Info re Lyme Disease & Tick bites (How & where did I get bitten?)

Photo courtesy of California Dept of Public Health 

Ticks are small arachnids, part of the order Parasitiformes. Along with mites, they constitute the subclass Acari. Ticks are ectoparasites (external parasites), living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians  ~Wikipedia

And there you have it. Turns out it wasn't post natal depression in the truest sense of the words. It was a teeny little ectoparasite messing with me. For anxiety and depression are a part of Lyme. Wish I'd known that at the time. Life wouldn't have been quite so confusing.

When I think back, I realise there is a very real possibility I was bitten by a tick 25 years ago in Connecticut - the state where Lyme disease was originally recognised in 1975, and the very place it was named after: Lyme and its neighbouring town, Old Lyme.

And if Lyme Disease manifested in CT, then perhaps mine did too, for I lived in this beautiful wooded New England state for a year, working as Nanny, with three acres of garden in which the deer would roam? I would play right there with my three young charges. And of course there's every eventuality that I may have been bitten by a deer nymph tick/s then. So small, I would never have known. They're the size of a poppy seed. Yes, that's right: A poppy seed.




To add to that potential tick bite, came another two years later. No mistaking this one as it was quite big really; I remember counting the legs that clung to me. I was travelling through East Africa, from Entebbe to Cape Town with my then boyfriend, an Australian, who in his infinite wisdom decided to remove the fat now fed tick on my tummy by smothering it in paraffin. When that failed, he attempted to burn it, you know, to help it 'let go.' You can imagine, how I reacted when I saw him coming toward me with his cigarette lighter. I wasn't about to go up in a puff of smoke. But in truth, the damage was already done. For the simple fact is, suffocating the tick with vaseline or petroleum etc will only lead to disaster. If the tick happens to be carrying infection, it will inject its many toxins into you then and there. Removing a tick carefully is vital. [See link below for how to do this safely].

I had a further tick bite last Summer. Feeling chilled one evening*, watching the late afternoon sun creep away to set into the shadows, I reclaimed a scarf that had fallen down over the back of my chair. I assume the tick must have crawled off that and onto my neck, for this one was under my jaw and tucked away behind my hair. And so it was missed. For well over the 48 hour period deemed safe(?) enough to have one feed on you without transmitting infection. But of course by then I'd already begun to connect the many symptomatic dots which had been appearing over the course of the previous two decades.

I live in West Surrey, deemed a high risk tick area. I've walked in the wooded Surrey hills and over the grassy common land every week, have done for years. So it ought not to be a surprise that I also found a tick on my hand last Spring. I recall seeing a tiny brown dot, much like a speck of dirt. I rubbed it away, not even giving it a second thought. Why would I? How was I to know what it was? I wasn't aware that ticks could be so small, goodness I could barely see it.** I was also blissfully unaware that deer nymph ticks were prevalent in the grass and woodland areas surrounding my home. But doesn't that say it all? There is simply not enough awareness. The Big Tick Project is on a mission to change that. The UK Tick Threat Map allows you to enter in your postcode to find out if the area you live/work/play in is high risk. The thought that ticks must get missed by so many is sobering. And if I alone have had a few, what does that say?

For each bite, missed or noticed, ticks are potentially spreading Lyme and many other tick borne infections, each with their own set of debilitating symptoms, that are easy to miss until sadly it's too late. Most of us are totally unaware of the potential havoc these ectoparasites can create. But forewarned is forearmed. Be aware.

Ticks are most prevalent in the Summer months, but have been found in Winter too, looking for hosts. Check yourself. Check your children. Look out in particular for tiny specks. And remove them safely.

How to remove a tick correctly.

For more information, including what you should do if you discover a tick, please visit
Lyme Disease UK

* Ironically, a symptom of Lyme is feeling incredibly hot or cold.
** Plus eye sight can be affected too. Personally I suffer from blurred vision a lot of the time.

FOOTNOTE

Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia, a spirochete bacteria. It’s the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere and there are multiple strains of the bacteria. Lyme disease is endemic in many parts of the United Kingdom, particularly in woodland or heath-land areas but disease carrying ticks can also be found in cities and gardens.

Public Health England estimates that there are 3,000 new cases of Lyme disease per year. However, this is likely to be a gross underestimate. There is a discrepancy in estimations and the exact number will likely remain unknown, due to the fact that Lyme disease is not a reportable condition and there are still many UK healthcare professionals and patients who are not able to identify and diagnose the condition.

Taken from Lyme Disease UK