#tick borne disease

[platonic-activity]

As a medical entomologist/disease ecologist I am thrilled to come upon a tick-borne disease thread containing all accurate information. Everything above is fantastic but I’ll add a couple of things I would love for everyone to know

1) re: climate change. @mybigfatgaylife mentioned that tick seasons are shifting. This is absolutely true. Consider also that if it is 45 degrees or higher, ticks are out. If you have an unseasonably warm day in January the ticks will be questing. There is a clear relationship between winter Lyme diagnoses and warm weather roughly one month prior to positive tests.

2) Diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are often complained about but in fact they are really accurate though often improperly used. A blood test for Lyme will not be positive unless it is administered 4-6 weeks after the tick bite. Often physicians do not know this and give patients false negative results. You know now so you can inform your doctor. You can ask your doctor to look up the guild lines for testing and treatment on the CDC website.

2.1) The Lyme blood test is two part and they both have to be positive for diagnosis. There is a really good reason for this. The first test is not specific to the bacteria that causes Lyme. It’s an assay for immunoglobulins that the body creates during an immune response. This can be caused by many infections and even autoimmune disorders. The second test is a western blot that looks at antibodies specific to flagellum on the bacteria. There are a few other important pathogenic bacteria that will show up positive on this assay including the bacteria that causes brucellosis. It’s important that these tests are administered correctly because while we want to catch Lyme disease and treat it we also want to avoid missing an alternative diagnosis such as autoimmune disease or other pathogen.

3) If you have been bitten by a deer tick, are in the general range where Lyme disease is endemic and the tick has visibly swollen from consuming blood… go to the doctor and request a post exposure prophylaxis antibiotic. Stop the infection when it is still migrating away from the tick bite and is not yet systemic. Fewer doses of broad spectrum antibiotics, no risk of long term symptoms from Lyme. Win win.

4) PERMETHRIN! @headspace-hotel mentioned a bunch of ways to prevent tick bites or to catch them early. Do all of those. Also, consider adding an a pesticide to your arsenal. Permethrin treated shoes and pants are excellent because you don’t put the pesticide on your body and the clothes continue to kill ticks for a few washes. When I do field work I wear a specific set of treated clothing and I change when I am no longer in tick habitat. I have never gotten a tick bite even though I actively go into tick habitat during their peak. Sawyer permethrin is my favorite. Treat clothing away from cats… permethrin is dangerous to cats while wet.

5) Be aware of all tick species because they all come with their own horrors. While the black legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the big baddie in public health the others cause issues as well. The American dog tick transmits the causative bacteria for Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. While rare these two pathogens are way more dangerous than Lyme disease. The lone star tick transmits the causative agent for Ehrlichiosis and Tularemia.

6) An immune response to the lone star tick can cause people to develop a severe allergy to mammalian meat. This disease is called Alpha-gal. It’s a sugar found in mammals that can be transmitted to humans from a previous blood meal taken by that tick. 25% of cases result in anaphylaxis and many others present with GI symptoms only. This is a big enough problem that a company is creating alpha gal free transgenic pigs. Science can do amazing things when motivated by bacon.

Lyme disease vaccine is on its way!



I'm trying to write a post about tick safety and avoiding tick bites, but a lot of the info on websites is like "Avoid going in the woods, in plants, and where there are wild animals" and "Activities like hiking and gardening can put you at risk" and I'm like thanks! This is worthless!

As ticks and tick borne illnesses are expanding their range, I think it's important for people to be educated about these things, and I think it's especially important to give people actual advice on how to protect themselves instead of telling them to just...avoid the natural world

Rough draft version of Tick Advice:

Ticks don't jump down on you from trees, they get on you when you brush against grass, brush, bushes etc.

Ticks get brought to an area when they get done feeding from an animal and fall off them. In the USA, the main tick-bringing animal is deer, but I've seen plenty ticks on feral cats and songbirds.

Ticks get killed when they dry out so drier areas with more sunlight are less favorable to ticks.

The above is useful for figuring out whether an area is likely to have lots of ticks, and how vigilant you have to be in that area.

Wear light-colored, long pants outside. Tuck your pants into your socks, and tuck your shirt into the waist of your pants. Invest in light, breathable fabrics idc

IMMEDIATELY change out of your outside clothes when you come back from a tick-prone area, wash them, and dry them on high heat to kill any ticks that might be stuck on.

