• This topic has 40 replies, 27 voices, and was last updated 15 years ago by daim.
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  • Lyme disease?
  • ski
    Free Member

    A mate I cycle with, is having tests for Lyme disease.

    Apparently blacklegged tic spread it, I have never heard of it before and it sounds quite nasty.

    We have cycled all over the UK & Scotland last year, I assume it could have been from anywhere, or does it only effect certain parts of the country?

    Any personal experience or knowledge on the subject would be appreciated.

    Ta very much..

    andym
    Free Member

    No personal experience but I have read some accounts on here from people who’ve had it.

    Anyway this link might be helpful.

    http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/what-is-it.aspx

    rockthreegozy
    Free Member

    Can be found anywhere near sheep/livestock/deer. They like long grass and ferns.

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    ski
    Free Member

    Thanks for the link Andy

    Lyme disease occurs mainly in the New Forest, Salisbury Plain, Exmoor, the South Downs, parts of Wiltshire and Berkshire and Thetford Forest. It’s also found in the Lake District

    So the chances are he picked it up in the Lakes or Exmoor

    snaps
    Free Member

    Very under-warned condition, I’ve found a couple of tics latched on behind the knee joint after riding the Quantocks.
    The ‘bullseye’ mark is the thing to look out for – good examples here
    http://www.canlyme.com/rash.html

    CaptainMainwaring
    Free Member

    Can’t believe that quote about where it’s found not mentioning Scotland. Huge increase in the tic population up here, and its tics you get it from. It is very nasty and debilitating for a year or more – I know two people who are recovering from it.

    Two things:
    1) If you have ridden anywhere you might have picked up a tic, like riding through long grass, bracken etc, check all over you body when you have a shower/bath
    2) Ideally get a tic hook to rotate them out – if you pull, the mouthparts get left in and can cause infection. Tic hooks cost about £4

    jojoA1
    Free Member

    I live in Scotland and there are three peole in my immediate circle of cycling friends who have, or are recovering from Lymes. Becoming much more common I reckon.

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    Having just moved to scotland I’m now concerned about my riding areas and will be checking all over for the buggers!

    IWH
    Free Member

    My GF got it after I gave her a bike for her birthday and got her into Mountain Biking.

    Blimey, did I feel guilty!

    Nasty stuff, can be hard to diagnose. Treatment can take bloody ages.

    hora
    Free Member

    Over the last two Summers I have been bitten really badly (and infected bites)- not to mention the two infected horsefly bites I suffered with acouple of years ago so yet again, this Summer I have to wear full length tights and long-sleeved tops. There is no prevention, nothing works. I feel for anyone who gets bitten by Ticks!

    ShinyRedOrange
    Free Member

    I once found 14 ticks on my legs after trip up An Teallach, nasty little bast@rds

    Shorts probably weren’t a great idea!

    ski
    Free Member

    IWH, is your GF OK now? (I hope so)

    He thinks the tic got him about a year ago, he has been suffering recently with joint pain which the Doc’s first thought was arthritis, but when all the test came back neg. the Doc who happens to be a regular cyclist too, is now testing him for Lyme’s disease.

    He had no recollection of a tic bite, but then again, its not something I have ever checked for after a ride.

    Will be from now on though.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    there is an upside to being ginger. tic’s don’t come near me. never picked one up in 8 yrs of riding the quantocks several times a week despite others on the same rides regularly getting them

    hora
    Free Member

    Hook thing? What else/methods can you use to remove them safely? A Cigarette lighter?

    Fagus
    Free Member

    Good site here about Lyme disease

    http://www.bada-uk.org

    nbt
    Full Member

    Don’t use a flame to remove a tic, it can cause the tic to regurgitate all the blood it’s taken back into your body…..

    andym
    Free Member

    I bought a tick remover from BADA UK (like the one in Captain Mainwaring’s picture):

    http://www.bada-uk.org/products/tickremover.php

    hora
    Free Member

    THANK YOU very much guys. I’ll buy a dual-pack now. Ta nbt, good point. Last year was the worse for me- I dont know if it was the damp conditions but I was bitten all the way into early November. Longer than usual.

    Christowkid
    Free Member

    It was originally thought to be imported from USA, Lyme County specifically, and only around found in the New Forest. Due to the increase in ticks, the last 3 years has seen more and more people picking up ticks and more people getting Lyme Disease. Recent R4 reports we now have more deer in the country than have had for rpevious 1,000 years, coupled with recent mild winters, there has been a populatiopn explosion.
    Two summers ago the agency responsible for ticks were asking anyone anywhere to pickle the ticks and send them in. It seems to have worked as their information has now changed significantly.
    I’m in Devon, 3 years ago a friend’s father nearly died after contracting lyme, a few isolated reports around, but last summer I had 4 cases just in my village! GP good, on the ball and confidently spotted the symptoms. Other GP’s not so good and some don’t even know about it…..
    My neighbour working for Environment Agency now has it as ‘standing orders’ when visiting farms to check for ticks and be aware of symptoms in case of bite.
    My school’s recent info for risk assessments sent from Devon County Council now has a bit on it, can’t quote it yet as not yet on our system.

