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[Tc]

Hiya ladies. I thought I'd share my experience of this as I dont think there is enough information out there in the IK.

About 10 years ago I was at a garden party which backed onto a forest. I looked down and saw blood running down my arm. I saw something black there and brushed it off. As the week went on I developed what I now know is target rash. Over the next few days  I devoped these large "targets all over both arms and  when my arms then started to swell I went to A & E..
As soon as i walked in the doc said "you have  been bitten by a tick"  the rash is a definite sign you've been infected with lyme disease. I then  made the connection about the little black thing that bit ne, i hadn't even realised it was a tick.

I was given 10 days of antibiotics.
The NHS guidelines are now for 3 weeks antibiotics. And in the USA and Holland they give an even longer course. As the shorter course has proved ineffective in some cases.

I still dont realy know if I'm clear of it as I only had a 10 day course. I wasnt aware until recently that this is not enough.  I have asked my GP about it due to my recent ill  health but she said there is no test for it.
I've just realised upon reading the updated NHS info before i link it here today that this is not true.  I will be asking for a test.

So i just wanted to put this out there. The link gives information on what to do if you are bitten and not all ticks carry the disease but if you are unlucky enough then please make sure you get at least 3 weeks of antibiotics. I wouldnt have known anything was wrong  if I didnt have the rash as I didnt feel unwell, but not everyone gets the rash so I would say if you are bitten to err on the side of caution.

I may find out that this disease might still be in my system, might even be responsible for some of my health woes and now I've realised there is a test I will find out 

Also although mine was probably a deer tick   I didnt go anywhere near the forest but the party I was at the host had 2 dogs who walk in the forest and it is more than likely that the tick "travelled" on the dogs.

Enjoy the summer, there are precautions you can take and ticks are more prevalent in some areas than others  But I think it's important that if you are bitten you seek medical advice, so I hope my experience is useful.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease/

.

[katsclaws]

Thanks Tc. Raising awareness of this is very important. I was reading on another forum about a tick found on a towel on a washing line. It turned out to be a bat tick.
When my husband had a tick bite he was told to put vaseline on the bite to draw the tick out. He did have antibiotics but I don't think it was a long course.

[AgathaC]

Thanks, TC. I did not know much of this. And, yes, it does make you wonder about your health issues since, doesn't it? xxxxx

[CLKD]

Tnx.  It is wildly un-recognised. 

Ticks love bracken.  My spaniel collected them when we visited the Lake District in the 1990s.  I got to recognise them running through her coat.  I tended to leave them to feed and thicken then whisk them out with a proper thingie - I have used alcohol on the mouth parts - fortunately never been bitten myself.

They are agraneeds [spiders] - can say it but not spell it  .  Which is why they look like small black spiders running fast.  They fall off deer or sheep, hang onto bracken and wait for the next warm creature to wander by.  Bit like a flea that lives in the carpets and jumps onto the next warm body.

Symptoms can be varied.  'Flu like - temperature and a general feeling of being unwell.  Some symptoms continue and it can be life-long.   There is a UK support group

[CLKD]

Welcome to Lyme Disease UK, a registered charity founded by Lyme disease patients and run by volunteers.

We are healthcare advocates campaigning for increased knowledge and awareness of Lyme disease and the associated factors. Our website is full of information and you can also find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Be sure to check out our Online Community, browse the meet-up section and sign-up to our newsletter.

Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia, a spirochete bacteria. It's the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere and there are multiple strains of the bacteria. Lyme disease is endemic in many parts of the United Kingdom, particularly in woodland or heath-land areas but disease carrying ticks can also be found in cities and gardens.

Public Health England estimates that there are 3,000 new cases of Lyme disease per year. However, this is likely to be a gross underestimate. There is a discrepancy in estimations and the exact number will likely remain unknown, due to the fact that Lyme disease is not a reportable condition and there are still many UK healthcare professionals and patients who are not able to identify and diagnose the condition

[racjen]

Living where I do, on the edge of Dartmoor, ticks are a regular hazard and most will present no threat to help whatsoever - I and my kids have had quite a few, I just make sure we check thoroughly and i have the special little thingy for taking them out. The really important thing to look out for is the bull's eye rash around the bite. Vital to get it treated at this stage, as later on a whole host of neurological symptoms can set in.

[jaypo]

I hate ticks big stylee,they're rife where our lodge is in Dunoon,lots of deer and sheep,our dogs had them last time we were there,I was paranoid and kept checking I didn't have one.There have been too many deaths from Lyme disease as one of the symptoms is flu like.Who would've thought that these common little creatures could do such harm

[Hurdity]

About 10 years ago I was at a garden party which backed onto a forest. I looked down and saw blood running down my arm. I saw something black there and brushed it off. As the week went on I developed what I now know is target rash. Over the next few days  I devoped these large "targets all over both arms and  when my arms then started to swell I went to A & E..
As soon as i walked in the doc said "you have  been bitten by a tick"  the rash is a definite sign you've been infected with lyme disease. I then  made the connection about the little black thing that bit ne, i hadn't even realised it was a tick.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease/

.

Hi Tc

Sorry to hear about what happened at the garden party all those years ago. However to reassure you, whatever you experienced at the party will not have been a tick bite. You would not see blood running down your arm and nor would you be able to brush it off. What you were bitten by there is most likely something else - normally in any case even horseflies and mozzies do not cause blood to run down the arm so not sure what it could have been? In UK?

