Every day, another tick warning
Alisande
4 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (25)
Uptown Gal
4 years agoOutsidePlaying
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
Doctors Warn About Booming Tick Population
Comments (25)I've been dealing with an insane amount of ticks all winter here in CT. Just something to add about Frontline type products. A poster above said something along the lines of 'it's not working'. I thought the same thing bc I keep finding them on my dogs despite using the products religiously. My vet explained that we will still see the ticks on the dogs. You can't stop the ticks from trying to get a meal. All the product can do is kill them once they land on the dog. It does that by paralyzingly the tick so it can no longer eat and will starve to death and fall off eventually. It takes a little time for the stuff to kick in. So expect to still see the ticks. I only add this bc I thought the same thing myself. I find ticks on my floor often after falling off the dogs. If I look right after trips outside I will find them on the dog. Either way the tick has been exposed to the product and is/will be paralyzed. Creepy regardless if you ask me!...See MoreAnother thing you can get from ticks: Anaplasmosis
Comments (18)To all who have wished me a speedy recovery: Thank You! I am feeling steadily better (1 month out), and expect to be back to full strength shortly. @Alisande, If you think you may have babeseosis at the moment, then insist on being tested. Same with anaplasmosis, both are less-difficult than Lyme to diagnose from blood smears, I believe. (The issue with the blood supply, aside from the traditional head-in-the-sand attitude of the blood industry, and of course the cost, is that there is no rapid-enough test for babeseosis -or possibly the other tick-borne diseases -to work with the need for fresh blood.) But as I mentioned, anaplasmosis has distinct, characteristic, changes in routine blood work that are almost diagnostic. I can check next time I am in the medical library if there are specific changes in the case of babeseosis. I may have that info for erlichiosis, if you'd like to know it. Anaplasmosis has distinctive mullberry shaped artifacts (morullae) in the disease-specific blood smears (as does erlichiosis, I believe). Babeseosis is different but unless you, like I, have had malaria it's pretty distinctive in the blood test for it. The tests aren't inexpensive (the unadjusted street price for them is $500-$1,000 -each- but my insurance company whacked both of them down considerably. Since you're on Medicare, you'd only pay a percentage of the CMS-negotiated cost which is likely to be as aggressively moderated as that of my own insurance company's contractual rate. Since all three are bacterial, not spirochete, -caused it doesn't require the complex analysis of PCR bands that Lyme does. But frankly if I was on my second continuous month of Lyme I would have pretty awful constitutional symptoms from that lengthy treatment alone. I can barely make it out the 30 days of a single course before I have disturbed sleep, night sweats, muscle aches and pains, etc. Part of my fierceness about discovering ticks early is to avoid the need for the lengthy course of anti-Lyme doxy. Since doxy won't really do anything for babeseosis - and other drugs will - why keep taking what may be the wrong cure? I don't think you would experience symptoms from babeseosis or anaplasmosis (or even Lyme) infection before locating the tick. The incubation time needed to get sick from a still-attached tick would have resulted in a deer tick as big as a green pea, a nasty pearly-grey tight blob. It's hard to imagine you wouldn't have noticed it well before getting sick if it was still attached. Don't you itch like mad when you have a tick attached for more than a few hours, not to mention days? I'd be wild! BTW, the tick-hours-of-bite measurement has a built in problem: the aging relies on analysis of stomach digestive contents. But that assumes, and it is not always true, that the bite the tick was discovered making is the only bite, not a second one. Also you mentioned you squashed the critter in removing it. You might want to consider beginning more intensive searches for ticks on your body twice a day in order to not miss one. I have hair so long I can sit on it so I do realize it can be hard to check your scalp and hair. I have also found attached ticks under my breasts, in my belly button, on various unmentionable parts of my bottom, and even larval ones between my toes and fingers. I usually keep my long hair tied up in pigtail outdoors. I tuck the pigtail down the back of my shirt to minimize the likelihood of ticks getting caught in my hair. Of course I always have a hat on outside for sun protection, so my head and scalp are less-common tick areas. I do tick-checks at least twice every day of the year, unless I am away from home overnight in the city. It's just like brushing your teeth. I'm not convinced that Lyme "lurks in your body" but given that it is caused by spirochete I suppose it's possible. (Another spirochete-caused illness, syphillis, has a proven habit of lingering on and re-occurring, often despite treatment.) I know, for certain, that I have had Lyme (from clearly positive blood tests), been treated successfuly and subsequently had lengthy periods of profound physiological, and mental stress, without Lyme popping back up and adding to the problems. And I still have one band for Lyme on the latest PCR, which indicates an old, resolved infection, so there's no question it's still visible in my blood, but not thankfully making a pest of itself. I also still have serological evidence of malaria in my blood and I haven't had any illness from it in more than fifty years! But the bacterial diseases (anaplasmosis, babeseosis and erlichiosis) seem extremely unlikely lurkers and later-pouncers, especially if treated. What I definitely think they can do, however, is damage other organs and systems resulting in consequential, long-term problems (like the poor fellow described above who lost his spleen as a result of a babeseosis infection.) Your description of high fevers, muscle aches and pains, etc., sound much more like anaplasmosis than Lyme. Did you have any "regular" blood tests done at the time? The average time from bite to onset of symptoms with anaplasmosis is 8 days. I could look that time up for erlichiosis and babseosis, if needed. I don't know enough about Fibro, but aren't night sweats and aches and pains part of that, too? You may not need to go to any doctor more specialized than your primary care doc to check for the bacterial tick-borne illnesses. And then you'll be able to know, and treat, any that are there. I didn't get any hint that the tests for them lead to confusing, or contradictory results, as I know the Lyme test can, because it is a different, and more complicated test.. If you test negative for them, including having normal routine blood results, you can cross them off your list of worries and look elsewhere. (And get off the wretched doxy!) HTH, L....See MoreWhat pattern is your every day dishes?
