month for another round of tests - because even if you think you're fine,
after Lyme, you may not be fine for a few years. It can persist in the human
body.

So, don't be a fool like me: if you get a tick, go immediately to the doctor
and get it sorted. Trust me the symptoms are just awful.

~~~
mistersquid
> So, don't be a fool like me: if you get a tick, go immediately to the doctor
> and get it sorted. Trust me the symptoms are just awful.

I'm glad to hear you're on your way to a full recovery given the severity of
Lyme.

Your advice to "go immediately to the doctor" is not only important with
regard to ticks but to all manner of infection. Most infections have similar
symptoms and distinguishing between something discomforting and something
deadly is a matter for a health care professional.

Stoicism with regard to maladies is practically a cliché among strong-willed
people (men especially). _Always_ consult a doctor with unusual infections,
and seemingly usual ones, too, if you can.

~~~
ams6110
If you remove a tick within a few hours you're likely to be fine especially if
you don't see the telltale red circular rash.

Running to the doctor for non-issues is part of why our medical costs have
increased so much the last few years. There's so much marketing to "ask your
doctor" about this and that and the other thing these days. And when you go,
of course the doctor is obligated to run a battery of tests to cover his ass.

~~~
mmjaa
Yeah, Lyme disease is not a "non-issue", it is an issue, and a serious one,
and you don't wanna fuck with it.

So, learn to spot the symptoms, and go get it sorted with a doctor. Like you
would with any parasite.

~~~
Fomite
Depending on what part of the country/world you're in, there's also a wide
variety of tick-borne illnesses with _very_ scary mortality rates if
untreated.

------
drewcon
Hopefully we’ll get a Lyme vaccine pretty soon.

[http://www.newsweek.com/lyme-disease-vaccine-valneva-fda-
app...](http://www.newsweek.com/lyme-disease-vaccine-valneva-fda-
approva-641796)

Back story on why a vaccine existed years ago ...and then was shelved because
of anti-vax outrage is absolutely enraging for people who live in Lyme
territory.

[http://legacy.wbur.org/2012/06/27/lyme-
vaccine](http://legacy.wbur.org/2012/06/27/lyme-vaccine)

~~~
ghaff
The withdrawal was unfortunate IMO. But it's not as simple as "anti-vax
outrage." Efficacy wasn't great, vaccination only protected for a few years,
and there were questions about side effects especially over the long term. [1]
Especially given how Lyme has become such a problem in some areas, it's too
bad it was withdrawn, but it's not a black and white case.

[1]
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870557/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870557/)

------
jschwartzi
Ticks and mosquitos are why I spray my hiking clothes with permethrin. It's a
potent contact neurotoxin for both. It takes a little bit to act after
exposure, but ticks will die quickly. Mosquitoes will also fly away and die
after contacting my clothes.

It's derived from a chemical found in Chrysanthemums.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin)

~~~
radiorental
we make Permethrin 'tick tubes' for our yard. In a nutshell, it's bedding for
mice laced with permethrin. Ticks attach to the mice during the mice breeding
cycles in March and July here in New England.

[https://organicdailypost.com/make-tick-
tubes/](https://organicdailypost.com/make-tick-tubes/)

I'm out in the yard a lot, I pull ticks off daily. I fortunately never have
had Lymes but I noted (anecdotally) that the tick population has exploded in
the last 10 years with the milder winters.

It's concerning. Probably going to get a flock of guinea hens this year.

~~~
abakker
Get your whole yard sprayed, too. It does make a difference if you do it a few
times. As other commenters here, and I, can attest, it just isn't worth
getting a bite. Lyme is awful.

~~~
stinos
_Get your whole yard sprayed, too_

Problem with this is Permethrin is quite a broad-spectrum insecticide and
won't kill just ticks but also a lot of other insects (which take care of e.g.
pollination and in turn are food for others, etc, the usual picture) and is
also not exactly friendly for aquatic life. Also mammals are not completely
out of the danger zone, depending on dose. And longer term effects are as far
as I know simply unknown. So it needs at least some careful consideration in
my opinion.

