Rhody Hunter

they freak me out,they are so small. i give my self a good checking over every time i come out of the woods.

Tribal

If you actually find the culprit on you can't you put him in a jar and get the tick itself tested?
I found one on me last year but was only crawling. That is the only deer tick I had ever saw other than a picture.
It's one thing after another that we have to watch out for.

BOWFANATIC

The picture in that link that was posted doesn't give a very good indication of how small they actually are. They are tiny little buggers. We're currently waiting for the 3 month period to pass , and my entire family is getting a blood test. After our last camping trip , my wife and two of my kids had flu like symtoms for a couple days after we got home. The doctor reccomended the entire family get tested after 3 months.

tocs

Lyme is very scary stuff! It can mess you up bad.We have quite a few instances of people getting Lyme in our area.I had a great hunting spot in Dutchess county that I abandoned because I was pulling ticks off my clothing to frequently when I went over the Hudson River to hunt there.
You are lucky if you get the bulls eye rash,so at least you know that you have it! I typically get tested once a year out of pure precaution.I personally know two people who's lives were turned upside down because of their bouts with Lyme disease,it is serious stuff!!

nodog

I was asking myself how common it is to get it and if the responses here are an indication, it's is fairly common.

Just wondering if all who have, or know of any that have had it are from any particular part of the country? If not, are there any similarities in your area's?

Tribal

How do they test you just take blood? I am in the woods every day and find 6 wood ticks on me daily. I however only have found one deertick on me and that was last year. I suppose as a precaution I should get tested.[]

Jollyarcher

Lyme... I wonder why it exists. To answer Tribal, the test conducted here in PA is a blood test. My familyand I spend time in the woods and have always been aware of the tick threat. I've removed ticks from myself, but never found any on anyone else in any of our outings. Two years ago, my son woke up one morning with a severly swelled knee.

He was 11at the time and was active in a number of sports. We took him to the doctor and it was wrote it off as a sprain.As the days went onother symptoms emerged. Fatigue followed by a very high fever. We ended up at the emergency room and the examining physician suggested a Lyme test be conducted. The medical center drew a blood sample, but was unable to test it at the facitlity. It was mailed away and the results came back about 5 days later.

Diagnosis: Lyme disease.

The only "treatment" option, according to medical professionals in our area was a massize dose of antibiotics. We're talking about a young fellow under 100 pounds thatreceived 500 millagramsthree times a day for a period of thirty days. We observed aturn around in his condition after the 7th day, and have him checked regularly. He goes to the hospital immediatelyif any unexplained swelling of joints / unexplainable fatigue is experienced.

I've read and read on Lyme until my eyes hurt and have yet to find anything that concurs with what I've been told within a 100 mile radius in the local medical community. I'm told there is no known cure, but do strongly believe that ifdiagnosed early, and treated aggressively, Lyme can be put in check, so to speak.

I would advise anyone who spends time in the outdoors to be tested for Lyme, even if you've never found a tick attached to your person. To those who have been offered other treatment options, please post them, as I'd like to read them.