SLROC Forum

Lyme Disease and Ticks

Lyme Disease, which is spread by tick bites, is becoming more common in this part of Scotland.  As people who drive off-road, some of us spend a lot of time at events tramping through tick-friendly environments.

Tick bites are no longer merely a minor inconvenience, but can cause serious disease.

If treated early, a short course of antibiotics should cure Lyme.  If left too long untreated, this is one very nasty infection.  Don?t let you or your family become a sufferer!  Become tick aware.

Visit www.bada-uk.org to learn more about Lyme Disease:
-   how to avoid tick bites
-   what to do if you are bitten by a tick
-   how to recognise the symptoms of the disease

Forestry land in particular is laden with ticks fron deer. My youngest got  a tick bite that showed signs of  Lymes. The doc treated it with 2x the usual dose for of anti-biotics for 2x the usual duration.....  Red circle round a tick bite, get yourself to the vet asap....

However, be aware that not everyone gets the red rash.  Other early symptoms can be slight flu-y symptoms or aching limbs.  Also, if your GP organises a Lyme's test which turns out to be negative, that doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have it!  There are a lot of false negatives.

There is no way to avoid Tick's.
Staying away from the country side or vegetation can make no difference.

A friend who never ventures further than one building to another via car
 & walks no more than a few yards,
was recently amazed & distressed to finding a fully blood filled tick on their body.

Dog owners need to be more careful about their animals.
Very often people that would consider their selfs at no risk are exposed to ticks by others dogs.

george

All I would suggest is vigilance, if you been at a driving day out in the countryside then check yourself when you get home, if you find anything then deal with it, Ticks will usually be more prevelent in areas where there are deer and or sheep, that's not too say you can'y pick up a tick in your local park but I'd be surprised if you did.

It's like anything, if you are frequenting a high risk area then be more vigilant, I brought DEET back from the US, which is really good, I spray it on in the morning before going to work, especially during harvest, when I'll be wading through long grass if a mchine happens to break down. I also carry a pair of tick 'pliers' in my tool chest, they are a good thing to have in the cubby box, I'd recommend getting the proper ones though, they are almost sure to remove the whole beastie, last thing you'd want to do is leave the head and jaws behind to become infected.

I'd also say that if you are checking for Ticks, don't just look in the obvious places, legs, arms etc. Look in all the wee nooks and crannies, that get warm and moist, armpits, crotch etc, I've had a couple in some very delicate places!

They will usually be found climbing up you legs, they are attracted to the carbon dioxide in your breath, so will make their way 'north' if they do manage to attach themselves to you.