------
wizardforhire
When I was 9 my mom got bit by a tick. Her mother had just died and she had
just been divorced. She got Lyme disease was in excruciating pain and bed
ridden for almost a year. She gained at least 100 pounds. I have very distinct
memories of going into her room to just be with my mom and she would just be
lying there in excruciating pain. As a kid I didn't really understand it and
couldn't understand why she never wanted to do anything. Before she was very
engaged and that year she just disappeared. Last year I was driving with my
girl friend on a road trip. We stopped at a scenic view and picked some wild
flowers. About an hour later I felt something crawling in my beard, discovered
a tick before it bit thankfully but it got lost in the floor. I calmly told my
girlfriend we have to stop it's an emergency. We promptly pulled over at the
next exit and scoured that car and found the tick. Of course it was a spotted
dear tick. We took a 30 minute breather and reflected on mortality. Really
really scary! I was fortunate to have sensed it and found it before anything
happened. So yeah ticks... It only takes one bite. That tick in very high
likelyhood is carrying Lyme disease and that one bite will destroy your life.
Worst of all... You probably won't even know it's there before it's too late.

------
whiddershins
Ticks are awful. I used to be completely unconcerned by them as a kid, and
have a knack for removing them without breaking, but after having a number of
family members and pets affected by Lymes I am super careful.

The random tangent about deforestation and global warming seems ideological to
me. Ticks aren’t being forced into contact with us, they want to be wherever
they can be.

If anything my guess would there’s a problem with lack of predators, like a
reduction in possums or something similar.

~~~
freehunter
It's really strange... I grew up on a farm and remember running through the
fallow fields barefoot with shorts on all summer, but the first time I
actually saw a tick was in my mid-20s after I had moved to the city and took a
walk through the local park. Since then I've found at least one tick on me
every summer.

I don't know if I just got lucky in my youth or if ticks are getting worse,
but it's something that's stood out to me as curious.

~~~
52-6F-62
I had the exact same experience, sans farm. I grew up in a small town, though.
Spent a ton of time in the country on friends' farms, lying in long grass in
shorts no shirt—all of it. I never had a single tick bite. Horseflies,
mosquitoes, spiders, all of that, but never ticks. Even in the city I've
(thankfully) never seen one.

Now beaches and parks back there (rural south-western Ontario) are littered
with "Tick Warning" signs.

You're not the only one who's confused and curious about it. It's like they
used to be a non-issue. We were warned about them, I remember that—but that's
all.

~~~
randlet
Me too. Grew up in the country (running through cornfields etc) in SWO and
never had a single tick or even thought about ticks. Then this year my son
picked up a small tick in McGregor Park on Lake Huron which thankfully tested
negative for Lyme. The areas around the shoreline of Lake Huron seem
particularly bad these days.

------
drewcon
If you do get bit. Get your tick tested.
[https://www.tickreport.com](https://www.tickreport.com)

I’m from Massachusetts and spend a lot of time on Nantucket, which is like
ground zero for Lyme (lots of deer, no predators). A service like this can
really give you peace of mind if you do get bit.

Also worth noting, a tick bite is not like a snake bite. It’s not really like
being instantly injected with a venom or a foreign pathogen. From what I
understand (after I got bit and looked it up) the tick really needs to be dug
in for about 24-48 hours to cause a problem. So it’s more like the tick is
giving you an infection, and in the course of that passing on these terrible
diseases (sometimes).

~~~
mantas
At least in my whereabouts, tick testing is no longer used. They said chance
of false negative is too high. On top of that, bad tick doesn't mean you're
infected. Two stages blood test is only fool proof way to test for Lyme.

Can confirm that ticks need time to give you Lyme. I've had Lyme twice. Both
times I missed a tick on initial check and found it a day later. I get bitten
few times a year and every time I find them on time all is good.

~~~
mrec
Do you build up any kind of immunity after repeated exposure?

~~~
eric_h
It's a bacterial infection, so I believe immunity just doesn't last as long as
it does for e.g. chicken pox. The vaccine, when it was available, recommended
rather short intervals between boosters.

------
ncr100
Quick story for 10 years of friend's Doctor visits which did not diagnose a
Lyme infection - insufficient CDC guidelines:

Friend has had increasingly difficult health problems - mistook for thyroid
issues - neurological issues (difficulty standing), thinning, pain, very scary
stuff. Lyme swelling around nerves in brain, I believe was the explanation.
Could not work. Finally diagnosed and undergoing months of traumatic
antibiotic treatments involving a "heart port" :P is improving now, back
working.

