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Post by trinity on Jul 4, 2021 12:48:16 GMT -8
As I have described in a separate thread, my son has been away at an adventure therapy camp in Wisconsin for almost 3 months, and we just picked him up this past Wednesday. Overall, he had a very good experience, and I think his time camping in the north woods will have a very significant positive impact on his life. However, there was one downside. Toward the very end of his stay, he developed Bell's Palsy, losing control over the muscles in the left side of his face. As a precaution, they took him in to the ER, and put him on prednisone and an anti-viral medication. They also drew blood to test for tick-borne infections. We just got the results back a few hours ago and, sure enough, he has Lyme Disease! So, we will be discontinuing the anti-viral and starting him on antibiotics. This disease has now infected our entire family, I have had acute Lyme twice, and my wife has been managing chronic Lyme for years. We feel confident at this point that our son's has been caught early enough that it can be cured before going chronic, which is very fortunate. So, just a friendly reminder to be aware of this disease, do regular tick checks, and be on the lookout for any possible symptoms of this illness. This is a price we all pay for our love of the outdoors. Bears and mountain lions grab all the attention, but tick-borne infection is a much more real threat. Y'all stay safe out there!
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jul 4, 2021 13:14:44 GMT -8
I do hope your son recovers quickly.
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reuben
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Post by reuben on Jul 4, 2021 13:15:48 GMT -8
Aw, shit.
Two of my three best friends have had it at least once. It's only a matter of time before I get it as well.
Thoughts and prayers - and NOT the perfunctory sort.
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Post by bradmacmt on Jul 4, 2021 13:17:20 GMT -8
I'm so sorry to hear this.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Jul 4, 2021 18:40:09 GMT -8
I've had it three times now. High fever for me each time but the first was the worst. I think everyone has different reactions. I have a friend who also got Bell's and it took about three weeks to clear.
I don't live that far from Lyme CT.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Jul 4, 2021 18:40:38 GMT -8
Glad you caught it early.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jul 4, 2021 18:41:10 GMT -8
That sucks. I hope that you have, indeed, caught it early enough.
Apropos of this, as a PNW native, I was hiking with a friend not long after moving to CA, and asked him about the most hazardous critter out where we were—thinking about rattlers and scorpions and nasty spider or what-not. He immediately replied that it was the tick.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2021 11:50:26 GMT -8
Glad you caught it early and I wish your family the best! Thanks for posting the warning.
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bcpete
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Post by bcpete on Jul 6, 2021 15:29:13 GMT -8
Man, ticks scare the crap out of me. We're a little far north for them to be a problem, but ... ugh.
Best wishes on recovery, and thanks for the reminder.
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Post by trinity on Jul 6, 2021 16:20:41 GMT -8
Thanks, for all the kind wishes! He's been on antibiotics for a day, and already seems better. I don't live that far from Lyme CT. When I got it, in the mid-80s, I was doing bird censuses and plant surveys for a research project at Connecticut College, just east of Lyme. A good thing, because I was hyper-aware of the disease, and caught the symptoms early both times.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Jul 7, 2021 4:46:24 GMT -8
We're a little far north for them to be a problem, but ... That used to be the situation here in snowy Syracuse. Then... boom. And then they invaded the Adks. They're moving north and west with no signs of stopping.
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Post by bradmacmt on Jul 7, 2021 5:39:11 GMT -8
They're moving north and west with no signs of stopping. So true. I got Mountain Tick Fever (aka Colorado Tick Fever) in 2000. It's quite rare with only a couple hundred cases per year in the Mountain West States and Western Canadian Provinces. Aside from an oral antibiotic, I just had to ride it out over about 30 days. It was like doing acid... at times I'd be outside of myself, detached from reality, almost listening and watching myself talk and act as an outside observer. This went on for about a month. Powerful toxins!
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Post by autumnmist on Jul 10, 2021 6:54:51 GMT -8
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Jul 10, 2021 7:30:24 GMT -8
Two things in that article I disagree with. First that adult ticks are easy to feel and spot and "they’re also unlikely to latch on and pass along the disease" is just wrong. Adult ticks have evolved to be very efficient at stealth. Is there anyone here that hasn't had an adult tick latch on? The part about Lyme being "discovered" in 1975 is somewhat incorrect. From settler times it turns out they knew about ticks making you sick. Someone getting sick and having a halo bruise around a bite is a give away. More accurately is was named Lyme disease in 1975.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Jul 10, 2021 7:42:17 GMT -8
So I was just looking at why Lyme disease started to be a problem. I looked at US population. In 1960 when I was born it was 180 million. Today it is 330 million. Almost doubled. Pushing into nature to fit all these people has for the largest part created this, among many others, problem.
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