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Lymes is pretty prevalent in NH. I know three people who have had it. Know of many dogs that got it (and other worse tick diseases). If you catch it early you're good.
How long did you have lyme symptoms before your doc ordered a lyme test?
Two days after feeling like I fell off a three story building, and the "bite" being itchy and red I went to the doc knowing what it was.
They did a test and it came back negative. (He never looked at the bite) He mentioned that it might have been too soon.
About a week later I was in agony and went back to the doc and he was examining differen areas, so I said "would you like to see the bite" "oh sure". I dropped my pants (It was on my inside thigh) and he spun around in his chair to the computer to start filling out the CDC report and said "you got lyme".
Antiboitics kicked in about two days later and all was fine. Then I had a reaction to the antibiotic and ran a fever of 104. lol Switched types and never looked back.
Lyme is not a disease, it's an infection. Big difference.
Um, yes, it is possible to contract Lyme disease anywhere in NH. That doesn't change the fact that incidences of the disease are more common in the southern part of the state. That is just fact.
Here is a more detailed map: http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/NR/rdonlyres/erq73iia3bvks2jxmtdmpwqadoxwjwaq3fceyoag5kogdqqcd7 u6kt6kstoru55est34qpbrvwtu7nrklhqjbbyhbjg/map08.pdf (broken link)
Common sense precautions should be taken regardless of what area of the state you live in.
I would be careful with those maps as they don't always paint an accurate picture. A lot of that has to do with the way cases are reported and if they are required to be reported as it is in CT...undiagnosed cases etc etc.
I would bet that your fever was due more to the bacterial infection and less to do with a reaction to the antibiotic. Often (but not always) patients who start a round of antibiotics will experience a herxheimer reaction, which is a drastic increase of symptoms (including fever, joint pain, stiff neck, fatigue, etc) that can last just a day or two, or continue for a few weeks. Either way, herxing is considered by many Lyme-literate MDs to be indicative of actually having an active infection. Do you remember which antibiotic your doc. put you on? A quick round of Doxycycline is considered to be the 1st round treatment, and in an early infection, will 'usually' be sufficient to kill the bacteria completely.
Your experience with Lyme was brief, but you mention that you were in agony for those first few weeks. I'm surprised at your comment of Lyme and ticks being "overblown". Instead, you should be thanking your lucky stars that you were so fortunate in developing a rash and had a doctor willing to treat without a positive test result. Now imagine living with that agony for years, and not being taken seriously by family, friends, or doctors. THAT is the unfortunate experience of Lyme for so many people. It's NOT overblown, it's exactly the opposite. It's only in the past year or so that awareness is growing in the general population. I do agree with you that Lyme is miscategorized as a disease. It's a bacterial infection that affects the entire body, including joints, organs and the brain.
By the way, I have just become aware of an active Lyme support group in Manchester, and will start a separate thread next time I get a chance to log into CD, hopefully tonight. Have a good day, all
Quote:
Originally Posted by JViello
Antiboitics kicked in about two days later and all was fine. Then I had a reaction to the antibiotic and ran a fever of 104. lol Switched types and never looked back.
Lyme is not a disease, it's an infection. Big difference.
I live in NH and fear no ticks bites, which might be odd, since Lymes killed my little brother. I am 100% sure back in 74' when he was first bit and mis-diagnoised that he was bitten on Cranes beach in Ipswich mass, by a deer tick.
I found a deer tick on a road killed silver fox I skinned for the hide. In order to find it I put the dead fox in a large pail of water topped off with keroscene. That treatment left the fur soft and intact and killed ever insect on that fox. That was in a near by town of Moultonboro. So deer ticks are here for sure.
I don't fear them because i am armed with info. I check any times i go in tall grass perioidly during that time and after I return. I wear light blue jeans so the ticks show up better, and light colored T shirts in tick times.
I have learned to see a woods tick at a distance, but that takes practice. Each year i will be bitten once or twice by woods ticks, and get a mild infection from the bite, but so far as i know a woods tick doesn't carry Lymes.
I clean up these bites with hydrogen peroxide, and seem to be ok in around 10 days.
The 2 dogs here get dosed down with Front Line and they just don't get ticks or fleas at all. I am thinking of front lining me.
Thar's no way I am not going into the woods or the swamps. That is a good part of why I live here.
Keeping the lawn cut will stop most bugs dead. Then it's flys, ants and japanese bettle grubs with a few cut worms all harmless more or less to people.
I really think tall grasses are where most ticks are found. That is exactly where I see them.
For rural folk that keep chickens around they never have ticks.
Both my wife and I can feel a tick walking on our skin long before it bites. Ticks go for softer flesh, so getting a bite on the palm of a hand isn't going to happen. Behind the ears, under hair lines and inner thighs are better options for a tick.
I kill every single one i find, even if it is still on a blade of tall grass.
Can a pest control company do anything helpful to your property to keep away ticks? Besides keeping the grass short, what else can you do to protect your yard/property against Ticks?
If you're looking for organic tick control, you can't get better than Guinea Fowl. They are highly recommended because the majority of their diet is insects, they retain many of their wild characteristics and tend be more alert to predators, sounding the alarm and allowing the more domesticated varieties of chicken to get to cover. I'm told that they tend not to scratch the soil surface and damage the gardens as much as chickens. But they aren't as pretty as a Bantam, a Rhode Island Red or those beautiful black speckled chickens, but if they eat ticks, who cares?? Just keep in mind that many towns have restrictions on poultry and homeowners associations will definitely have a problem with them...
If you get bit by a tick in Southern NH, there's a good chance you'll get it. My Mother-in-law doesn't often leave her cut lawn, but recently she found a tick biting her. She went to the doctor and, yup, she had Lyme. She's in the Hampton area, Rockingham Country (Seacoast).
We're also in Rockingham County and our dog has always gotten Lyme vaccines. He also gets "Advantix" to repel ticks (they sometimes still bite, but typically let go or die). He started limping and we brought him to the vet -- he had Lyme, even though he had the vaccine! And the dog vaccine was supposedly much more effective than any human vaccine. But apparently there are numerous "strains" of Lyme, and the vaccine only protects against some. Every year they try to include the new strains in the vaccine.
Obviously Lyme is a BIG problem here in southern NH.
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