    So….
    They now realise it is countrywide, always has been and was actually seen in 19th Century.
    We always used oil to drop on them and let them swim out cos they can’t breath….. but no more.
    ONLY …. use tick removal tools, followed by tweezers, or fingernails/cotton to lassoo and remove them. Anything like oil/cream/fags etc might ‘upset’ them as they leave, regurgitating guts and bacteria into you!!!!
    Bullseye rash only occurs in about 50% of cases, if flue like symptoms or a general reaction occurs in location of bite get ye to doc’s fast.
    Antibiotics can sort if caught early 2weeks ish, if not possible lasting damage. Friend has a colleague who got caught, now has lasting heart damage.

    As someone said, those that know about it are extrmely concerned whilst the rest of world innocent!!
    best of luck
    Q

    IWH
    Free Member

    Ski – she’s doing OK, thanks. Ongoing treatment and tests as it went undiagnosed for quite some time.

    Funnily enough she’s a redhead so I’m not sure the Ginger Defence works 😉

    coolfurcats
    Free Member

    Ticks are a major problem here in Germany. My kids, especially, get them during summer regularly. Of all ways to get rid of them once they’ve latched on, the razor blade is the best. Shave the Tick off. By using the the “Tick Pincers” (that do also work normally) there is a risk of squashing the tick and pumping the contents of it into you. The shaving thing leaves part of the mouth piece still in the skin, but this is normally not a problem and will just fall off after a couple of hours. It is also advisable to keep a hold of the Tick, in a glass or whatever, incase there is any infection, in which case it can be taken to the doctor/lab to find out which virus it was carrying.

    beinbhan
    Full Member

    After a ride near Loch Lomond last summer I had to remove 8 ticks from my legs and one from my side I now make sure I check for them

    jojoA1
    Free Member

    I think I’ll win the competition for the most ticks in one ‘sitting’ After a ride up Glen Feshie I found 37 of the little bastards, luckily not all were ‘dining’, but it was a bit freaky seeing them all around my middle and ankles.

    bigdugsbaws
    Free Member

    Can you not get some sort of insecticide repellant to put on legs/clothes?

    hora
    Free Member

    Can you not get some sort of insecticide repellant to put on legs/clothes

    No 🙁

    bigdugsbaws
    Free Member

    LINKYA quick google says otherwise:

    IWH
    Free Member

    But that implies that it only works on clothing which is a bit of a bugger if you’re not wearing full length leggings 😕

    skidartist
    Free Member

    there is an upside to being ginger. tic’s don’t come near me

    must be some other personal attribute jambo. I have ginger tendencies and in the bath after a camping trip near pitlochry I stopped counting at 20 of the buggers.

    So its not a ginger thing JB, perhaps its that funny smell.

    ebygomm
    Free Member

    Is Lyme disease a reportable thing over here?

    I know in the US it has to be reported to the CDC?

    Best tick story I know is about a young lad who found one lodged under his foreskin, he asked some friends what to do about a tick (not mentioning it’s location) they told him to put nail varnish remover on it, so he did….

    smiffy
    Full Member

    I carry a deticulator with me in the summer.

    The last two wet summers have been bad for them, as has the problem of bracken taking over the uplands due to no cattle being open grazed these days.

    If we have a roaster again like three years ago it should be better.

    they like to hang out on the underside of damp bracken waiting for a victim to brush past them.

    Scienceofficer
    Free Member

    Lyme disease can be very nasty and if entrenched due to the time taken to diagnose can be extremely difficult to treat. In the US for bad cases they give a week of Chemo!

    Through the short wearing season I cover my legs with something called Autan Active which uses a repellecnt called bayrepel. Its a relatively new repellent that is apprently as good as high strength DEET applications, but without the side effects. One benefit is it has very little smell.

    Eitherway, I don’t get bitten when I remember to use it, and I sure as hell do when I don’t!

    hora
    Free Member

    http://www.autan.co.uk/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1

    Looks like Boots carry it. Thank you for the heads up

    knottie8
    Free Member

    I have just been tested for lymes but was given all clear on lymes . I have something else instead ! I have been latched onto loads but never had the bullseye rash. Get checked out if you have any doubts.

    Christowkid
    Free Member

    Thanks for the link peeps.
    That Autan sounds worth investigating, if for no other reason than stopping me getting bitten in France next hols!
    good one
    Q

    soma_rich
    Free Member

    I got it last year and it ruiend a month of my life. AWFUL. I couldnt sleep, had no energy. The first test didnt work as there was not much Lyme desiese in me, but I insisted and got a nother test and they found it. a week on anti-biotics and i was right as rain.

    Horrible experience.

    soma_rich
    Free Member

    I nver had the ballseye rash..

    smiffy
    Full Member

    My sister lives in the next town to Old Lyme, CT, where it was first identified.

    antigee
    Full Member

    My sister lives in the next town to Old Lyme, CT, where it was first identified.

    the kids cartoon madagascar has a quip about this – when the animals think they might get move to conneticut zoo – one of them asks “what has conneticut given the world” – and another answers “lymes disease”

    sad i know it, good news i don’t do the animal voices

    Steelfreak
    Free Member

    If travelling to Central or Northern Europe, another tick-related disease to be aware of is ‘TBE'(tick-born encephalitis ?sp). If you get it, there is no cure BUT there is a vaccination you can have before travelling to infected areas – ask your GP.

    kennyp
    Free Member

    It’s becoming a lot more common in Scotland. I now both bike and hike in long trousers all year round.

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