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I have suffered the displeasure of a nasty one, no rash but every other symptom. Cue a couple of weeks of proper hardcore antibiotics. Thankfully when they suspect it they act.
On the other hand I have had a couple of bites and only one had any impact.
Had one three weeks ago, just below the knee. Sent it off for testing and had an email back confirming the flavour.
Horrible little things; I used tweezers to get it off - think he had been in about 36 hours.
Got an immunisation for tick borne encephalitis once, when mountaineering in the Russian Caucasus. Definitely something you don't want to get…
Anyway, found this:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48606826
What are your thoughts on tick removal tools? Which is better of the card or tweezer type?
Thanks,
Simon.
What are your thoughts on tick removal tools? Which is better of the card or tweezer type?
From the website of LymeDiseaseUK charity website, looks to be the O'Tom Tick Twister:
https://lymediseaseuk.com/tickremoval/
Shop:
https://www.ticktwister.co.uk/shop/
Lyme disease toolkit for GPs, HCPs and the public:
https://www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/resources/toolkits/lyme-disease-toolkit.aspx
Thanks - very useful links
Had a night wild camping on the west coast last weekend and picked up a few of the really tiny stage ones, just not visible for a couple of days when the bite starts going pink. No bullseye thankfully, already been on the antibios for those twice!
Pulled what I thought was a wee scab on my back off yesterday. Turns out it was a tick full of my blood... Going away on holiday on Friday, so emergency appointment with GP today, 2 weeks of doxycycline in case symptoms develop when I'm away. On the plus side, ticks in the borders typically don't carry Lymes, so fingers crossed.
On the plus side, ticks in the borders typically don’t carry Lymes, so fingers crossed.
Out of interest, who said that?
On the plus side, ticks in the borders typically don’t carry Lymes, so fingers crossed.
Out of interest, who said that?
Doctor, trying to figure out where I'd picked it up. She mentioned New Forest and Lake District (I think) as being not so good.
On the plus side, ticks in the borders typically don’t carry Lymes, so fingers crossed.
No idea how they can claim that, I have a friend who was very ill with Lyme disease from tick picked up on a ride at Glentress, and I've also had the bullseye rash from a tick at a ride at Glentress and was treated but no illness.
Do you think there are folk who are immune to ticks??
All my mates have had ticks yet out of the years I’ve been biking I’ve never had one,And I have a stoma bag so regularly go into the grass/reefs to “take the call of nature”
Or just darn lucky
Thank you Cinammon Girl your link shows that I may have been covered in the lava after a run earlier in the week (I posted on here)
I thought I was ok because the field I ran through had not had livestock in it and unfortunately there are no deer in the area, or is that no guide?
Are there published maps showing detailed areas where people have been effected?
[url= https://www.msd-animal-health-hub.co.uk/BFTP ]The Big Tick Project[/url] has a [url= https://www.msd-animal-health-hub.co.uk/BFTP/why-protect/map-of-threats ]Map of Risk[/url] for the UK & lots of other info.
That map looks useful, but may not be 100% relevant. It looks like a copy, as it's not interactive, although it says it is. The original project was done in 2015, and was based on a survey of vets to find out about ticks picked up by dogs. So it will relate to ticks in areas where dogs are walked, not necessarily where people ride, and may be skewed by whether people take their dogs to a vet or remove ticks themselves.
It looks as if Public Health England have a [url= https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tick-surveillance-scheme ]Tick Awareness & Surveillance Scheme[/url] there's lots of information on the website. You can also send in tick samples for recording and testing. They have a [url= https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493971/Ricinus_map.pdf ]map[/url] but it only seems to show distribution rather than risk (the amount of infection in the tick population) so I'm not sure it's particularly useful.
PHE also have a [url= https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis ]Lymes Disease section[/url].
Doctor, trying to figure out where I’d picked it up. She mentioned New Forest and Lake District (I think) as being not so good.
Thanks zigzag69. At one time on the NHS website it stated the high risk areas for ticks which certainly included the New Forest and the Lake District. However it's now known that they're pretty much everywhere. Fingers crossed though that you'll be OK, in case you haven't seen this it's worth a read:
https://www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/resources/toolkits/lyme-disease-toolkit
Thank you Cinammon Girl your link shows that I may have been covered in the lava after a run earlier in the week (I posted on here)
I thought I was ok because the field I ran through had not had livestock in it and unfortunately there are no deer in the area, or is that no guide?
Are there published maps showing detailed areas where people have been effected?
FunkyDunc have now read your post and those pics are amazing especially the sky. Ticks don't fly or jump you'll be pleased to know but it's not just deer that are hosts - foxes, squirrels and birds are too. Ticks 'quest' which means they hold onto grass or leaves by their third and fourth pair of legs, they hold their first pair of legs outstretched waiting to climb on a host.
If I were you, fully body cover would be the way to go and a thorough check over when you return home from running or cycling.
There are a lot of variables in UK ticks & Lyme disease, so it's best to be open minded:
It's no longer a case of where there is Lyme, it's now a case of 'how prevalent' within the tick population. Scottish research suggests between 4 and 15% of ticks carry the relevant Borelia bug.
Prompt removal with a proper tick tool is largely but not wholly effective in preventing it being passed on.
The longer it's attached, the more likely an infected tick is to pass it along to you.
Any mammal or bird can act as a carrier and therefore be a vector in spreading the bug.
Newly hatched ticks, who have yet to have their first meal cannot carry the bug as they haven't caught it yet.
Ticks can creep into dark, well hidden locations on their chosen host, so check carefully.
If you have 2 from the following 3 indicators, go see your GP promptly:
1. A tick attached to you;
2. A rash that goes beyond a simple histamine reaction a few mm round the bite site.
3. Flu like or similar ill/aching symptoms within three weeks.
For 2, take an image for reference and keep checking for enlargement/enragement of the bite.
Once at the GP, you can expect a prescription of doxycycline for 2 weeks. Yuk, horrible stuff...
Good post highlandman and would also add that it can be helpful by drawing around an EM rash with a biro to monitor whether it's spreading.
Doxy now given for 3 weeks with an option of a further 3 weeks if symptoms persist, as per latest NICE guidelines.
A couple of weeks on Doxy and you don't know if it's Lyme making you feel crap or if it's the medication.
I've just removed a couple after a weekend in the North Yorks moors.
Having not been bitten before I was surprised that the bit at the back is flat not bulbous, does this mean that it hasn't fed?
No bullseye rash, just a red dot with a raised bit. I think I feel ok but I'm very queezy with medical things so just the thought makes be feel odd.
I got ticks from most rides last year, this year have picked up an aerosol style midge and tick spray from Tesco and so far so good, tend to spray more into my car then on my legs and arms but no ticks since I started using it
Do you think there are folk who are immune to ticks??
The only one that ever latched onto me in The Lake District died while attached, possibly from a Sandwich blood-born infection. I often wonder what was in the army vaccinations that I had in the early 80's whatever it was Ticks don't like the anti-bodies.
The dead tick I bagged just in case was obviously not dead as it's no longer in the bag. Hopefully it will die before riding me again.
Did the bag have a hole in it or did it bite its way out!