Possible New Treatment against Tick Bites

[morch]

Looks interesting, even if it is a while off yet :http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110915113634.htm

Dave

 

[Toddy]

That sounds like such a practical way to deal with the problem. I really hope it works

Thanks for the link

cheers,
M

 

[garethw]

Sounds good I jhope it becomes available soon. Our fields are riddled with them here in eastern France. My dog brings them back virtually on a daily basis. We find them in the sofas and carpets.. a real pain and danger.
So far, none of us has ever been bitten, but I'm always worried. I avoid walking in shorts or sandles.... prefering long trousers and high ankled boots...

cheers
Gareth

 

[Chasing Rainbows]

Although this is a very interesting article, and I'm very happy to see a new development in treatment, I feel we humans already have the upper hand with ticks. I meet the creepy little swines *all the time* and never get too troubled. There was one time after an excursion over a deer fence when I picked off 32 of them....I still have nightmares about that actually.

1) Tuck everything in. This gives you all day to spot the tick crawling up your leg. They do love the neck though, and will also get you when you strip to go to bed/put on the same clothes in the morning.
2) Daily tick checks. If you catch them and remove well within 24 hours your chances of catching something are near zero. It's a good idea to check your body each night before bed when in 'tick country'.
3) O'Tom tick twisters are excellent! A must have item in my 1st aid kit. http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick
Alchohol steri-swabs are great for cleaning the area after you remove the tick. Don't treat the tick with alchohol beforehand as it'll vomit it's guts up into your bloodstream.
Make sure and kill them or they'll just crawl back and bite you again. Kill them! Kill them with fire!
4) Be aware of your health just incase. Early Lyme disease is alot like flu, so it can pass unnoticed. If you see a ring or 'bullseye' pattern around the bite, or feel a bit ill and achey after a while after the bite, contact a doctor immediately.

4 easy steps for dealing with ticks. Happy travels!

-Iain

 

[Toddy]

I rambled through bracken, heather, along lochsides, woodlands, moorlands barefooted, barelegged, barearmed..... I spin so I gathered fleece while I learned as a child..........and not once did I get a tick.

Suddenly there's an explosion of tick numbers, millions of the blighters, millions of keds too.........and I think it's because the sheep aren't dipped with the same stuff.
I know it was toxic organophosphates, but it worked.

Surely, in all our competence we can devise something else that removes these parasites ? Ignoring them isn't working, they're becoming a disease vector that's a real health hazard.

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Shewie]

That would be very handy to have a little tube of gel to chuck in the FAK. Remove the tick and add a blob of gel, job done

 

[Opal]

Never had one on me touch wood, always carry an O'tom, just spotted yer post Shewie, was wondering did you find out about your problem?

 

[Shewie]

... just spotted yer post Shewie, was wondering did you find out about your problem?

Turned out to be hyperthyroidism, got an appointment at LGI on Wednesday, hopefully I'll be on meds soon enough and can get on the mend

 

[Opal]

Good luck....and health.

 

[Hugo]

I am on oral antibiotics for the bite I had a few weeks ago.
I only found the bulls eye mark when getting in the bath, there was a brown piece of something hanging out that I thought was dried blood.

 

[ganstey]

My cousin has just been diagnosed with Lyme Disease after having symptoms for about 2 weeks. His GP has never heard of Lyme Disease, so didn't bother to screen for it! My cousin owns woodland and is in there most days. He is aware of ticks and their dangers, and he and his wife check each other after each visit. The little blighter still got through though! Cousin has just started a course of aggressive antibiotics.

So can I repeat the advice that if you go to your GP with what you suspect may be Lyme, then you explicitly mention it.

Graham

 

[mercurykev]

I'm on a course of antibiotics for Lyme Disease at the moment. I picked up a couple of ticks after traipsing through long wet grass a few miles south of Skye - I never noticed them for almost 4 days. I haven't developed the bullseye rash but have had muscle cramp and flu like symptoms. Chances are I've just picked up a cold bug around the same time as the tick bites but my doctor though better safe than sorry.

 

[Robbi]

do we get ticks here in Northern Ireland ?

 

[tomongoose]

I must be lucky, I work in deer infested woods and spend a lot of time on the moors and have picked up loads of ticks over the years and so far have had no ill affects

 

[Ronnie]

That sounds like a very positive development.

I've had a cough and wheeze for about a month - quite bad at times and I've missed a lot of work. Drs thought I had COPD, but computer says no thank god. I will never even consider ever smoking again. Anyway, I'm now considering whether it's Lyme. I had a couple of tick bites at the beginning of all this, including one in my belly button which the tick-twister couldn't get to. Did not come out cleanly. I'll ask for the serology tomorrow.

 

[Chasing Rainbows]

Surely, in all our competence we can devise something else that removes these parasites ? Ignoring them isn't working, they're becoming a disease vector that's a real health hazard.

Cheers,
Toddy

I'm told that releasing some ginae-fowl (I know, I can't spell) into an infested area is very effective. They'll munch their way through the ticks, which make easy prey sitting on the heads of grass stalks. A few birds can apparently clear a square mile. I'd be wary of releasing non-native species, but ginae-fowl are kept here as pets and I've never heard of any problems.

Given the nature of the beast I'd assume ticks to be present in Ireland. They travel so easily with livestock. But maybe St Paddy cast them out too.

 

[Ronnie]

Thank you CR - very interesting. Good article here:

Guinea fowl for tick control

 

[sasquatch]

Problem is you don't always find them until it's too late. In Canada I always found great big ticks to remove, when I moved to the UK my friends had never heard of them and said they didn't exist. Slept on the floor in the Lake District for a few nights, went home and found a tiny sheep tick that had been on me all weekend. Got treated in the end after my doctor spoke to another doctor as he originally told me not to worry and go home!

It's a case of raising awareness in the UK, especially in doctors if you ask me. The gel would be great if you always knew you had a tick on you but the one I got Lymes disease off was tiny! It probably would have dropped off me soon after a good feed and I wouldn't have known till I saw the rash. It sure would be nice to have some kind of easy treatment for this as well as the obvious checks mentioned by Chasing Rainbows...

 

[BoonDoc]

That is why it is very important to do a tick check twice a day. I prefer morning and night. If you have a mirror you can do this yourself. You need to get close and personal with all of your nooks and crannies.
Working with the Tracker School in New Jersey I saw hundreds of ticks. My personal record is twenty ticks imbedded in me at one time.

If you are fastidious about your tick check you can be safe in the woods.

 

[bronskimac]

Landward on BBC2 tonight had a bit about an experiment treating sheep's fleece with pesticide. The number of ticks was halved in five years. I guess someone will do the sums and decide if it should be done or not on a large scale. No real advantage directly for the farmer unless ticks are a problem affecting his livestock. One person in the program was saying they are life threatening to young birds.

I'll continue to tuck my trousers into my socks! Must also add a mirror to my kit for checking those hard to see spots.