Ticks attach usually quite slowly and usually in the soft warm folds of skin eg crevices. With Lyme Disease, the classic bulls-eye rash also usually only develops around the site of the bite ( although not everyone gets this) and radiates outwards. If it was a bulls-eye rash then you would have probably been bitten on another occasion? However ticks are very difficult to remove from the skin as they are attached while feeding and then swell up so if it was on your arm you would have known it was on there and seen it feeding. It is very difficult to remove them without special instruments or alcohol etc. You may have been bitten elsewhere without knowing it?

Also even if the disease is present in the tick the likelihood of becoming infected is minised if the tick is found and removed within 24 hours.

Also maybe you were bitten by something else and had an allergic reaction?

Ticks love bracken.  My spaniel collected them when we visited the Lake District in the 1990s.  I got to recognise them running through her coat.  I tended to leave them to feed and thicken then whisk them out with a proper thingie - I have used alcohol on the mouth parts - fortunately never been bitten myself.

They are agraneeds [spiders] - can say it but not spell it  .  Which is why they look like small black spiders running fast.  They fall off deer or sheep, hang onto bracken and wait for the next warm creature to wander by.  Bit like a flea that lives in the carpets and jumps onto the next warm body.

Arachnids CLKD! They are not actually spiders but belong to the same class as spiders but a different Order.

It's not that ticks themselves love bracken but they become detached from their hosts that spend a lot of time in bracken especially deer. The long fronds of bracken are also tall and handy to climb up to wait for another passing host to attach to as you say!!

However as far as I know they do not run fast - but actually quite slowly - they don't need to run fast because they are not catching prey - they just have to attach to a host and quietly suck their blood unnoticed .

There is a leaflet here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/718980/LymeDisease_SignsAndSymptoms_requested_changes_June_2018_final_Clean.pdf

Like racjen I live in a rural area where there are lots of ticks and I have no idea whether they are infected with the Borrelia bacterium which causes Lyme Disease but I also get bitten every year and when I go walking in areas of deep vegetation or sit on the grass in areas where there may be deer/sheep - I am always vigilant and check myself (!) the next morning. I've had them on my neck groin stomach, thigh....but have always found them the next day. In the autumn I wear a woolly hat they don't attach to my hair and crawl onto me that way! My husband never gets bitten!!!

I hate ticks big stylee,they're rife where our lodge is in Dunoon,lots of deer and sheep,our dogs had them last time we were there,I was paranoid and kept checking I didn't have one.There have been too many deaths from Lyme disease as one of the symptoms is flu like.Who would've thought that these common little creatures could do such harm

As far as I know it would be extremely rare to die from Lyme Disease although people can become extremely ill if it is not identified.

Tc - thanks for drawing attention to this - so important to be aware especially in S England and Scotland... (I understand).

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

They ran through my dog's coat, fast  brought out the hunter gatherer in me  .  If I didn't get them as 'runners' I would find them once we got home: attached to the eye lid, under the ear flaps ....... it's the 1 that dropped off into the carpet that I never found  over 25 years ago.  It probably got hoovered up 

Thanks for the correct spelling - always able to say names but spelling is less than easy to recall 

Horse fly bites hurt. 

[jaypo]

Oh yes I agree hurdity re people dying but there was a lady in Inverness died of Lyme disease a few years back and one in fort William
I also hate horse flies,I've been bitten so many times by them 🤬🤬 I'd never even seen one before I moved to Wiltshire

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

My friend‘s husband was bitten by a tick as it fell out of some plants he was unpacking. Fortunately their GP neighbour was able to remove it safely without leaving the head behind. My friend's husband also saw his own doctor and was prescribed anti biotics.

Wishing everyone well.

K.

[Tc]

Thank you ladies.
Hurdity it was a tick. I had the target rash. Its unmistakable and just like the pictures  the doctor saw it right away. It came up at the site of the bite but also along the rest of my  arm. .maybe the other arm reacted from a reaction to the bite within my system but the target rash was impossible to miss.  I Ithink the blood came from maybe I scratched at it without realising at the time and mightve taken the head off so what I saw was the body or vice  versa. .  .I have had mosquito bites and gnats and wasp and bee stings. This was completely different.   I didnt even realise it was a tick at the time. They can be safely removed and the advice for that is in the link I posted.

Just to say it was confirmed as lyme disease and it's on.my medical records.  I'm not mistaken about what happened to me. My doc knows I had a diagnosis of lyme disease but  she believes there is no test for advanced symptoms and going by the NHS site I would question that.

It is possible that the antibiotics I took cleared it from my system and I didnt say that I'm positive my symptoms are long term effects, just that I dont know for sure.

I wasnt trying to scaremonger. I just wanted to tell my story and raise awareness. And I must say I'm a little upset as I feel my  personal experience is being brought into question when I already said I had a confirmed diagnosis by a doctor.

[CLKD]

It is recommended that walkers cover completely: do not wear shorts and tie the bottoms of trousers with twine so that they ticks can't crawl up.  Trousers should B well belted and sleeves should have firmly fitting cuffs.  I wore walking boots with thick socks and DH would wear putties but I couldn't be bothered with all those laces.  We never suffered a bite in all the years we walked in bracken which is where my dogs ran happily. 

They should never reach the torso if one wears appropriate clothing.  As for wearing a hat, well ticks aren't likely to jump  like fleas do  .  I could write a book on fleas   

Not enough information is given out about Lyme in the UK  - bit like VA really  ..........

Hope you get on OK Tc

[jaypo]

I had one on my leg once,although it was really tiny,luckily I was in the bath when I noticed it,so it came off really easily 🤢

[CLKD]

They are tiny.  Black 'spiders' which run.