Lyme disease season is coming

For years we have feared the notorious “tick season”, but now it is even more dangerous with a host of other diseases that are carried by different ticks. I know firsthand about this because last year I was very sick from being bitten by various ticks, apparently at the same time. It happened over the July 4th weekend that I found several ticks on my legs and one on my stomach. What is strange about this is that I am not a gardener, nor do I go hiking in the woods. It was from merely walking to the clothes line to hang up towels from the pool or walking across the lawn to our shed to take out an item.

About five days after the ticks were found I began to feel ill. (People can get sick from 1-2 weeks after being bitten by a tick.) It started with a low grade fever and feeling extremely tired, that I had to nap. Since I had Lymes about four years ago, I remembered the symptoms and went to the doctor. I was immediately put on an antibiotic, and the doctor took a blood test to confirm Lymes. The first Lyme treatment for adults and children of all ages is doxycycline. My blood test came back and the doctor said, “Something else is going on besides regular Lymes, which you do have, too”. My doctor told me my liver levels were not right, nor was my red blood cell count. She requested another blood test and named a few of the possibilities of what I may have.

Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis or Anaplasmosis were the three possibilities that I might have besides the “traditional” more common Lymes disease.

I had never heard of any of these and the news was a bit frightening, hearing what they could cause if untreated. Both Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis are bacterial diseases. Sure enough when the second blood test came back another tick borne disease, Babesiosis, was discovered and this is much worse than normal Lymes. Babesiosis is an infection caused by a malaria-like parasite, also called a “piroplasm” that infects red blood cells. To be rid of the Babesiosis I was put on two other medications and was told to eat fatty foods, along with the medication, to get my liver back to normal functions. This was extremely hard to do since I had little appetite to eat even plain toast and tea. Fever, headache, chills, muscle aches and a rash are common ailments of any of these diseases. Fortunately, this time around I did not have a rash or joint or muscle aches.

Bed rest was needed on and off for almost two weeks as I was too tired, lacked an appetite and ran a fever on and off. It was not an experience I’d wish to happen again!

Tick Precautions

Following advice by my doctor and reading up on these tick diseases, we began to follow a number of precautionary measures. Putting down Bug Be Gone or other tick killing chemicals on the lawn was the first step. Our neighbor opted to have a professional tick removal service come to do their lawn, which is also a good idea. Our doctor had told us the ticks begin to be hatched around Memorial Day weekend, so that is the best time to start treating your lawn area.

Since I was so sick last summer, my husband did the lawn several times to be sure to take care of it for us and our two small dogs.

Another good idea is to make sure you wear long pants and long sleeves, even in the middle of the summer, when you are doing any yard work. When gardening, don’t wear flip flops or sandals with exposed skin when you are kneeling on the grass or trimming hedges. Under the long pants wear socks, too. After you are dressed and ready to do mowing or yard work, spray yourself with bug repellent for extra protection. When you are finished with your outdoor tasks, put all of the clothing you wore in a separate laundry basket, or wash immediately, if you can. Spray the shoes or sneakers you wore one more time before bringing them into the house.

If time allows, take a shower right away and check yourself for a tick that might have crawled onto your skin. This may all seem like a lot of work, but believe me, getting sick with any of the above diseases is no picnic at all!

For more information visit these sites, or investigate on your own. Most doctors’ offices also have literature about ticks that offer full descriptions about tick removal and other aspects of the disease. Visit cdc.gov/babesiosis and/or cdc.gov/anaplasmosis to learn more.