Tick bite in New York.

~~~
stinos
_mistook for thyroid issues -- Tick bite in New York_

Unfortunately it wasn't, but this should have been a major warning sign.
There's still a lot of education to do. Almost the number one thing related to
ticks I was taught by people from nature organisations is: if you know you had
a tick bite, and you feel anything seriously out of order (of which the
chances are still fairly small btw), check with a doctor; and if that doctor
does not come up with anything tick-related (which happens, 10 years ago I
also thought Lyme disease was the only bad thing which was spread by ticks),
then get a second opinion from a doctor who has experience with most cases
occurring in your area.

------
tetromino_
Lyme disease is unpleasant, but at least North America doesn't have Russia's
tick-borne encephalitis, which kills or causes permanent neurological damage.

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick-
borne_encephalitis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick-borne_encephalitis)

~~~
Fomite
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever has case fatality rates well above 50%, can cause
multi-organ system failure, and has a 20% hospitalization rate even when
treated.

It's transmitted in many of the same places Lyme is.

------
baxtr
Ticks are widespread in Central Europe, but if you are cautious things are
usually safe: wear long pants if you are in the woods, especially in
summertime. No Flip flops. After you come home, check your entire body for
ticks, it takes up to 24h to get Lyme. Have a tick card on you all the time,
one like this: [https://www.amazon.de/Zeckenkarte-mit-Lupe-
Kurzbeschreibung-...](https://www.amazon.de/Zeckenkarte-mit-Lupe-
Kurzbeschreibung-H%C3%BClle/dp/B003E0F422)

~~~
randlet
Thanks for pointing out tick cards to me. For those in Canada MEC has one [1]
which is half the price of the same card on Amazon.

[1] [https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5050-423/Tick-Remover-
Card](https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5050-423/Tick-Remover-Card)

------
anonymous_in_TX
One of the side effects of the fire ant problem in Texas is that they have
significantly reduced the tick population. I have heard more than one person
mention how they no longer find ticks after having been out in the woods,
fields, etc.

Here is a page that talks about fire ants and some quotes:

[https://aggie-
horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/be...](https://aggie-
horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-56\(partial\)_red_imported_fire_ant.htm)

"Fire ants voraciously consume populations of fleas, ticks, termites,
cockroaches, chinch bugs, mosquito eggs and larva, scorpions, etc.—after
learning this, I realize that it really has been years since I last set off a
flea bomb. A non-overstated culinary creed for fire ants could be the
following: If it will stay still for a bit . . . then it's dinner!"

"Although fire ants are a big challenge to keep under control, one of the
benefits of having the fire ants around (at least in East Texas) is that they
kill ticks. If you have ever spent any time in the Piney Woods of East Texas,
you understand how valuable that can be to you, your dogs and your livestock."

------
SEJeff
Perhaps we need more opossums (in north america at least). One of those
suckers can eat 5000 ticks in a year.

[http://www.caryinstitute.org/newsroom/opossums-killers-
ticks](http://www.caryinstitute.org/newsroom/opossums-killers-ticks)

------
alex_duf
Interestingly enough it seems to be poorly recognised in France. (according to
my personal experience, would love to hear more feedback)

I have two members of my family fighting to get diagnostic even though they
both got bitten where here in the UK it doesn't seem to be a problem at all.

~~~
bsaul
After reading this comment thread, i can attest that it's clearly not known
enough in france indeed. From what i've read before (because i knew about
Lyme), the only region affected by Lyme is nord-east of the country. We get
tick bites whenever we go to south of France with my family, but so far nobody
every got anything looking like Lyme.

------
akor
Happy to not have Lymes but I'm on year 3 of being allergic to meat that comes
from hoofed animals (alpha-gal) because of a tick bite. I go out a lot less
now but when I do I also use Permethrin.

~~~
mrcoles
Sorry to hear—my sister is in the same boat with alpha-gal from a lone star
tick. It seems that very few people are aware of it.

------
Dowwie
If CRISPR can be used to eradicate malaria-carrying mosquitoes, then maybe it
will help to eradicate ticks

~~~
bequanna
Assuming we could do this, what would be the downside to eradicating all
ticks?

~~~
abledon
Read on my friend : [https://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/science/would-
eradicat...](https://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/science/would-eradicating-
deer-ticks-hurt-the-ecosystem.html?referer=https://www.google.ca/)

“ Diseases like these weed out sick or infirm individuals in the host
population”

“Taken with other factors, like predation, “it might keep host populations
within the carrying capacity of the land,” he said, possibly by reducing
overgrazing and other forms of destruction to vegetation.”

------
Grangar
When you find a tick, make sure to take the necessary precautions. I know
someone who could've carried it with him for as much as 72 hours before
discovery, and who didn't go to the doctor. He ended up with lyme.

Whereas if he had gotten antibiotics right after he'd probably have been okay.

