Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Whether or not some dirtbag decided to take advantage of a horrible illness or not, it's an unpleasant thing to contract, and has been for centuries. The important thing here is simply to understand the risks or ontracting it in your area, know the seasons ticks are prevalent, and understand the warning signs.

Trek safe, folks!

Greg wrote:Whether or not some dirtbag decided to take advantage of a horrible illness or not, it's an unpleasant thing to contract, and has been for centuries. The important thing here is simply to understand the risks or ontracting it in your area, know the seasons ticks are prevalent, and understand the warning signs.

Trek safe, folks!

Well said! Probably a good idea to be aware of the other tick-borne diseases carried by species other than the deer tick. Lyme is especially nasty, but most species of tick seem to be a vector for some sort of nastiness.

Taurinor wrote:

Harper wrote:

Taurinor wrote:
Genetic studies of Otzi the Iceman found that he was infected with Lyme.

That doesn't mean it wasn't weaponized.

It could have been weaponized, but its origin predates the Nazis and it has been infecting humans since long before we had the technology to intentionally alter it, which I would describe as a natural origin.

If I recall correctly, scientists always used words like "may" and "might" with respect to Otzi and Lymes. They idenitified part of the genome of the bactria that we currently associate with Lyme Disease--which is what I was addressing.

Perhaps something additional has come out that I'm not aware of.

Greg wrote:Whether or not some dirtbag decided to take advantage of a horrible illness or not, it's an unpleasant thing to contract, and has been for centuries. The important thing here is simply to understand the risks or ontracting it in your area, know the seasons ticks are prevalent, and understand the warning signs.

Trek safe, folks!

To echo Taurinor, Well Said!

That's the reason that I started this thread.

However this disease came into being, we have to deal with it. I have too many friends, neighbors and family dealing with it.

Prevention, awareness, tick checks and keeping your immune system up are the best ways to help prevent it.

hunh... this is interesting. It doesn't seem to change the "crash dose of doxycycline" advice, but if it pans out could explain why some get it so much worse than others:

http://www.sciencealert.com/long-forgot ... me-disease

Forbidding Forecast For Lyme Disease In The Northeast:

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsod ... t=20170306

Gah. Terrible year for these things - I pulled about four a day off over the weekend. So far no bullseyes, so not reaching for the antibiotic yet....
(What do they eat when they can't get people?!)

Also, it's a modernism, but the "tick key" actually works really well I'm finding! You don't squeeze the body getting the nasty thing off, so you're not squeezing their belly juices back into you like you can with tweezers.
I might have to make one out of sheet copper or something for the trail at some point.

In our patrol sector, we have a several plants that are proven to kill or repel insect pests quite handily. When I'm tasked with bashing through thick bush, I've been known to weave a wreath of bay laurel for this purpose. Sagebrush or mugwort works too.

I just got back from a camping-trip in Kansas.
Along the 19 hour drive home, I noticed ticks on my dog so I quickly stopped at a Wal-Mart for some tick meds and called my vet to have him checked over.

By the time I had him tick-cleaned, and stool-checked and blood-checked, my vet bill was 1/2 of my paycheck!

A $50 application of Frontline before I left Arizona would have prevented all that.

p.s. I also found ticks on me! THIS is why I insist on a bug net and floor to my tents!!!!!!