Shower and check yourself for ticks after coming inside. Hair, armpits, and nether regions in particular. You can use a handheld mirror or rely on touch; an attached tick will feel like a bump kinda like a scab

While you're outside, you can just periodically check for ticks by running your hands down your legs and checking visually to see if anything is crawling on your clothes. Light colors make them easy to spot, and they don't move fast.

Combing through each others' hair to check for creepy crawly critters is a time-honored primate ritual and is not weird. When hiking, bring a friend who will have your back when you feel something on your neck and need to know if it's sweat or a tick

If you're careful, you can usually catch ticks before they bite you, but if one does bite you, it's not the end of the world. Since tickborne diseases are different regionally i suspect this advice will differ based on where you are, but the important thing is remove the tick with tweezers (DON'T use butter, a lit match, or anything that kills the tick while it's still attached, please) and contact a doctor to see what to watch for. Most illnesses you can catch from ticks are easily treatable if you recognize them when symptoms first appear

[safehealthandlifestyle]

In recent years, tick-borne diseases have been on the rise, posing a significant threat to public health. As a leading authority in the field, we aim to provide you with a comprehensive guide to help you understand, prevent, and treat these diseases. Our mission is to equip you with the knowledge necessary to stay safe and protect your loved ones from the dangers of tick-borne illnesses.

[psalm40speakstome]

Heavy watch for those of us that this is our reality. 💚But SO needed! #lymeisreal

[oysters-aint-for-me]

i came home from my three day work trip and my parents were like ianto has a weird growth below his ear he’s had it since you left and it’s tan and sort of long and black at the base and it keeps getting bigger and bigger can you take a look?

i’ll give you three guesses as to what it was and the first two don’t count

[quixoticanarchy]

i take posts from my mutuals and provide them to mutuals and followers who do not interact w the other mutuals-in-law or may even hate them. it's nutrient cycling. essentially my role here is to be a tick

[healingheartdogs]

Love it when a doctor is like "I'm ordering a LOT of blood work for you today, sorry" like no don't be sorry, thank you for turning over every stone you can looking for answers for me

[rat-hand]

The modern day equivalent of vampirism is tick born ilness.

For example: some little bastard tried to drain you dry so now you’ve got light sensitivity and doctors don’t believe your condition is real.

[lymechallenged]

I just want my normal life back. I want to be able to do the things I KNOW I CAN do without being in pain, without being so exhausted and fatigued 24/7 WHY ISN'T THERE HELP FOR THIS???

[thehealthofficers]

A new study directed by the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) has distinguished concentrated groups of the tick-borne Powassan virus all through New England.

[inthenimtime]

Same

Same

[erasurequirk]

Idk I’m just so used to the culture of you work even if you’re in pain because money is important and the world hates you. A lot of the ppl I have worked with with would literally count as disabled or chronic pain and sadly, we go to work

[ourpetwarehouse]

Anaplasmosis in Dogs

Anaplasmosis is one of the many infections that ticks may spread to dogs. If left untreated, this illness will deteriorate and create serious health issues. This blog contains all of the important facts you need to know about this lesser-known dog condition.

[vetisntdead]

I worry about them all the time

the idea of protists is really funny. Ah yes, the kingdoms of life: Animals, Plants, Fungi, and Don't worry about it:)

[chartreusebird]

Like I AM enjoying this book and the perspectives offered but it's been driving me inSANE how little ticks have been mentioned. I think it was ONCE before this in passing. Absolutely bananas to make it not just over half the book but the majority of the chapter TITLED PESTS???

When I lived on a farm one of the roommates would put on the chalkboard the tick count for the season to remind everyone to do tick checks and it was less than a month before the tally was scribbled out and replaced with a ♾️. The horror stories I could full your head with.

There's literally an earlier part where she and her daughter practice tracking and find a deer bed and DONT MENTION TICKS. like. I know either you were covered in them or you had bug bombed the whole property. Either of which would deserve a fucking mention.

[mortiz888-blog]

From Ancient Times to Modern Woes: Tracing the History of Tick-Borne Diseases

As the warmth of summer beckons us outdoors, the threat of tick-borne diseases looms, reminding us of the complex history between humans and these tiny arachnids. From ancient times to the present day, the impact of tick-borne diseases has shaped medical understanding, influenced societal practices, and spurred ongoing research. In this blog post, we embark on a historical journey to explore the…