~~~
bitexploder
It is also important to note that removing ticks quickly reduces the chances
of contracting Lyme Disease. This means having a good and thorough tick check
routine when outdoors is important. It is annoying after a long day of hiking
or what not, but very important.

------
pubby
Always check for ticks after spending time outdoors in the summer. Here's a
tip: if you have body hair, use your hands to check in addition to your eyes.
It's easier to feel them than it is to see them.

~~~
wirrbel
My personal experience is: After spending time outdoors, get a shower and a
complete clothes change. They often don't bite right away but crawl around for
some time until they find a spot they "like".

Also, the lore that was told in my family was, that ticks dropped from trees
in the forest. But you can get them also from gras, hedges, bushes. So not
being in the wood is no protection against ticks.

~~~
toss1
Yes, they will definitely keep climbing on you until they find a 'good spot'.
The bite is also usually painless, so they can often hang on unnoticed for
hours or days (iirc, they inject a numbing agent, as getting noticed kind of
ends their life cycle).

I read an article that described their basic algorithm as climb to the top of
whatever they are on, blade of grass, shrub branch, etc., and just hang out
there waving their arms until something brushes by and they snag it, then
climb again until they find a good spot.

In New England, I've had to get in the habit of immediately dropping the
clothes in the wash, showering, and then diligently checking the whole body
for tics after a run, mtn bike, or hike. And I still occasionally find one
hours later. The good thing is that they don't really inject the disease until
they've been attached and biting for 24 hours or so and are mostly engorged.

Definitely a hazard to be diligent about!

[edt: spelling]

~~~
tszyn
In your experience, can a tick attach to you if you just brush against it
while moving fast (running or cycling)? They're rather slow-moving, so I
thought they can't latch onto you that quickly.

~~~
toss1
YES, especially to any fabric such as socks, shorts, etc. seem especially good
for them to snag, considering the number of times I've caught them crawling up
a leg or something. I'd guess less so against a shaved leg or something, but
still check diligently, since shoes, socks, etc.

Running is probably an ideal speed for them to snag you (think how they'd be
snagging deer, dogs, etc), and I've never found biking fast enough to not get
them. It seems like they don't grab by any reflex, but just by hanging a few
hooks out in the breeze to snag whatever comes by.

Another thing I found that I didn't expect -- I'd guessed that they'd be most
active in hotter weather, making motion easier, etc., but it seems that the
most active times are moderate temps, maybe 10-25C (50-77F), but we still need
to watch out outside of that range. I've seen them all the way down to almost
freezing and up in the 30C+/90F+ range.

------
piokoch
I have gone through the article, suprisingly, there was no data to backup
claim that "the ticks are comming". Is that a real threat or just a mere
speculation?

I couldn't find the name of the author of the article, just to make sure it is
someone who knows something about health problems.

Lack of data plus IStock photos suggest that the research behind the article
might not have been very thorough. For instance it would be interesting to
learn what persentage of ticks carries bacteria dangerous for people, how the
number of people infected was changing over the past years, etc.

~~~
ravenstine
It's been a while since swine flu and africanized honeybees. They need a new
threat!

------
fian
While the article is focused on transfer of various pathogens from ticks to
humans, there is also a risk of developing and allergy to mammalian meat:

[http://www.mydr.com.au/allergy/mammalian-meat-
allergy](http://www.mydr.com.au/allergy/mammalian-meat-allergy)

There is evidence of similar allergies occurring in the US and Europe due to
tick bite.

So it is very important that you remove a tick carefully to minimise the
potential for the tick to vomit. Permethrin creams (used to treat scabies) can
be used for small/juvenile ticks.

------
baud147258
One summer, during an outing, I remember trying to remove a tick with
tweezers, leaving the head in and having to use a pen knife to remove it. At
the time I did not (or ignored) about Lyme disease, so in my mind it do not
warranted a trip to the doctor.

Reading all the comments on this thread make me glad I don't spend as much
time as before in place where ticks are present.

------
matmo
For the uninformed, what's the proper way to remove a tick these days? When I
was younger I heard advice to put a flame or extinguished match near the tick
until it unlatches, but I've also heard that that's a bad idea because it
causes them to emit some irritant into your body or something to that effect.
What's the correct way?

