Hey Everyone!
Southern Ontario and parts of Quebec are absolute HOTBEDS for Lyme Disease right now. This is the time of year when ticks are just starting to become active, so take a few minutes to educate yourself for when you’re on the trails.
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection. It is transferred to humans through the bite of a tick. These ticks are incredibly small, and if there’s one attached to you right now, there’s a good chance you probably don’t know. This is an image of an adult tick next to a baby tick; both can transmit Lyme Disease:
So How do These Ticks Get on Me?
Ticks climb onto the edges of long grass and weeds, and extend their legs into the air, waiting for a passer-by to cling on to. Simply brushing up against some long grass on the edge of the trail as you fly by on your bike is enough for one of these little buggers to hitch a ride on you.
Ok So Now the Tick is Crawling on Me… Now what?
The tick will crawl on you until it comes to a spot on your skin to it’s liking. It will then dig it’s head into you, and start sucking some of your blood. Unlike a mosquito however, the tick will remain attached to you for up to several days.
That Doesn’t Sound Fun…
Well unfortunately it gets worse. As the tick is sucking your blood, it transfers bacteria from it’s own body into your blood stream. The most notorious is a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease. Ticks can also transfer other bacteria to you that cause infections like Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasmosis, and a bunch of other complicated-sounding infections.
So I found a Tick Stuck in Me! Now What?
Well first, count yourself lucky. More than 50% of people with Lyme Disease don’t ever remember being bit, or ever seeing a tick on their body. Remember these buggers can be very small. To remove the tick, get a pair of tweezers, and pull it out straight from your skin. DO NOT PULL IT OUT AT AN ANGLE. DO NOT TRY TO SCRATCH IT OFF. Make sure you’re gripping the tick from as low down as possible; you will need to pull surprisingly hard.
Ok Tick Removed, Problem Solved!
Not quite. If that tick had the Lyme bacteria, or any other harmful bacteria in it’s body, that bacteria is now in your bloodstream, multiplying. Save the tick and take it with you to your doctor. GO TO THE DOCTOR ASAP. DO NOT WAIT A WEEK BECAUSE YOU FEEL FINE. Get your doctor to prescribe 2 to 3 weeks of oral antibiotics, even if you have no symptoms. If your doctor refuses to do this, find a new doctor. Seriously. You need to be on antibiotics ASAP after a bite, regardless how you feel.
I’ve Heard That I’m Going to Get a Bulls-Eye Rash on my Skin?
Yes and no. If you get a bulls-eye rash, you have a Lyme infection. BUT, fewer than 50% of people with Lyme will actually get the rash, so you’re not safe if you don’t get one.
What Symptoms Should I Look Out For Now?
One of the reasons Lyme is so hard to diagnose is the huge variety of symptoms it can produce. It’s called a “Great Imitator” because it can present like almost any other illness (including small illnesses like the flu, or more severe diseases like MS and Parkinsons). Here are just a few symptoms, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ANY OF THESE AND STILL BE INFECTED:
Flu like symptoms, skin rashes, sore/weak/swelling joints and muscles, fatigue, fever, night sweats, tingling/numbing/burning in extremities, headache, anxiety, memory loss, brain fog, other neurological problems.
I’m really just scratching the surface here. Check out ILADS.org for more information on symptoms, treatments, etc.
I Have Several Symptoms, My Doctor in Canada is Doing a Blood Test…
The screening test for Lyme Disease in Canada is terrible. It has something like a 70% false negative rate. If you do blood work for your doctor in Canada, and they tell you that you don’t have Lyme Disease based on that alone, it’s BS.
So What are My Options Then?
Well remember, if you got those antibiotics from your doctor after the initial bite, and you have no symptoms, you’re probably fine now. However, there are a number of people who will continue to have symptoms after the antibiotics, or won’t get symptoms until months after the bite, at which point a short-course antibiotic will be much less effective.
Doctors in Canada cannot legally prescribe long-term antibiotics for Lyme Disease in Canada, so most people in this situation end up going to the States, and paying for it out of pocket. If you think you have chronic Lyme Disease and are looking for a doctor, check out the physician referral on ILADS.org. Also, you can check Lyme Disease message boards on sites like mdjunction.com or healingwell.com. If you post a LLMD request (Lyme-literate-medical-doctor) on these sites, someone will usually direct you.
Again, make sure you see an LLMD, not an everyday doctor who practices across the border. These LLMD see Lyme and only Lyme, and are the only ones who can accurately diagnose and treat the disease. We don't have any LLMD's in Canada.
Are There Ways of Preventing This Whole Thing?
Of course. While out hiking, riding, or doing anything else in areas with long grass, please:
• wear long sleeves and pants
• wear light coloured clothes so you can spots ticks crawling on you
• tuck your pants into your socks to prevent ticks from getting under your pants (cool looking, I know)
• wear bug spray
• check your entire body for ticks after being out. Ticks LOVE to crawl into dark crevices, so pay special attention to your armpits, kneepits, scalp, etc.
Anything Else?
Well you can feel free to post any questions in this thread, or you can PM me. Of course there’s so much information online too.
Happy Trails and Stay Safe!