Comments (70)I have Franciscan Ivy pattern and I would like to find solid cream dishes to use with. Most I see are white, which I like but cream would go with the Franciscan. It is the same background color as the Apple and Desert Rose patterns. Anyone have any suggestions? I want to make sure that whatever I get doesn't get silverware marks like my Fiesta does! It drives me nuts, and barkeepers friend did not get rid of them. I don't use them much because they look unappetizing. I don't need mugs, as I have 12 creamy ironstone mugs that my daughter bought from a local restaurant. I also have set of Liberty Blue that I never use, plus my Minton china in Stanwood pattern which is discontinued....See MoreWell, I've had better days! (Warning: medical/blood/general TMI)
Comments (52)Wow, I can imagine how fearful you were to go under general anesthesia, especially with hemorrhaging and dropping blood pressure! But thankfully you were at the hospital and in good hands. I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, which may have been a fetus medically, but was of course, a potential child, to you and your husband. The fact that you did get pregnant naturally, is a good sign. It means that you are not infertile, so I'd think your chances of a successful pregnancy, whether natural or through IVF, will be great, since you have proof that you were able to conceive. Take the time you need to recover physically and emotionally, then look forward to planning your 'rainbow baby,' with all our best wishes!...See Moreeccentric
4 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
4 years agoAlisande
4 years agoOutsidePlaying
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoAlisande
4 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agojtc
4 years agoAlisande
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agogeorgysmom2
4 years agofunctionthenlook
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agonicole___
4 years agoroxanna7
4 years agoOutsidePlaying
4 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
4 years agoeccentric
4 years agoMiMi
4 years agoAlisande
4 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
4 years agobob_cville
4 years agofunctionthenlook
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoAlisande
4 years ago
Related Stories
FEEL-GOOD HOMEThe Pros and Cons of Making Your Bed Every Day
Houzz readers around the world share their preferences, while sleep and housekeeping experts weigh in with advice
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESRoom of the Day: A Spacious Porch Brings Family Life Outside
This Georgia back porch, decorated in neutrals and a mix of textures, serves as living, dining and family room almost year-round
Full StoryEARTH DAY10 Ways to Bring Earth Day Home
Try out these ideas for reducing your carbon footprint and celebrating planet Earth all year
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDES5 Things Every Home Should Have
A designer shares his top 5 style rules to take any room from boring to bold
Full StoryORGANIZINGRoom of the Day: Cluttered Closet Becomes Tween’s Sewing Nook
A mother helps her 11-year-old daughter create an organized space for her passion
Full StoryGARDENING AND LANDSCAPINGEnjoy Your Pool Long Past Labor Day
Don't give your pool and patio the cold shoulder just because the air is chillier. New accessories can help foster a warm relationship
Full StoryMOST POPULARGet Organized: Take a 10-Day Simplification Challenge
Organizational expert Emily Ley helps us get a jump-start on our New Year’s clear-outs
Full StoryLIFETable Manners for Modern-Day Dining
Elbows and cell phones? Maybe. Forgetting to say 'thank you'? No way. Our mealtime etiquette guide takes the guesswork out of group dining
Full StoryHOUSEKEEPING7-Day Plan: Get a Spotless, Beautifully Organized Living Room
A task a day sends messes away. Take a week to get your living room in shape
Full StoryHOUSEKEEPING7-Day Plan: Get a Spotless, Beautifully Organized Garage
Stop fearing that dirty dumping ground and start using it as the streamlined garage you’ve been wanting
Full Story
Elmer J Fudd