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We are considering retiring to WNC, but recently I was told there is Lyme disease in the ticks there. One of the reasons we moved from CT to the Southwest is because of the horrible Lyme disease problems. I am a landscape painter and an avid gardener and outdoor person, and I watched MANY people's lives just devastated from this disease in CT. Of course I lived where Lyme disease is most prevalent, but I have now heard from someone in the Boone area that they know 4 people who have gotten Lyme disease there.
Is it considered a problem only in the higher elevations, and do the doctors know how to treat it aggressively in WNC?
Don't know how they treat it in WNC, but my doctor in CT would put you on a special type of antibiotic the MINUTE you had a tick bite which in CT can be a few times a year. His feeling was to catch it early, even if it wasn't a lyme tick at least you were preventative. I liked that philosophy, and almost none of his patients ever got full blown Lyme disease unless the tick bit them and they didn't see/feel it (like in the scalp).
Ticks in abundance on my 10 acres in Weaverville at 2400 feet. Where the grass is mowed there are very few. They like taller grass so they can jump on you. If you Google "Lyme disease by state" you will see that it is very rare here. I had the classic "bulleye" once and the doctor was very aggressive; took blood work, photographs and put me on antibiotics. He said they had never seen a case here. Turns out all was well. No Lyme. As stunned as they all were at the clinic that it could be Lyme just confirms to me how rare it is. Good luck with your move and don't worry about it.
You have to worry about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever more than Lyme here. NC is the top state in the nation with cases. My mom ended up getting it last year.
I show dogs and am in contact with people all over the country that also show dogs as well as compete in hunting trials. The North East is horrible for Lymes disease. We do have it here but not nearly with the occurance. I have friends in NY that have treated each of their dogs at least twice. In 15 years I have never had to treat a dog for lymes and my dogs travel in our woods, go for hikes and spend hours on end in nature. They get ticks, but never that dreaded disease.
Most doctors here will treat Tick Fever with Doxycycline. It is the recommended treatment for all tick diseases. If you end up not really having a tick-borne disease, no harm. It is a relatively safe antibiotic with few side effects.
If you know that you have been bitten and have any kind of unusual symptoms, go to the doctor and ask for a 10 day scrip for Doxy.
I was speaking with someone in Banner Elk a couple of weeks ago and he said he has never seen a tick and he hikes with his family all the time and goes fishing, too. He would know, I would guess.
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Tick Fever
