Ticks and Lyme
I read a post on another thread that involved a member of this board contacting lyme decease. So, since my first post on this board was a question, I thought I'd post something that might help someone out sometime. As I've mentioned before, though I'm a native of New Hampshire and am moving back, I have lived in RI for the last 20 years. This area is the deer tick capital of the world and some areas have 60% or more lyme contact rates for residents. I have been treated for it myself and in case anyone doesn't know, the critical point is to have it treated in its initial stage. Here are some of the practical things that work for me.
Tuck in pants and shirt when possible, then when practical leave them away from living areas or in a sealed plastic bag. Check dogs (and I guess cats too) over carefully all the time (my bird dogs are magnets and they think tick checks are just more love), Frontline and Advantage work well for them also. Keep the dogs off the furniture (rarely possible for me). These are initial steps to keep the ticks away, but the absolute critical thing is to check yourself and significant other (reminds me of a song) any time you can. If nothing else it has to be done at the end of the day, right before bed, then again first thing in the morning. My wife got a little complacent this year and found three in her, in the morning, over a two week period. This won't eliminate the risk, but it will greatly reduce it. Finally, if you live in tick country and have any flu like symptoms, as crazy as it seems, I would go to the doctor. I hate doctors as much as the next guy, but if I get flu symptoms, I'm going. It's a whole lot better to endure that and 3 weeks of antibiotics than to deal with the later stages of lyme. Hope this helps someone.
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