~~~
spacehome
That's terrible advice. The flame will cause the tick to unlatch, but it can
also cause it to vomit, giving you any pathogens it's carrying.

The correct way is to take tweezers, side on grasping the top and bottom of
the head and pull gently straight up (perpendicularly from the surface of your
skin). Be patient. Taking a few minutes to do it right is better than rushing;
you have about 24 hours before any significant risk of infection. Make sure
you identify the head first and grasp that, as sometimes the head is buried.
If you grab the body, you'll just decapitate the tick by pulling.

------
goda90
I spent a couple of years in Chile in some poorer parts of Santiago and I saw
lots of ticks on lots of street dogs. I was outside much of the day and yet I
never got a tick. I kind of wonder if the dogs being a plentiful and easy
target resulted in the ticks just not trying with humans.

------
rukittenme
I'm reading the comments about people spraying their yards for ticks and I'm
astonished. I've been bit by hundreds of ticks throughout my life. My wife has
never been bit and has a terrible fear of them. But for me it was just growing
up in the woods. You went out and when you got back you pulled a few off your
ankles and back. Now that I live in suburbia its much rarer but even when it
does happen I just remove the tick and move on. I've never thought to seek
medical treatment for it.

~~~
v-erne
I have hard time guessing if You are serious or just trolling. Lyme disease is
no joke. It can destroy Your life. And first real symptoms often comes when
damages done to nervous system are irreversible. My father had it and and lost
ability to concentrate when reading text longer than one page. Son of my uncle
almost died from it when he was 18. Even if You think You are healthy, You
should test Yourself.

~~~
rukittenme
I _know_ I'm healthy. There have been 420 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in
Tennessee over the past 15 years. One person for every 250,000 will get
infected in a given year. And even then, those people will only get infected
if they leave the tick on themselves for _48 hours_. Shower once daily and
you're fine.

But let's pretend the tick _is infected_ and the tick feeds for _48 hours_.
Take some antibiotics and you're fine. Lyme disease is stupidly easy to treat.
And no it does not come upon you suddenly. There's a huge rash that covers the
infected area.

I'm sorry for what happened to your father and uncle's son. Truly, I am. More
awareness should be raised about Lyme disease. You don't need to fear it or
spray your yards. If you see the rash go to a doctor.

~~~
v-erne
It seems that Your country's ticks are way better than mine. I would gladly
swap. According to my countrys newspapers (Im from Poland) there were at least
10000 confirmed cases of lyme last year. The main reason is that almost 40
percent of ticks here is infected. And the rash is optional. You can contract
the disease and have first sympthoms after 10 years. But this is rather rare.

~~~
rukittenme
I see. I assumed you were American. I'll keep your words in mind if I visit
Europe!

------
midwest1990
I am currently going through Lyme & Bartonella treatment from a tick bite in
northern Michigan last summer. I've been to multiple doctors, had multiple
blood panels and blood tests(Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, Erlichia, etc). I
wanted to share what I've learned in hopes that it helps others. This is what
I've learned (it's kind of lengthy):

\- Lyme exists everywhere on Earth as delivered by avian/mice/tick/deer/animal
populations and it is adept at survival in many hosts for a long time. These
tick bacteria are very adept at subverting portions of a hosts immune system
to maintain their existence in the host. Healthier or adapted hosts can clear
the bacteria, in all forms, easier that immuno compromised hosts.

\- Ticks can transmit Lyme within 10 minutes of feeding depending on the blood
circulation from the host and saliva transmit rates. Co-infections like
Bartonella (24+ strains), Babesia, Erlichia happen in a very large percentage
of bites. The 'bullseye rash' may or may not appear depending on Lyme strain,
the host immune system, and how the two interact.

\- Lyme feeds on collagen is ubiquitous in the body, that is why symptoms can
occur everywhere and sporadically depending on immune response (local and
systemic). Lyme uses Manganese to facilitate it's "feeding process" (Stanford
has a in-vitro study on Claritin which disrupts Manganese in this mechanism).
I've had brain fog, slight dizziness, eye film, tendon inflammation
(ankles/elbows/hands), sore neck/shoulders, streaked rashes (bartonella), all
sporadic.

