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Not too worried, just wondering what you lot would do...
I found 3 ticks on me this morning, 2 on my inside elbow and one on my ankle, which I probably picked up during walks around Loch Goil last weekend. The GF removed them very carefully this morning and it looks like we got them whole. The bites are red dots and I'm asymptomatic.
Just watch for any symptoms over the next week or two?
Symptoms of Lyme Disease can take quite a while to appear. I may be wrong but I'm sure I read somewhere it can be up to a month. OH half had a tick a few weeks ago - we took it off with a tick twister and kept the little bleeder just in case he started to show any symptoms.
bullseye rash or any systemic symptoms IIRC
kept the little bleeder just in case he started to show any symptoms.
i only found out about this recently. apparently you should keep the tick with a reference of when you got it / removed it.
suffocating them is bad advice apparently (can cause them to vomit) i suffocated the last one i had and the bite was sooo itchy for a week.
Keep a tick hook with you. Only about £4 and only way to guarantee you remove everything safely
I phoned NHS24 who said it'd be too early to test for any symptoms, I just have to watch the bites and for the typical associated feelings. The bites so far aren't 'bullseye'.
The biggest one actually popped when the GF tried to remove it from the tweezers... otherwise I would have kept it.
Twenty years of biking with no problems, and 3 come along at once!
I failed with a tick hook last time, despite care and using my close-up spectacles, mouth just wouldn't let go and ended up stuck in there.
This Lyme desease then. It's a bacteria right? The body deals adequately with most invasive bacteria most of the time. So is there any particular sort of person who would be more susceptible?
and kept the little bleeder just in case he started to show any symptoms.
of coming back to life?
More on LD here
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/usr/jake/mosaic/lyme.html
The importance of a tick check cannot be overstated.
There's a theory... that shaved legs and keeping the undercarriage in trim can help with reducing tick bites!
Less for them to grip on to - Just mentioning like... 8)
[img] http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTkdPbrhwhgHrHU8eSel-9URpwcAm0z7_s3YNYvMM-uLpg4eVWp2A [/img]
@ zulu eleven, cheap as chips innit!
I failed with a tick hook last time, despite care and using my close-up spectacles, mouth just wouldn't let go and ended up stuck in there
Did you use it properly by twizzling it round until it let go, not pulling? We've taken hundreds of ticks of the dogs and IIRC it's never failed yet
What percentage of Tick actually carry Lyme Disease? I used to remove them fairly regularly (check when you shower after a ride!) but beyond being aware of the symptoms never really gave it much thought, certainly never worried about it.
How much of a risk is there? Is it greater than all the other things you experience in your daily life (like driving?)?
Jonba, I'd like that answer. The US article linked by allmountainventure implied a lot. What likelyhood of infection though is anyone's guess - or is it?
Are you more prone to infected cuts than anyone else? Your body has a very thorough response to bacterial infection or you'd have been dead from birth. - It just doesn't always quite win.
Its a smallish risk in the UK but increasing - I think the link I gave above has some answers IIRC
According to my GP in Bristol Lymes disease is on the increase in the UK, she is currently dealing with 3 cases all from tick bites in Leigh Woods/Ashton court.
Plenty of ticks out in the undergrowth here in Eastern USA. Got one yesterday, hidden under my watch strap, which I have to say I just ripped out with my fingernails.
The locals tell me that infection normally only occurs after about 24 hours of attachment; get em off before that and they think all will be well... Having said that, most of the riders here have had/have Lymes disease.
Hmm, mine were firmly attached for up to 60 hours!
Glad to hear you're having fun out there.
Just had a call from my very nice Dr, as I went in yesterday with a tick bite.
Removed the tick myself, then went to Docs to check.... as my health is very good and all ticks are different, she has told me to look out for a bullseye rash and any flu like symptoms over the next week or so...
I must return if I suffer any of the above symptoms....