feeling ticked off!

[mintylad]

My season just keeps getting better! Been rough as a dog for over ten days now and am waiting for blood test results to confirm whether I have lymes disease. Apparently I could have been biten by a tic, more than likely picked up whilst walking through long grass by the river. Until the antibiotics can be seen to be doing their job I am not advised to fish alone. If any of you come out in big red blotches, joints feel like they have hot sand in them, get a raging headache and cold sweats then get yourself to a docs sharpish. This is just a "heads up" because apparently it is tic season.

Tight lines to ya all.

Mintylad

[silverstoat]

Blimey mintylad, really sorry to hear this. Lyme disease can be bad news, but treatment is effective if the antibiotics are started early.

There's more info on the A-Z section of the NHS Choices website if others here aren't clued up about the risk. Always worth checking for ticks if you know there's a resident deer population.

Best of luck for a speedy recovery!

[andyantiquefly]

Oh dear Minty lad that's awful news,I really hope the tests are negative although with you obviously going to the docs quick there's a better chance of treatment.

Thanks for the heads up anyway as most folk think it's something more related to Scotland than down Wales,last year was particularly bad down Exmoor my collie was covered in em after going through some ferns,have to say it's something that frightens me a lot actually.

[johnevs]

Bloody hell mate ur not getting much luck really are you:: hope it gets sorted soon for you if u want I'll send you some fishing pics of fish I've been having so u dont feel ur being left out:>

[IanMcD]

Ticks - Universally found

Hi,
Sorry Mintylad to hear of your probable tick bite. I hope the treatment goes well for you.

As has been said ticks abound where there are animals around and long vegetation where they wait to latch on to a passer-by. Difficult to avoid getting ticks on you and your dogs as you pass through such areas. I have had my working dogs over the years pick them up all over the UK.

Difficult to stop but you can be prepared to deal with them quickly when you see them. Get yourself a Tick-Remover Tool and lean the simple drill for removing them. I bought 2 tools and keep one at home and one permanently in my car. To find the tools available (and I have used both types) just enter the search string "tick remover" into Google. Also look at this site to see ticks and techniques to be rid of them.
http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/.../tick-removal/

Mintylad is right you need to take prompt action.
Good luck,
Ian

[mintylad]

Thanks for your words and advice gent's. John your compassion knows no bounds! I am praying that this weekend things won't seem so grim in which case I will have some lost time to make up for. If I am fit enough then any mention of diy or family stuff will fall on the deafest of ears!!

Mintylad.

[Mick B]

Seriously avoid!

I have two good friends who have Lymes desease.
Both didnt realise they had been bitten and suffered the symptoms in complete ignorance until diagnosed.

One who was a work collegue complained about swellings on his elbow joints and nagging flu like pains elsewhere. He thought is was 'flu and continued in ignorance for years until we had a safety lecture on Lymes and Weil's desease.
A quick visit to the Dr and some blood tests and he was confirmed as a positive.

My other knew of the dangers but it wasnt confirmed until his alert Dr had him blood tested.

Sadly there is no cure for Lymes desease and both suffer the symptoms as they come and go, for the rest of their lives.

Coincidently,
I had a blood test myself yesterday and the nurse told me that she had just removed a tick from the scrotum of an angler who had sat fishing in shorts a few days ago. She also told me she had removed ticks from two young children the previous week and all they had done was to play on our local recreation ground.

Finger crossed for you mintylad.

[Teifi-Terrorist]

Sound advice above that is for sure - much of which I certainly did not know. Thanks for the link too IanMcD - I have now ordered a tool; better safe than sorry! £2 posted off ebay for x2 removal tools of different sizes.

My understanding is, however, that not all ticks and not all areas carry Lymes disease?

I have found three ticks on me this year - not something I'm proud of I can assure you! Thankfully escaping unscathed each time, especially as I just 'plucked' them off with my fingers, without knowing the advice posted above...

Thanks for spreading the word and get well soon ML.

TT.