\- 6 weeks after tick bite, I successfully diagnosed myself with Lyme and
Bartonella. This took 3+ months for a handful of doctors and blood tests
before doctors agreed. (Listen to your body, but don't go nuts and
overexagerate ;-). See below

\- A dermatologist prescribed 1 200 mg 1 week after my tick bite roughly
following CDC guidelines (useless). ~17 days after tick bite a 100 fever with
severe achilles tendon inflammation (painful almost ruptured). Started 3 week
Doxycycline 100 mg (2x day) from Urgent care doctor. ELISA, Western Blot IgG,
IgM both negative (summary only, no antibody blots provided). Some brain fog
improvement on Doxycycline. 2 week flares of my achilles tendon issues while
on Doxycycline. Doxycycline extended to 5 weeks with no improvement. My
primary care doctor said 3 weeks cleared it up, remaining symptoms were from
something else (I dropped that dr). Next internist did more blood tests and
suspected something. Out of pocket Igenex (out of pocket) test at 2 months
indicate negative Lyme, with trace amounts of 3 Lyme specific antibody stains
and 1 antibody shared with chlamydia. Infectious Disease doctor at 2 month
mark said I was cured and that they would only treat symptoms caused by
unknown with rheumatologist and neurologist with pharmaceuticals. Infectious
Disease dr ignored my Bartonella claim due to ankle tendon pain and a week
later ignored my email photo of Bartonella specific rash. I timed another set
of Bartonella tests with my primary care (new) at 3 months and a peak in my
symptom cycle. An insurance covered PCR (dna) test was negative while out of
pocket Igenex Bartonella FISH (antigen) test that I found and asked the doctor
to submit, was positive from blood samples taken that time/arm. My primary
care y is striving to learn more about Lyme now and admitted the CDC was
incorrect. I started acupuncture and Chinese medicine 3+ months in and it
makes a difference. I finally saw a Lyme doctor 4+ months after the bite (I
was on the waiting list for 2 months), I am getting additional western herbal
treatment in combination with Chinese herbals. Things are improving but I get
occassional spikes in symptoms (all over), which is usually what people are
hampered by during treatment (antibiotics and/or herbal). Sadly, my case
history is less severe compared to many.

\- Lyme testing (antibody/dna/antigen) via blood is problematic because the
bacteria prefers to feed on collagen tissue and is rarely hanging out in the
blood flow. The CDC, per Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA),
recommends a garbage test first (ELISA - inconsistent results from same blood
draw). The Western Blot results are often summarized instead of displaying
entire results (it ignores Lyme specific antibodies related to defunct
vaccination that almost nobody received). USE Igenex (Palo Alto), Galaxy Labs,
or dnaconnexions for more reliable results (still not guaranteed).

\- Lyme vaccination would be extremely difficult since the bacteria can change
its outer surface protein (OSP) depending on host and location within the
host. Vaccination antibodies work against these proteins. The Lyme vaccination
from the mid 1990s targeted protein 34 and 1 other OspA (I cannot remember).
Both of these antibodies ARE IGNORED by the CDC Western Blot test unless you
used a lab with more expertise.

\- The CDC and Infectious Disease doctors ignore millions of clinical
observations and real world treatments in favor of small studies subject to
selection bias (see uptodate.com and read through the studies). ILADS doctors,
herbalists, and Chinese medicine/acupuncture actually treat chronic patients
and their clinical perspective and evidences is often discarded as non-
scientific by the CDC (which is bullshit, this data is all relevant). The CDC
does not emphasize and has spent almost no resources to iteratively address
the shortcomings in their positions and improve poor testing.

\- Because of poor testing and misinformation from the CDC, many people are
misdiagnosed with MS, Dementia, arthritis, Alzheimers, etc and I've met a
number of them in my limited circle of contacts. Kris Kristoferson's case is
very common. For example, brain autopsies of beta-amyloid deposits
(Alzheimers), have many of these bacteria in them. In short, antibiotics are
not sufficient to clear the bacteria in ~100,000+ cases per year (lots of
studies and clinical cases showing antibiotics won't work). Many people are
prescribed steroids or other immune suppressing pharmaceuticals, or associated
'medicines' for neurological conditions (I was pushed to a rheumatologist).

\- Treatment: Chinese herbal, Western herbal, some antibiotic, vitamin
supplements, acupuncture, intermittent water fasting (16-24 hours helps me
with herxing or bacteria die off). Fasting also helps with autophagy and
neutrophil trap activity (neither one of those works well with sugar in the
system).

