Every month of May I include a column in the paper about Lyme disease. May was Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and having experienced it firsthand, I hope to make people cognizant of the presence of the disease, its symptoms, its long-term ramifications, and also how to identify the ticks and the initial symptoms before they do their damage.
Every May, I receive more feedback on that column than almost any other column I have ever written. Lyme Disease is more prevalent than ever, and it's important for us to realize what can be done about it. In fact, just this last weekend I found another deer tick on me. May 28th was Edwin's birthday, and one of the things he wanted to do was have a "Boys Only" campout. So on Friday night, he and I and three of his friends camped at Mauthe Lake State Park, in a walk-to tenting campsite. The boys ran around like wild boys, and I tried to supervise and bite my lip every time they were in the thicker woods and the tall grass, since that's where the ticks are. Upon arriving home on Saturday, I gave Eddy the full body check looking for any critters. Thankfully I didn't find any. I did the same for myself before showering on Saturday morning and was clear as well.
Then on Sunday as I got out of the shower midday and brushed off my chest, I felt something that shouldn't be there...sure enough, there was a deer tick partially embedded on my right pectoral area. At first I thought it was a small 'booger', but my mind immediately went to, "Oh no, please, please don't be a tick..."
The only reason I found it was because it had been slightly engorged from its meal - - my blood. I quickly got it and put it in a Ziploc bag to avoid losing it. I can't emphasize how small they really are. I then checked Edwin one more time for any ticks and also checked my daughter, Estelle, just for good measure. Then I rechecked myself, looking everywhere to make sure there wasn't another one on me. Next my mind shifted to what we do moving forward. Many do not know that the ticks can be checked and tested to see if they carry Lyme Disease's spirochete. I actually sell this test kit at my office for $10, and I think it's an excellent tool to have on hand if you spend any time at all in the woods. The kit includes a tick-removal tool, some numbered stickers to identify the tick upon arrival at the lab, an envelope, and a small ziploc bag. There is also a very small amount of paperwork involved.
Upon receiving the tick via mail, the lab gives you results within 24 hours. The lab tests cost $40, which in my mind is a true value if you consider the cost of long-term antibiotics and other treatment options should you contract Lyme Disease! The lab tests can determine whether the tick carried the Lyme-causing spirochete. The lab can also determine how long the tick was embedded and feeding. Lyme disease is not spread immediately. It takes 36-48 hours of attachment for that to happen, so you can gain some peace of mind in knowing the tick was only embedded for an hour or two.
As I write this, I'm awaiting my test results. I'm also experiencing one of the symptoms of early Lyme... which is the sensation of stuff crawling all over you. I consider myself hypervigilant to Lyme disease and ticks, and yet...one still got me. I'm glad it wasn't Edwin, but it's still unnerving to know. I have many friends who suffer with chronic Lyme, and I've seen it off and on in my office, and it is not something you want to mess around with. The treatments are rough. The wide variations in symptoms are worse. If my test results come back showing that the tick did indeed carry Lyme disease, I will immediately seek a strong antibiotic to prevent it from growing, spreading, and causing bigger and more dangerous health issues.
I have friends and patients with chronic Lyme Disease, and it truly is terrible. A recent article I read from an immunologist stated that he has seen far worse symptoms when treating Lyme disease cases as compared to AIDS cases. Think about that... Lyme may be, right now, as bad or worse than AIDS in terms of the havoc and pain it causes in its carriers. The woods and the outdoors are excellent for your health and for your soul. Just be sure to check yourself and your kids and your dogs as often as you can, and don't forget to stop in and pick up a Lyme Aid Test Kit. Any questions? Contact our office at 894-2399.
No comments:
Post a Comment