\- Improvements: awareness, better bacteria testing, better blood panels to
track immune state at regular intervals throughout life (cytokine, chemokine,
interferon, etc), more awareness of treatment options (pharmaceutical and/or
herbal). EDUCATION and EMPATHY should be major goals of any doctor.

\- Resources: www.ilads.org, "Healing Lyme" by Buhner, Lyme Literate Doctors,
and own/friends/family experience.

\- key points: listen to your body, educate yourself, be your own advocate, be
open to treatment approaches, strengthening your immune system is always the
best option (some genetic abnormalities aside)

------
notacoward
"May be"? "Next"? Where have these guys been the last several years? I'd say
under a rock, but ticks might be there too. Out in space, perhaps?

------
ben7799
The article is somewhat alarmist, behavior modification can greatly limit the
risk of ticks. This might be something that is more alarming in the UK for
some reason if they haven't had to worry about it so far?

I live in Massachusetts, pretty close to ground central for Lyme's disease.

I've been mountain biking, hiking, doing outdoor photography, etc.. most of my
life and have never managed to get bit by a tick and contract it. I've found 5
ticks or so in that time have always found them before they could bite me just
because I was aware of the risk. And that's talking hundreds of days per year
of outdoor activities.

Tall grass is high risk. Taking your sweet time golfing is risky. Riding your
mountain bike through grass at 20mph is much less risky. You'd tend to be
riding on a trail too, even if it's not more than 6" wide, it still somewhat
reduces the surface for the ticks to cling to. Having a job like being a
surveyor is very high risk since they're out in the grass working and not
moving quickly.

Once you get under major tree cover (we have lots of it) the undergrowth tends
to thin out and you'll contact less grass/leaves and have less exposure to
ticks grabbing onto you. This is perhaps one of the reasons you hear a lot
about people getting Ticks down on Cape Code if they're exploring tall grass
environments, there is less dense tree cover on the Cape compared to the
mainland.

By far the riskiest thing anecdotally seems to be owning a dog. Dogs love to
go walk through the high grass, ticks love to grab onto their fur. Then they
bring the ticks into your car, into your house, sit on your lap. When you walk
your dog you tend to go where the dog wants to go within reason. And you're
walking, so you're moving at speeds ticks are happy with. So you're perhaps
walking areas you wouldn't walk alone if you're wary of ticks. It seems like
practically every dog owner I know regularly deals with ticks brought in by
dogs, and a lot of the dog owners have actually gotten Lyme's disease, some
more than once! You'll hear stories of 10 ticks on a dog coming back from a
walk.

If I guess I've found 5 on me in 25 years of outdoor activities 1 was biking
in/around tall grass on Cape Cod (found it on my leg), 1 was walking in North
Carolina (found it on my sock), 1 was brought into the house by a dog (the
only deer tick of the 5). Not sure of the others, maybe 5 is generous.

The article also doesn't mention how certain activities can be done in
different months to limit risk. Particularly deer tick are much harder to spot
if you are out in risky areas in the early spring. They're super small at that
point. But later in the summer they're grown and easy to spot.

For me that super high risk deer tick season where they are immature coincides
with mud season. We are already discouraged from hiking & biking through the
mud, so the double whammy of peak tick season + mud season makes it easy to
select outdoor activities that are lower risk at that time of year.

It's just really hard to take the article seriously, this just is not going to
be a risk for people who live in big cities and spend little time in natural
environments, particularly if they also don't have pets. That covers a lot of
the population.

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matt_s
How is this hacker news?

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megaman22
Nasty, nasty things. They've really exploded in the past ten years or so in
New England. When I was a kid, you never had to worry about checking for ticks
when you went outside and roamed around - you'd get chewed to death by
blackflies, mosquitos and copperheads, but that's relatively harmless.

Last summer, one incident I had to pull a couple hundred off my dog after she
wandered into a particularly bad section of the willowwacks. Just awful little
beasties.

~~~
Steve44
I read an article in New Scientist a year or two ago about these. They were
talking about counting the acorns on the ground as a predictor as to Lyme
disease in two years time. Quite an interesting article overall.

I read the physical magazine but think that
[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23431195-800-lyme-
dis...](https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23431195-800-lyme-disease-is-
set-to-explode-and-you-cant-protect-yourself/) is the same article.

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kolanos
Global threat? Not exactly. You know where there aren't any ticks? The desert.
No fleas or bed bugs, either.

